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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 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

A private company runs this home. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There are temporary management arrangements in place, but currently the home has no registered manager.

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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: 1256795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2024 Full Good 30/11/2022 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 11/04/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in important areas of their lives because staff are attuned to the children’s needs. Positive relationships mean children are open and honest, and therefore staff understand what is important to the children. Children feel close to staff, and have at least one member of staff who they can talk to when they need help or advice. All three children were spoken with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming with a friendly and nurturing atmosphere and maintained to a good standard. There is an abundance of games and books to play with and photos of the children are dotted around the living room. The children’s rooms are personalised to children’s individual tastes and appropriately decorated for their ages.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children regularly attend school. The staff understand the importance of education and attend meetings with professionals about the progress the children are making. Staff advocate for children if they are unhappy at their school or if the school is not meeting their needs. When children have not been in school for some time, the staff find alternative ways for them to have vocational input and routinely encourage them to participate to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend all their health appointments. When they have struggled to attend appointments due to fear or anxiety, the staff provide emotional support and patience and go at the child’s pace until they are ready to attend. Staff have received comprehensive training and ongoing support from specialist medical professionals to ensure the safe and effective care of a child with complex health needs. This has had positive outcomes on the health and well-being of the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff plan and arrange for children to enjoy meaningful time with their families. This ensures that family time is positive and important relationships are maintained. Children’s family members speak positively about the staff. They feel that children are well looked after. One family member said they ‘couldn’t ask for better staff’ and wanted to ‘thank staff for what a great job they do’.

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

Children know how to make a complaint if they are not happy. The manager takes any complaint seriously and follows procedure to resolve any issues. The manager keeps children involved and up to date throughout the process. This gives children confidence that their voice is valued and heard.

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

Staff respond well to safeguarding incidents and support the safety and well-being of all children involved. The team assesses what is working for each child and support plans are then changed to achieve better outcomes for children when necessary. The staff talk to the children about the dangers of going missing, vaping, bullying, dangers online and Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 4 the use of derogatory language. This provides children with an honest and open forum, where they discuss risks and how to keep safe.

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

The team uses multi-agency working to educate children in response to safeguarding incidents. Specialised professionals visit the children and talk to them about fire safety, dangers of vaping and how to keep themselves safe. This has directly resulted in a reduction of incidents.

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

Staff are proactive when children go missing from home. Staff act quickly and search for children until they are found, and collaborate with professionals to return children home safely. Effective management oversight helps the team consider proactive approaches to reasons behind children going missing. Supportive measures around time with friends has been put in place for a child and this has resulted in a significant reduction in incidents of going missing.

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

Positive behaviour is encouraged through incentives and the use of consequences, helping to support good decision-making. However, the use of consequences for certain behaviours is not consistent or used appropriately. Consequences can be reactive to the presenting behaviour of children and not used as an opportunity to help children learn.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported to reflect on their practice through regular supervision sessions, team meetings and annual appraisals. This ensures that best approaches to children’s behaviours are explored, which increases opportunities to share good practice. When staff have concerns, they are confident in sharing them with leaders and managers. This emphasises the importance of putting the care of the children first.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff development is championed by leaders. For staff who are established and want to progress, they are enrolled on managerial courses, given extra tasks and take part in professional meetings for the children. This promotes staff investment in the home, which endorses better outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals spoken to share no concerns about the quality of care that the children receive. They emphasised the effective communication of the team and how well it keeps the children safe. When there have been concerns around professional decision- making, these have been appropriately escalated and addressed formally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and in line with the organisation’s required training. Additional training has been sourced when needed based on the specific needs of the children. This helps to equip staff with the knowledge and skills they need to carry out their roles effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective. All safeguarding incidents have manager oversight, and monthly audits are completed to ensure there are no shortfalls in the care of the Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 5 children. The monitoring systems contribute to the manager’s ability to develop efficient safeguarding responses to future incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous manager left their position in January 2025 due to internal promotion. The previous manager still maintains oversight, but the temporary arrangements for day-to- day managing of the team in the absence of a registered manager are currently ineffective. Although this has not directly affected the care and progress of the children, it is evident it is beginning to affect the team consistency and staff’s overall morale. There are plans in place to address this issue. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e)) 6 May 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address behaviour are consistent, restorative in nature and help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 7 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: 1256795 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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Inspector

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 9 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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