Children's Home run by New Horizons (Stockport) Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 1 SC472680 Registered provider: New Horizons (Stockport) Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The manager registered with Ofsted in 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2023 Full Good 05/07/2022 Full Good 14/12/2021 Full Good 11/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

During this inspection, the inspectors identified serious safeguarding concerns that impact on children’s overall experiences and progress. There has been a lot of changes of children and staff since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, six children have moved out of the home. Although it was the decision of the children’s placing authorities to move some of the children as part of their care plan, the manager made the decision for two more children to move out. This decision was made as staff were unable to meet the needs of the children and keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Language used in the children’s reports does not reflect a culture of nurturing or supportive responses from staff, especially when children have been in crisis. Staff do not record information in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion, and third-party information. Despite this shortfall being raised at the previous inspection, the manager has failed to take action to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is a large detached house. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, not all children have keys for their bedroom and one child’s privacy screen on their window has not been replaced. These shortfalls impact on children’s right to privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When staff search children’s bedrooms, children are not always informed. Additionally, when staff give children a consequence for their behaviour, this is not explored with the child to help them learn acceptable behaviours. This is a missed opportunity to capture children’s views and evaluate the effectiveness of the measures used.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children have made allegations or there have been concerns about staff practice, children are not always updated on the outcome of the investigation. This means that children are not always aware of the reasons for the changes being made to staff in their home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

There are serious shortfalls with regard to the use and oversight of physical interventions. This is unsafe practice. Staff also do not consider children’s well-being and safety following incidents of self-injurious behaviours. There have been incidents of children banging their heads on walls, doors and furniture. Staff at that time said that children would require medical attention. However, following these incidents, staff failed to seek medical advice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Since the last inspection, restraint has been used on four separate occasions. However, on three of these occasions, with two different children, the most restrictive intervention available to staff has been used. On these occasions, the intervention involved children being restrained on the floor by three staff members. The durations of these holds have Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 4 been excessive, and they have not been effective. Opportunities for learning have been missed, which has not ensured that poor staff practice is prevented.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

When children raise concerns about staff, these are not always shared with all relevant safeguarding professionals. This lack of transparency does not ensure that other professionals have oversight of safeguarding practices in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

When children have been missing from home, staff do not always continually assess the risk. For example, when one child was on an agreed activity, the staff did not make adequate attempts to contact the child during the day in order to check on their welfare. As a result, there was a delay in the child being reported as missing from home. Additionally, one child was not reported missing from home in the timescales agreed in their risk management plans. Records do not identify the actions taken by staff to locate the child.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

When there are concerns around children harming each other, the manager does not ensure that there are records of multi-agency agreements on how to manage risk. Additionally, records of discussions with children lack detail on how incidents will be prevented and how relationships between children are repaired.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is qualified and is supported by a deputy manager. However, there are significant shortfalls with regard to the oversight of children’s experiences and progress. Five staff have left since the last inspection. This impacts on stability for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager evaluates incident records. However, the evaluations are not effective, because the oversight does not consider possible triggers for children or how the children can be better supported during or after an incident. The manager has also not considered areas for staff development or identified significant shortfalls in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has been involved in physical interventions. However, when the manager is involved, there has not been any oversight by an independent person. This lack of transparency does not ensure that interventions are monitored and assessed for suitability and to consider children’s views and experiences during this restrictive process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is no system in place to effectively monitor, review and evaluate the quality of care provided by the staff. The manager has not completed the most recent quality-of-care review. This is a missed opportunity to make improvements and limits the regulator’s oversight of children’s experiences living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

An independent person visits each month. However, the reports lack feedback from children and other appropriate people. This limits the manager’s ability to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not always challenge the placing authority when they have not carried out aspects of their role. For example, when children have been missing from Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 5 home, the manager has not escalated the need for return home interviews to be completed. This means that children are not provided with the opportunity to discuss their time away from the home with an independent person. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered provider ensuring that medical advice is sought when children self-injure.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that staff continually assess risks to children and follow missing-from-home protocols.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that appropriate follow-up work with children is completed following any allegations made against each other.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that allegations against staff members are shared with the local authority designated officer. 24 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 7 *Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (2))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered provider ensuring that all incidents of restraint are necessary and proportionate. 24 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered provider ensuring that management oversight is independent and reflective, and focuses on development of staff practice, and children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that feedback is given to children in respect of any complaints and allegations. 24 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 28 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that they request all relevant information from placing authorities to support decision-making in respect of whether the team can meet the child’s needs to prevent any unnecessary moves for children.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 28 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 9 This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that all children have keys to their bedroom, and that privacy screens are repaired.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that a return home interview is completed by the placing authority when a child has been missing from home. 28 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 28 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 10 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)) 28 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3) (b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that the evaluation of restraint used is completed by an appropriate person.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that children are consulted on room searches and views are obtained in respect of consequences. 28 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 11 * These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The responsible person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (Stockport) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 154–156 Buxton Road High Lane, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 8EA

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Inspectors

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Kitty Wiper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472680 13 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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