Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Bradford

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 2

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Findings from the inspection

Ofsted did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

There have been improvements in the cleanliness of the children’s bedrooms, and staff are actively encouraging and supporting the children to keep these tidy.

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s wishes and feelings are being captured within records of their discussions with staff as well as in their daily logs. There is evidence of the registered manager providing children with feedback from professionals’ meetings, such as their looked after children reviews and from discussions with social workers. However, it is still not clear how staff and the manager have acted on children’s requests or how the children’s feedback contributes to changes in the care that they receive.

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Findings from the inspection

One child is diagnosed with asthma; however, he continues to use vapes. The child’s risk management plan states that he should not have free use of these in the home and staff should challenge the child if he is seen with vapes inside the home. However, the child continues to have access to vapes in his bedroom and this is not always challenged by staff, which is likely to have an overall impact on his physical health.

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Findings from the inspection

Following an incident in the home, the registered manager identified an area of development for the staff team, namely their understanding of the allegation protocol. Staff did not have a full understanding of this process, which led to the untimely management of an allegation from a child. However, the management team has reflected on this and made efficient changes to ensure that staff are knowledgeable about this process to safeguard and support the children who they care for.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager has made improvements to challenge and escalate concerns with the local authority. Since the last inspection, the registered manager has provided numerous challenges to other professionals, where required. This has resulted in both children receiving new social workers, one child now has their passport, and one child’s previous request regarding family time has been granted.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager has made improvements relating to her oversight and monitoring of the home. There are appropriate tools in place to audit and oversee the running of the home, which help the registered manager to see areas of good practice and areas that still require improvement.

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Findings from the inspection

One member of staff has made progress towards completing the relevant qualification. However, this has still not been completed in line with statutory timescales, which may impact the staff member’s knowledge and skills in providing care to the children in the home. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 3 There are still vacancies within the home and agency staff are frequently used. The registered manager is actively recruiting for vacancies and makes attempts to have the same agency workers in the home. However, this is not always possible and has an impact on children’s continuity of care. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/04/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 21/12/2021 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 5

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children's care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child's views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 28 February 2025

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and 28 February 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 6 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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; and

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 28 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans; and 28 February 2025 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 7 understand and develop skills to promote the child's well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Venture House Prospect Business Park 12 Prospect Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Oliver Scrimshaw

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Inspector

Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1245572 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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