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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 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 provides care for up to three children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home, and was spoken to. Another child had lived at the home previously, and their experiences at the home were considered at this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 13 September 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The environment is like a family home and is beautifully maintained. The atmosphere is very positive, with a great deal of laughter, warmth and singing. Children are comfortable in their home and their bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes and interests. Throughout the home, the children’s personalities shine through. Children are proud of their home. A family member of one child said, ‘They [the child] couldn’t have asked for anything better.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged by staff to do well in their education. Staff have created a space in the home to support one child to complete their GCSEs with an education provider. Staff advocate for the children to attend provisions suitable for their needs and escalate their concerns to external professional agencies if they are not happy with responses. This supports children to make continued progress in their educational development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to develop their independence skills in line with their age and development. One child has successfully moved on to semi-independent living due to the excellent support and guidance from staff. A robust transition plan meant that the child was able to visit their new home and meet new staff. This resulted in the child having a successful move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and children have trusting and meaningful relationships. Children actively seek out the manager and staff because they have developed strong bonds with them. Staff celebrate children’s achievements and capture valuable memories for children in memory books. Children are proud of their achievements. This supports them to continue to make exceptional progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to have safe and meaningful relationships with those who are close to them. This enables children to build and maintain relationships with those people who are important in their lives. Managers and staff have built relationships with people who are close to the children, such as family and friends, and communicate with them regularly. Consequently, this supports children’s sense of identity and helps to maintain important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When children make complaints, these are responded to quickly. Children are given letters acknowledging their complaint and informed of the outcome. Children’s wishes and feelings are important to staff. This results in children feeling listened to and valued.

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

Staff ensure there are extremely well coordinated responses when children go missing from home. Staff contact those family and friends and search local areas. Following children’s return home, staff request return interviews from the local authority. If children do not want to engage in these interviews, staff are proactive in talking to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 4 children to find out their reasons for going missing to try and reduce future missing- from-home incidents.

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

Staff have discussions with children on important and relevant topics to aid their development. Staff are very creative in their methods for engaging children, considering their needs and various stages of development. Staff demonstrate care and empathy when talking to children, which is also reflected in written records. This supports children to thrive.

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

Staff fully understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Children’s plans are extremely detailed. This enables staff to understand how to best support children. Plans are regularly reviewed by staff and the manager and are adjusted to reflect children’s changing needs. Staff develop plans alongside children, so children can say how they would like to be supported to feel safe. Because of this, safeguarding incidents are rare.

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

The manager understands the importance of robust safer recruitment procedures. This ensures that those working with children are safe to do so.

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

When there are allegations against staff or any concerns regarding children’s safety, these are managed quickly and effectively. Thorough investigations are completed, and appropriate external professionals are informed. This results in children being successfully safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An interim manager is managing the home and is in the process of registering with Ofsted. They have very good support and oversight from the responsible individual. The children are at the heart of all they do and all care practice is focused on supporting the children. They consistently strive for success for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive effective and regular supervision. Sessions are in-depth and give staff the space to talk about the children, safeguarding and their own well-being. Team meetings are used as a forum to discuss research-informed practice, which supports consistent care for the children. Staff take pride in their care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is good and collaborative multi-agency working with children’s professional networks to ensure that bespoke plans and services are in place for children. External professionals say communication with managers is good. Staff consistently advocate for the children and are ambitious for them. Managers are confident in escalating concerns when they do not agree with an outcome. This results in the best outcomes for children who live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Assessments relating to fire safety are up to date, however, actions are not always implemented within the required time frame. This can lead to shortfalls in fire safety measures in the home, which could place children at risk of harm. Managers are proactive in escalating issues to be addressed by the organisation when there are delays. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 5 Managers are aspirational for the team and staff development. Staff are complimentary about the support provided by managers. One staff member said support from the manager was ‘outstanding’. Another said, ‘Leadership and compassionate skills make her [the manager] one of the best.’ Staff feel valued by the manager, which results in them providing continued excellent care to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure the children’s home to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, the registered provider should ensure that actions relating to fire safety are addressed within appropriate time frames. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2655345 7

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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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Inspector

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2655345 8 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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