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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 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

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. All of the children were spoken to.

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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: 2509452 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2024 Full Good 06/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/02/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a consistent staff team that invests time in getting to know them. As a result, trusting relationships are established, which helps children feel safe and secure. This emotional stability supports positive outcomes for children in areas such as social development and education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is beautifully decorated and provides a homely environment for children. Since the last inspection, the registered manager has taken steps to improve the internal and external areas of the home. However, two of the children’s bedrooms were observed to be untidy and disorganised. A staff member said they were unclear about what action should be taken when children do not keep their bedrooms clean. This indicates a lack of consistency and guidance around promoting children taking responsibility for their personal space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with people that are important to them. Staff communicate regularly with family members to ensure that they are aware of children’s progress in the home. A parent spoke positively about working in partnership with the staff, particularly around their child’s routine and behavioural expectations. They valued this joint approach that ensures that children receive care continuity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make measured progress in their education. Staff speak to children about the importance of education and support them to develop social skills. Consequently, one child’s school attendance has improved since moving to the home. Another child, who attends a special provision and mainstream school, has increased their attendance at their mainstream education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their social skills in a nurturing way. Staff work in partnership with placing authorities to help children access specialist support to address issues of social anxiety. Friends of the children are welcomed into the home and are invited to days out organised by the staff team. The social worker for one child said, ‘The staff are invested in [name of the child]. The level of support they have offered has enabled [name of the child] to progress from someone with a high level of social anxiety to someone who is now able to access social situations and experiences.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children confirm that they know how to make a complaint. Records show that complaints are taken seriously and investigated appropriately and children are informed of the outcomes. This shows that children’s views are valued and responded to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views about their day-to-day care are listened to and taken seriously. Children confirm that staff respond to their requests, such as for new bedroom Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 4 furniture and to go on holiday. When requests cannot be met, staff explain the reasons, ensuring that children feel respected and included in decision-making.

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

Safeguarding incidents are rare. When they do occur, staff demonstrate that they understand their roles and responsibilities to protect children. Where additional support to safeguard children is identified, staff ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to reduce the risk of further harm. This includes consultation with the provider’s therapist to consider alternative strategies to manage risky behaviours.

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

Children’s safety plans reflect their current risks and outline strategies to manage these effectively. Staff spoken to have a good understanding of each child’s individual risks and the action required to keep them safe. This practice is consistent with the information recorded in children’s plans.

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

The registered manager ensures that allegations are responded to appropriately. Relevant safeguarding professionals are notified, to provide independent oversight. A thorough investigation takes place, and any staff development needs are addressed to improve safeguarding practice.

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

There is an effective response when children go missing from home. Staff search for children and work closely with external partners, including the police, to support their swift and safe return. However, independent return home interviews are not consistently taking place. The registered manager reported that this is due to some placing authorities not recognising a child as missing unless the police acknowledge this. This limits opportunities to fully understand and reduce risks associated with missing-from-home incidents.

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

Leaders and managers use safer recruitment processes to ensure that children are cared for by people who are unlikely to cause them harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about developing the staff team to ensure that it is well equipped to support children to achieve positive outcomes. He understands the team’s strengths and has a clear vision for the team and its continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to several support systems that enable them to carry out their role effectively. They receive regular practice-related supervision and benefit from a training programme that helps them to meet children’s identified needs. Furthermore, new staff are supported through a well-planned induction and benefit from guidance given by more-experienced colleagues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 5 The registered manager uses team meetings effectively to reflect on incidents and share good practice. These meetings promote a culture of openness, reflection and continuous learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not been able to demonstrate that a child’s placing authority was consulted regarding decisions made in relation to the child’s sexual health and use of contraception. This means that significant decisions about the child have been made without the appropriate consents from those that are responsible for the child’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are monitoring systems in place that generally support effective oversight of the home. However, inaccuracies in some of the children’s placing authority documents were only identified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not used their knowledge and understanding of the importance of independent return home interviews to challenge placing authorities effectively when these interviews have not been offered. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that inaccuracies in children’s plans are identified and immediately brought to the attention of the child’s placing authority.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the placing authority is consulted before decisions are made around a child accessing contraception.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that where appropriate, and based on statutory guidance, they challenge placing authorities who refuse to offer independent return home interviews to children following missing-from-home incidents. 7 November

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are clear expectations for children around cleaning their bedrooms. Where children are reluctant to do this, the registered manager should consider what they can do to encourage children to take responsibility for their personal space. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 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 for children’s home: 2509452 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: C/O DWF Company Secretarial Services Limited, 1 Scott Place 2 Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3AA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Gemma Waddington

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509452 9 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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