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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation that operates several registered children’s homes. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2018.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Good 14/06/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 13/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in this home. This is because staff work hard to ensure that they provide only the best possible care. There is good, personalised care because staff know the children well. Clear plans are in place, which helps staff to support children’s progress. Children have good experiences that lead to positive progress. For example, one child has grown in their confidence, independence and maturity. Another child has improved in their ability to manage their emotions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with a range of professionals to support positive outcomes for children. Professionals report good relationships with the staff. They use terms such as ‘excellent’ and ‘seamless’ to describe communication with the home. The relationships that staff have with the children are particularly strong. Staff continue to build a trusting relationship with a child who has struggled to settle in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work well together to encourage children’s sense of belonging. There is a clear commitment to the children. The children know and feel that they receive good support from staff. They appreciate the opportunities to make the house their home for the time that they live there. The manager and staff are diligent in their work with the children. They do not give up. They work together to stabilise children, ensuring that they get the best from living at this home. This also helps children to see that the staff care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff show commitment to ensuring that every area of children’s lives is well managed. This includes children’s health, education, emotional and social well-being. For example, staff worked effectively with health professionals to support a child to overcome their difficulties with sleep. Additionally, staff supported the child to make significant progress in managing peer relationships. Staff also ensure that children have access to specialist services. For instance, one child receives input from an orthodontist and another receives support from child mental health services.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s education well. Staff work closely with children’s schools to ensure that they know children’s needs and that the children make progress. One child continues to make progress with their school attendance, which had previously been very low. There is consistent communication between staff and the school about this child. As a result, this child can see the commitment of those around him to his education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a range of opportunities to express their views, wishes and feelings. This is achieved through children’s requests rather than through house meetings. This is because children view house meetings as institutional, which does not reflect ‘real’ family life. Staff value children’s views and take action to address requests. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 4 Staff support children to have time with their families. Staff travel significant distances to ensure that this happens. Because of this, children know that staff understand the importance of their time with family. This also helps to promote children’s identities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in all areas of their lives. Because of this, children have good and varied experiences at this home. Staff provide group activities, while also supporting children to have their own interests. Children attend sports activities. One child attends the Sea Cadets and another cycles and has an interest in photography. They go on holiday. Children experience a warm and nurturing environment.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are welcomed when they are new to the home. They consult with children already living at the home and prepare them for a new child’s arrival. Before a child moves in, staff visit them as often as possible, and the child visits the home. This leads to children experiencing positive moves into and from the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good preparation for children’s futures. One child is doing more for themselves. They arrange their own health appointments, travel independently, budget and cook for themselves. Staff have regular discussions with the child and professionals about the child’s plans for moving on.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. When concerns arise, they take appropriate action to ensure that children get the support that they need to stay safe. The staff work effectively with children to help them understand risk and how to stay safe. This includes keeping safe online.

p.4

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

Detailed risk management plans are in place that are specific to each child. Staff understand risks and the management of them is effective. Children are at the centre of the management of risk. The staff give children leverage to take risks and learn from them, while also ensuring that they are safe. The positive relationships between staff and children help the children to feel safe.

p.4

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

There is a strong response to children who go missing from the home. Staff respond effectively to a child who goes missing from home regularly or who is away from the home on unauthorised absence episodes. There are good processes is in place to increase the safety of this child. There is a consistent response.

p.4

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

Clear and consistent boundaries are in place. Because of this, children know what staff expect of them. Positive behaviour plans help to support staff practice, and staff know these plans well. All staff have received specialist training to manage behaviours that challenge. Staff know how to use physical interventions as they have received training. However, these interventions are rarely used. Staff use alternative approaches to manage behaviour and help children to feel safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 5 There are good safeguarding arrangements in place that help to protect children. Staff know how to respond should concerns be raised about children or other staff members.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A good and effective leadership and management team is in place. It has high expectations for what children can achieve. Leaders and managers provide a staff team that can promote and enable these achievements. Leaders and managers are ambitious for the progress that children make. There is a good standard of care provided to all children. Leaders and managers ensure that the quality of care is good and encourages the children’s continued development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Processes are in place to ensure that leaders and managers know the progress that children make. These processes help them to understand children’s needs. The manager acts to ensure that children receive what they need to help them make progress. The manager makes representations to education professionals to ensure that children have a school place. If a child is excluded, the manager ensures that the school provides work for the child. The manager also ensures that the child’s exclusion time reflects the school day. This ensures that the child does not fall behind.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are effective in their management of staff. They provide a supportive environment for staff, which enables staff to develop their practice. Staff receive consistent supervision that meets their professional development needs. Leaders and managers know how to identify areas for further staff development. However, they have not ensured the quality of information storage. This means that staff and anyone who needs to view records struggle to find the information that they need. This is a missed opportunity to showcase the quality of their documentation.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers promote a warm and nurturing environment for children. Regular consultations with a psychotherapist help to support the work that staff do with the children. In addition, staff enjoy the fortnightly sessions with the psychotherapist, which help their development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers show a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. The ethos of the home means that children can speak openly about their identity. They can be themselves and explore who they are. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

p.6

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: 1276442 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 1AP

p.7

Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276442 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8