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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group 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

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children were seen and spoken to by the inspector.

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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 registered 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Good 08/02/2023 Full Outstanding 10/11/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 3

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outstanding

The registered manager and staff team are unquestionably committed to the children. They ensure that everything they do and every decision made is in the best interests of children. Staff do their very best to ensure that the children feel and are safe. Children feel loved, cared for and highly valued. As a result, children are thriving in all aspects of their lives.

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outstanding

Great care is taken to explore children’s needs and the implications of any diagnosis for their support. Consequently, staff know the children extremely well and understand their differing needs. Where necessary, additional research is used to ensure that children receive the right care and support. Needs-led training for staff ensures that they deliver individualised care to children that helps them to flourish. One child has benefited from direct work with the in-house clinician that has helped them to gain an understanding of their own needs.

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outstanding

Plans for children moving on from the home are extremely detailed and well thought out. Each child’s move is tailored to suit their needs. The registered manager and staff team have been flexible in their approach, and this has ensured that children’s moves from the home have been effective and successful. The children who have left the home remain in contact with staff. One child visits the home regularly, which is testament to the positive relationships that children have with the staff.

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outstanding

The registered manager and staff have high aspirations for the children’s education and their future. Both children attend full-time education and their attendance is excellent. There is highly effective communication between teachers and staff. This strengthens the support children receive and contributes to them having positive learning experiences.

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outstanding

Staff enthusiastically encourage the children to enjoy a variety of activities, both in the home and the community. Activities include ice skating, ballet, the Boys’ Brigade and participating in virtual school council meetings. Some of these experiences are new to the children. Significantly, children are supported to take age-appropriate balanced risk. For example, children able to have time out with friends and have age appropriate access to mobile devices. This builds children’s self-esteem and allows them to form positive memories.

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outstanding

Staff make a significant effort to support relationships that are important to the children. Staff form valued relationships with family members, who speak very highly of the staff. Staff assist with arrangements for family time. The children enjoy time in their family homes and with family members; one child was supported to attend a parent’s wedding. These experiences create positive memories for the children and help them to maintain a sense of their identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 4 The home is well presented, welcoming and looks like the home of the children who live there. The children have beautifully presented bedrooms that they have helped to design. The home is arranged around the children’s ideas, with a games room and a child-named ‘therapy corner’, where they can relax and talk to each other. There are personal touches throughout the home, with pictures of the children with family,

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outstanding

enjoying activities, and their school photos. Staff have a real sense of pride for the home and maintain the homely environment for the children.

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outstanding

The registered manager and staff ensure that children are safeguarded. The staff have expert knowledge of the policies and procedures in place to keep children safe, and they follow them accordingly. One child’s social worker said that the registered manager and staff ‘go above and beyond’ in their support for the child. Other professionals gave unanimous positive feedback. As a result, children feel heard and valued and say that they feel safe.

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outstanding

Risk assessments and safety plans are thoroughly written and are implemented well by staff. They are updated after each incident and amended where necessary. The staff team continually updates children’s plan to ensure an up-to-date awareness and consistency in keeping the children safe. As a result, records are meticulous and accurately reflect the most current needs of the children. This helps staff mitigate the potential risks for the children and has supported a reduction in incidents.

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outstanding

Staff are enthusiastic in supporting positive behaviour and implement clear and consistent boundaries. The boundaries are reflective of the age and understanding of the children. The staff use praise and rewards and do not use consequences. Following incidents, staff help children to reflect on their actions through meaningful conversations. An understanding of developmental trauma has equipped staff with the skills to have conversations with the children to help them understand their behaviour and to equip them to talk about feelings. This process of positive reinforcement and reflection has nurtured children’s growth, confidence and self- esteem.

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outstanding

Children are actively listened to. The children engage in regular house meetings, and their wishes and feelings are discussed in staff meetings. The children receive feedback from the registered manager about their requests. The staff encourage and support the children to contribute to meetings that are about them and reviews of their care. This means that their voice is heard, and they are actively involved in decision-making about their lives.

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outstanding

Online safety is taken seriously. All staff have completed training. They speak to children about the risks associated with accessing the internet. This helps staff to safeguard children from online risks. The registered manager and staff are adaptable, enuring that restrictions with online devices are age appropriate. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager is inspirational. He leads by example and models exceptional practice. He is ambitious and dedicated to the progression of the children and staff. He ensures that staff practice is aligned with this ethos, and as a result, children make excellent progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager is persistent in advocating for children and remains child focused. For example, he strongly advocated for one child whose wish was to remain living at the home. This ensured the child received consistent care that helped them to continue to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager uses research to develop the staff team. Discussions in team meetings help staff to collectively think about how research can be used to improve the care for the children. For example, alongside regular discussions with the in- house clinician, reflection on research has increased the staff’s understanding of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Time to focus on practice enhances the quality of care the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager pays attention to detail. He understands each child’s needs and models healthy parenting. This helps staff to understand the registered manager’s expectation that each child should consistently receive high-quality care. This also supports positive relationships between children and their family members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

Staff say that the registered manager is committed, supportive and has a vision that works in the best interests of the children. The staff team is cohesive, stable and devoted to the children. The registered manager and staff remain attuned to children’s needs. When the use of agency workers is unavoidable, the registered manager uses the same staff to provide familiarity for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that staff benefit from regular supervision with staff. Reflective practice is at the core of what they do. Before a child moves in, the home’s model of care is explored with staff to ensure they have the skills needed to support the child. They also consider in detail any diagnosis and seek guidance from the in- house clinician. This helps them to reflect, change and adapt their practice to meet the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that staff have a thorough induction. They prioritise staff investing in their relationships with children. Staff spend quality time getting to know children above all else. This helps staff to form trusting relationships with them. Children view staff as family. This helps them to feel safe and a sense of belonging. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 6 The registered manager’s monitoring systems are excellent. He thrives on constructive feedback, which helps him to strive for continuous improvement. Feedback is routinely sought from children and professionals, including after children leave the home. Feedback is used to aid reflection and supports ongoing improvement to practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and registered managers: outstanding

There are no requirements or recommendations.

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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: 1277734 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, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Inspector

Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277734 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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