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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 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 registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager at the home. The interim manager was present during the first day of the inspection and a registered manager from another home was present during the second day.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector spent time with two of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Good 22/03/2023 Full Good 16/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 3

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improvement to be good

Children have made progress in some areas since the last inspection. However, shortfalls in management oversight and how well children are helped and protected have negatively affected children’s overall experiences in the home.

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improvement to be good

The home has areas that are clean, tidy and welcoming. Two of the children’s bedrooms are well presented and decorated to their choice. However, other areas, both inside and outside the home, need maintenance or cleaning. For example, one child’s bedroom needs maintenance, the children’s shower room needs redecoration, and the exterior of the home is in need of cleaning. These areas do not create a nurturing, homely environment for children. Leaders advised that they are aware of these issues and will be working to address them in the near future.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints and are supported by staff to do so. However, records of complaints are inconsistently maintained, and it is unclear how children’s concerns are investigated and resolved. This shortfall does not demonstrate how learning from complaints is used to improve children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff support and encourage children to attend school. They work with external professionals to remove barriers to children attending education. As a result, children attend school regularly and are making progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the children well and take pride in their achievements. Staff support children to take part in different activities that they enjoy. For example, one child is currently playing football with a local team, and another regularly attends cub scouts, which they enjoy. Children say that they are happy living in the home and have trusted and secure relationships with the adults who are looking after them.

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improvement to be good

Moves from the home are well planned. When one child left the home, staff promoted a positive ending for them. They made a child-friendly plan, gave the child a gift of a new bicycle and supported them to move to their new home.

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improvement to be good

The use of physical intervention is proportionate and used as a last resort. Incident records identify that staff try to help children to calm before a hold is used. However, management oversight is poor and does not evidence professional curiosity or identify or address shortfalls with staff practice. As a result, opportunities to identify learning and improve practice have been missed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 4 Staff use positive rewards and incentives to promote good behaviour. Consequences are implemented to help children reflect on and learn from their behaviour. However, there are inconsistencies in the recording of consequences and there is no management oversight of how consequences are used by staff. This lack of oversight limits the manager’s ability to ensure that the consequences being used are appropriate.

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improvement to be good

Leaders recently reinvestigated an allegation concerning a former member of staff. The outcome of this investigation highlighted shortfalls in staff’s understanding of whistle- blowing procedures and raising concerns with leaders. This indicates a need to strengthen the culture of openness and reinforce staff’s confidence in speaking out about safeguarding and practice-related issues.

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improvement to be good

There are effective systems in place to keep children safe online. Staff complete regular checks on children’s devices to identify potential safeguarding concerns. When concerns are identified, staff respond appropriately by holding sensitive and meaningful discussions with children, promoting safe and informed internet use.

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improvement to be good

When children leave the home in an unplanned way, staff follow guidance in children’s care plans, provide reassurance to the children and encourage them to return home. Children are supported to settle back into the home. Staff’s actions reassure children that staff care about them and want them to be safe.

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

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left and the deputy manager has stepped into the role of interim manager. She is child centred and aspirational for the children and staff. Changes in the management team have presented challenges that have resulted in shortfalls in the management of the home.

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

There are shortfalls in the manager’s oversight of children’s plans and records. Staff are not consistent in updating records following incidents and complaints or implementing consequences. This does not provide assurance that staff are fully aware of children’s current vulnerabilities or behaviours and limits the manager’s ability to review the effectiveness of the strategies being used to support children.

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

Staff enjoy working in the home. They are enthusiastic about their roles and say that they feel supported by the interim manager and interim deputy manager. Supervision takes place regularly and is reflective. Team meetings take place regularly and are periodically supported by a company-employed psychologist. This provides staff with additional opportunities to reflect on their practice and improve children’s care experiences.

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

Staff are offered appropriate training that is specific to the needs of the children living in the home. However, it is not clear how the monitoring of training is being conducted by leaders and managers. For example, managers failed to identify that there are some staff who have not completed the organisation’s mandatory training within the required timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 5 When there is a need to use agency staff to cover leave or sickness, the manager utilises agency staff who are familiar to the children and the home. This promotes consistency of care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons should ensure that the home’s environment is well maintained, and that work is undertaken to repair damage to areas of the home. 14 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that follow up discussions after a restraint are carried out by an independent member of staff and there is clear management oversight following the use of intervention and when children have received sanctions. 14 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 7 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff understanding the home’s whistle-blowing policy and acting accordingly. 14 September 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

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

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) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring the robust monitoring of children’s records and that monitoring systems are in place, used regularly and recorded. 14 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 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: 2586943 9

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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: C/O DWF Company Secretarial Services Limited, 1 Scott Place 2 Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3AA

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Inspector

Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2586943 10 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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