Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 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 privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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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Information about this children’s home

The manager was present during the inspection. He registered with Ofsted in October 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 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: 29 October 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: 1276216 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2024 Full Good 05/12/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 08/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy strong relationships with the adults who care for them. They trust staff to keep them safe when they feel upset and overwhelmed. Children’s social workers agree that their children have been safer since living at the home. The manager has good oversight of the home, and staff say that they feel well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are proud of the home. They work hard to make it welcoming and cosy for the children. There are photos of the children situated all around the home. This creates a sense of permanence and belonging that contributes to children feeling secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well at school. Staff understand the importance of consistently promoting opportunities for children to learn both informally and formally. They have supported both children to re-engage with their education. As a result, both children are receiving home tutoring and are making progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work creatively to capture children’s views, wishes and feelings well. One professional told the inspector, ‘The way they talk to [name of child] is therapeutic and mature; the child appreciates the fact that they are included within decisions made about them.’ As a result, children feel valued, and they grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain meaningful and safe relationships with their families and people who are important to them. Staff assess and review this time and children’s free time in partnership with the children and their social workers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, one child has moved into the home. The manager planned this move well and in line with the child’s wishes. The manager also analysed the complexity of both children’s needs as part of this move into the home effectively.

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

Children feel safe. They can identify a member of staff who they could talk with if they felt scared or anxious.

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

Staff confidently understand children’s strengths and vulnerabilities. One child’s social worker said staff ‘have a good understanding of [name of child] and show empathy, understanding and good judgement. Because of this, there is evidence of progress and incidents of concern are reducing.’

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

Risk assessments are clear and updated regularly. Staff talk sensitively to children about what worries them. They do this in an informal manner, which helps the Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 4 children to relax and engage meaningfully with the discussions. As a result, children are beginning to understand how to keep themselves safer as they get older.

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

Staff know the children well. They understand what will trigger children’s anxiety and use therapeutic techniques to de-escalate and calm children when their feelings become overwhelming. As a result, staff rarely have to restrain children. When they do, these restraints are proportionate and well recorded. Children are also supported to reflect through regular debriefs. These help the registered manager and staff to understand the impact on the children and identify any triggers to prevent future occurrences.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff are proactive and curious. They involve children in discussions and plans to help them understand risk and develop strategies to keep themselves safe. As a result, missing-from-home incidents have reduced.

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

The use of consequences is fair and effective. The registered manager and staff focus on implementing more restorative approaches, which allows children to learn and reflect. Children are involved in devising their own plans around positive behaviours and rewards and understand when consequences are implemented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is led by an ambitious manager. He has high aspirations for the children in his care and consistently challenges decisions when they are not made in children’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed good relationships with the children’s social workers. They consistently say that the manager is excellent at communicating with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are trained to understand and respond to the needs of the children. The manager has ensured that staff can access specialist training based on the children’s individual needs. Learning from this training is embedded in practice through team meetings. This helps staff to continue to offer children personalised and sensitive care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from frequent supervision and reflective discussions. Staff feel highly valued and say that the manager’s support encourages them to continually improve to benefit children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a range of effective and meticulous systems in place that help him to oversee the quality of care in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations have been made. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 5

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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: 1276216 6

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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: 17 Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 1AP

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Inspector

Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 7 regulates 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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