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

Inspection report children's home for 2494962 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.

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Information about this children's home

It is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Two children are currently being cared for in this home. Both spoke with the inspectors during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 6 September 2024.

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Information about this children's home

Inspection dates: The inspection started on 14 and 15 October 2024. Another inspector returned on 14 and 15 January 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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

Date of last inspection: 17 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home for 2494962 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2023 Full Outstanding 14/02/2023 Full Outstanding 09/03/2022 Full Good 05/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children's home for 2494962 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the adults that care for them. Staff prioritise their time with children and get to know them well. Children who have difficulties and establishing relationships have been able to build positive links with staff. Children are settled and happy in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's relationships with each other have been mixed. However, staff encourage positive relationships and address disagreements between children swiftly. Staff encourage children to spend time together, such as by taking them on holiday to Cornwall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have appropriate school places. Staff liaise closely with school staff to support children when they are struggling in school. Staff work to encourage children attend school. Children have high or increasing attendance in their respective settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are known and met. When children are reluctant to attend their health appointments, staff are creative and involve trusted adults to assist them. Staff have created a home gym at the children's request but the gym requires heating so the children can use this in winter months. One child is part of a local football club. Staff encourage the children to live healthy lifestyles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, tidy and well furnished. The home sustained damage for a period and one of the communal areas still requires maintenance. Children's bedrooms are spacious, and staff support them to personalise them with furnishings and technology that reflects their interests and needs. Children feel comfortable in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff get feedback from the children about the home regularly. Staff respond to the children's views and implement their ideas. Staff also collate views that are gathered organically during daily interactions, so that these can also be responded to. Children have access to independent advocacy. Children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed into the home warmly. Managers and leaders make timely decisions in children's best interests when children cannot remain in the home. Staff celebrate children's time in the home before they leave so they can have a positive ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children well for moving onto independence. Staff make plans to ensure children have the skills for adulthood and start teaching them in a timely way. Children are supported throughout their transition out of the home and staff visit them once they have moved. Staff have voluntarily joined formal support structures for one child who left the home and had limited support. These staff continue to keep in contact with the child. Inspection report children's home for 2494962 4 Staff support children to spend time with people that are important to them. This enables them to maintain their relationships and identity. When children want to spend more time with their families, staff advocate for them to do so. Since the last inspection both children in the home have spent increasing amounts of time with their families, which has led to one child's plan being one of moving back to the care of their parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build positive relationships with children's families. They ensure families are kept up to date about their child. One parent is included within the safeguarding plans for their child, which has successfully reduced risk. A professional said that the relationship between staff and a parent has allowed them to feel 'empowered, included and respected'.

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

Children identify staff as adults they can trust. Children approach staff with their concerns. On one occasion, children reported being sent a link to inappropriate material online to staff, which enabled staff to safeguard the children and teach them about risk. Children feel safe in their home.

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

Staff communicate clearly as a team and maintain consistent boundaries in the home. The environment is predictable for children, allowing them to feel secure.

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

Staff understand the risks to children and how to respond. Children have indivdual risk assessments that contain clear strategies for staff to follow. The risk assessments are updated regularly. Risks to the children in the home have recently reduced and staff have managed periods of increased risk well.

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

Staff completed detailed reports of any incidents. There is prompt and reflective management oversight. The direct work completed after incidents is timely, sensitive and fully explores a child's emotional state and the reasons for an incident.

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

Staff recognise when children are in crisis and require additional support. Managers and leaders provide additional staff when necessary to ensure that children are safeguarded, and their wellbeing is promoted.

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

Managers and leaders undertake assessments of children's needs before they move in. These assessments carefully consider the needs of the other children in the home and how staff can meet all children's needs. When further information is required, managers and leaders ensure that they explore this with the placing authority to ensure decisions are made on robust information.

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

Children rarely make complaints about the home. When they do, staff explore the concerns and respond promptly. They ensure that any issues are resolved to promote positive relationships between the children. Children know how to use the complaints process. Inspection report children's home for 2494962 5 When allegations are made about staff, managers usually respond quickly to ensure the safety of children and explore concerns thoroughly. One allegation was not responded to within the required timeframes; however, this was recognised by the responsible individual and there was swift action to rectify this. Children's concerns are taken seriously and responded to appropriately.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. Staff know children's individual missing plans and what to do in the event a child goes missing. Staff search for children and contact their associates to locate them quickly. Staff use learning from previous episodes to minimise future risk.

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

Staff have called the police to the home within the inspection period. However, this has been used as a last resort and to safeguard children and staff. Staff have not called the police to the home recently.

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

Child are held by staff when it is necessary for their safety and wellbeing. Staff use their skills to try and avoid holding children, in line with children’s plans. Records are detailed and managers consider staff practice thoroughly. Managers speak to the child and staff following the hold to gain their views and understand any underlying reasons. Managers create actions in relation to the underlying reasons to try and reduce the risk of future holds.

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

Staff rarely use formal consequences. When they do, they are fair and related to the behaviour. Staff use the opportunity to teach children about the consequences of their behaviour on themselves and others. Children can earn back rewards when they have lost them.

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

Staff use door alarms in the home when this is necessary to safeguard children. The use of door alarms is regularly reviewed, and door alarms are added or removed with the agreement of placing authorities when they are not required. This prevents unnecessary intrusion of children’s privacy.

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

The property and location of the home are suitable for ensuring that children are safe. Regular checks are undertaken by competent professionals and any recommended actions are promptly executed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has joined the home in the last inspection period. The manager has developed excellent relationships with children and staff. Children approach the manager to ask questions and share details of their day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel the manager is a positive role model and committed to the children and home. Staff said the manager is supportive of them and their individual needs, as well as Inspection report children's home for 2494962 6 supporting them emotionally in challenging times. Staff are motivated to provide the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A considerable proportion of staff are new to the home. The manager has staggered appointments to the home and has managed change well. As a result, children have not been unduly unsettled. The manager has recruited staff purposefully to ensure a balance of genders and diversity in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Within the inspection period, there has been a high use of agency staff, with different adults attending the home. The agency use was to support the needs of the children when higher staffing ratios were required. Agency staff usage has reduced by a significant amount in recent months. Safer recruitment practices have been followed for both permanent and agency staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual’s oversight of the home is thorough. The manager completes regular audits in the home, which are also completed by another manager within the organisation periodically. An independent person attends the home monthly. Therefore, reviews of staff practice are robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete all training offered. The induction process for new staff is thorough. Staff feel prepared for their role. Managers and leaders’ source additional training for staff when specific needs arise, such as training in bereavement and autism.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular reflective supervision. Within supervision, managers and leaders seek the views of staff about the home. The manager uses these ideas to improve the service. Staff have timely appraisals that focus on their practice and development needs. Staff attend regular team meetings where they reflect on practice as a group, sometimes with the support of the clinical lead attached to the home. Staff are well supported to meet the needs of the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff communicate well with other professionals and agencies. They respectfully challenge when services are not meeting the needs of the children, in a way that maintains positive working relationships. This assists children to get the best possible joined-up care. Inspection report children's home for 2494962 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive. Many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. Specifically, that maintenance is completed quickly in the home and that the necessary changes are made to the gym so the children can use it. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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 children's home for 2494962 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: Venture House, Prospect Business Park, 12 Prospect Park, Longford Road, Cannock WS11 0LG

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Oliver Scrimshaw

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Inspectors

Stella Henderson, Social Care Inspector Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home for 2494962 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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