Children's home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Cannock Chase

Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 1 SC475347 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

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have complex needs because of childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2023 Full Good 02/11/2022 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good 18/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff in the home. Staff provide a good quality of care and have a strong understanding of children’s needs. Children were invited to the staff Christmas meal, which gave them a sense of belonging. Children are supported to work through any concerns that arise between them. Staff promote a family environment and do not tolerate bullying, which was reflected by the children when they said they enjoy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make progress in education. Children are taken to school daily by staff to promote consistency in attendance. Leaders work well with education providers. They have developed tracking systems to help children in key areas where they may struggle. One child has been making progress in their reading due to staff’s ongoing support, while another child is predicted positive outcomes in their GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences moving into the home. One child has moved in since the last inspection. This was well planned and the impact on the child already living in the home was robustly explored. The child met staff and went on activities before moving in to the home which enabled them to be more familiar with their new home. As a result, the child settled into the home more easily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well supported. Children are provided with bespoke support, including, where appropriate, for their mental health. Leaders have used local services which support children’s emotional health needs to be met. This has led to a decrease in children’s low mood and self-injurious behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff support children to develop skills which will benefit them when moving on from the home. One child who previously struggled to clean their bedroom is now able to change their bedding and put it in the wash. Children are provided with an area of the home to carry out individual tasks, which promotes a sense of independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are confident sharing their views with leaders and staff. Children had asked to go on dog walks as an activity. This was promptly arranged and has become part of their routine at the weekend.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is beautifully decorated. Children have contributed to the overall design of the home, including colours and decorative features. The home has undergone renovations to develop an outdoor room, which has been made into another comfortable space for children to relax and enjoy art activities. The home had been decorated for Christmas and felt warm and welcoming. Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 4

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

Safeguarding practices in the home are effective. There is a positive safeguarding culture, driven by the manager. Leaders and staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe. As a result, children feel safe in the home.

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

Staff look beyond children’s presenting behaviours. This helps staff understand what may cause upset to children. Staff provide reassurance and strategies to help the children to express themselves.

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

Consequences are fair and effective. Staff use restorative consequences rather than punitive ones. Positive behaviour is acknowledged and rewarded and, as a result, there are few complaints, incident or allegations. Staff have not had to use physical intervention with children in the home.

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

Staff support children to understand how to stay safe online. Staff are suitably trained in online safety and have important conversations with children about online risks. Internet filters are installed at the home and on children’s devices and daily checks are carried out so that internet use can be managed effectively and children safeguarded.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the missing-from-home protocol and manage well any incidents of children going missing. Children’s risk assessments and missing-from- care protocols are kept under regular review. Support plans are bespoke to each child and identify risks, so that staff know how to respond appropriately and children are kept safe. However, the records of incidents of going missing are not always consistently detailed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager has had a great impact on the home. She is driven to upskill staff and ensure that they have the knowledge to help children achieve the best possible outcomes. Staff are motivated to come to work and provide children with consistent good care, due to feeling supported by the manager. One staff member said, ‘The manager will also make sure both young people have the best support possible, and she will help staff to learn what is the best way to support them. In general, the home I feel is a very happy and nurturing environment.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained to work with children. They complete training in relevant areas including cyber security, missing from home, anti-bullying and safeguarding. The manager encourages staff who are support workers to develop more advanced knowledge to encourage growth in their roles. One member of staff praised the manager for enrolling them on the level 5 diploma after they had set this as a goal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that there is bespoke support in place for staff with additional needs. One staff member has been provided with equipment to enable them to carry out Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 5 their role in the same way as any other staff member. This has supported them to feel more confident when recording information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have good communication with professionals. One external professional said, ‘I feel the staff keep me in the loop about a lot of things. Even when the manager is off I called her and she answered. They never leave me in the lurch and update me on everything.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that staff receive regular good-quality supervision. Staff say they can meet with the manager monthly, and more often if required. This has enabled the manager to consistently keep track of staff’s development and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective. A number of systems are used by leaders to ensure that there are continuous positive outcomes for children. Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should be 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: SC475347 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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Inspectors

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC475347 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 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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