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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 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 and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children currently live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

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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: 2589621 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Good 26/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well and provide them with individualised care. Staff take time to speak to children and listen to their views. This helps staff provide individualised care for children. As a result, children make progress in all areas of their lives. Observations of children with staff are positive. Children were observed spending time with staff, chatting and laughing together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend education, where they are making progress. Staff have positive relationships with educational professionals. This helps children to make progress in line with their individual needs. Staff promote children’s ambitions and encourage them to think about their future plans. An educational professional was positive about the support staff provide for one child. This helps the child to understand the importance of education and the child has started to engage with school after a period of non-attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The support that staff provide children in relation to their health needs is variable. For one child, the consistent support and reassurances provided by staff have encouraged the child to have dental treatment they previously refused. However, for another child, the registered manager and staff have not identified relevant support for a specific health need. As a result, there is a delay in the registered manager taking sufficient action to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. Staff encourage children to take age-appropriate risks in line with their independence plans. As a result, one child has started to use public transport to go to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on from the home into a semi- independent placement. This was an unplanned move, although in line with the child’s wishes and feelings. The registered manager and staff worked hard to ensure that this child experienced a positive ending to their time living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have made improvements to the home environment. The home is comfortable and well maintained. Children’s bedrooms are personalised.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff know how best to support children. As a result, children’s risks have reduced.

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

Children are aware of plans in place to protect them. They know what staff do to keep them safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 4 Children’s risk assessments are not up to date and do not include all relevant information. This could impact on staff safeguarding practices. However, staff know how to keep children safe in practice because they understand how to manage children’s vulnerabilities.

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

When children are missing from home, staff know what to do and communicate with relevant safeguarding professionals and children’s families. This ensures that children return home safely.

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

When children make allegations, leaders and managers respond quickly and efficiently. The manager takes immediate action to safeguard the child and informs relevant professionals.

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

Staff implement restorative consequences. The registered manager reviews and reflects on the consequences that staff implement. This practice helps to ensure that consequences are proportionate and effective.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. Leaders and managers take steps to assure themselves that staff are safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a suitably qualified registered manager in post. However, she recently resigned from her post, and she plans to begin a post at another organisation. She knows the children well and has good relationships with them. This includes a child who has recently left the home. The registered manager continued to offer guidance to support this child in their new home. This demonstrates her caring and nurturing approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has strong relationships with children’s families. For one child, the support the manager offers to their family has helped the child to spend increased time with their siblings and in their family home. This helps the child to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff told the inspector that the registered manager has created a positive and supportive environment. Staff say that they receive supervision that helps them in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not consistently reflect children’s needs. Children’s plans do not include the registered manager’s review and evaluation. This is a missed opportunity to continually improve the quality of care that staff provide for children to ensure that children can achieve their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not escalate concerns effectively, for example in relation to children’s local authority’s care plans. This means that leaders, managers and staff do not have up-to-date information in relation to children. This could impact on staff’s ability to meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 5 There are two vacancies within the staff team. However, leaders and managers ensure that any gaps in rosters are covered by staff from within the organisation. This helps to ensure that children receive care from a consistent staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager responds to recommendations from external reviews. However, this has not helped the registered manager to make improvements to her overall monitoring and review systems. The registered manager recognises that this is a shortfall in her practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that they address children’s health needs in a timely manner. 2 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that children’s records are updated and signed by staff. 2 May 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— 2 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 7 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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure there is effective management oversight of children’s care.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that placing authorities are consistently challenged when there are delays in providing relevant plans for children to contribute to effective care planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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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: 2589621 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: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited, Venture House, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Gemma Waddington

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Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2589621 9 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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