Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children‟s Services (2) Limited in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC398481 Inspection date 29/06/2011 Inspector Trevor Hall Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 03/03/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This home is part of part of a range of children's services within a private care organisation. The home is registered to offer care and accommodation to young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The accommodation is a detached house in a semi rural area with individual bedrooms for all of the young people and sufficient bathrooms. Communal areas include two large lounges, a dining room, kitchen and conservatory. There is office space for the staff team and manager. The home has a large enclosed garden and ample off road car parking.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

This is an outstanding home. Young people are safe and feel safe. The staff are effective because young people receive well planned care, tailored to their individual needs. Young people are encouraged to take an active role in their own care and enjoy living at the home. The home is good in ensuring that young people are not only kept safe, but also develop the knowledge and confidence to help keep themselves safe.

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Overall effectiveness

Excellent liaison with external agencies ensures that young people receive good levels of support in all aspects of their lives. Good links have been developed between the home and the educational establishments attended by young people. Young people are taught to respect others and to strive to fulfil their individual potential both in their educational and their personal development. The home strongly promotes positive outcomes for all young people. All staff are well trained and experienced to meet the diverse needs of young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people value the care they receive highly. This extends to viewing the staff as a major strength within the home. There is a wonderful relationship between young people and staff that is trusting and sincere. Records and documentation are well maintained and contribute well to the ongoing care and support young people receive. The home has an experienced and well qualified manager, who leads by example. She is ably supported by motivated and hard working staff, who are dedicated to achieving the best possible outcomes for the young people in their care.

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Overall effectiveness

There are no statutory requirements or recommendations as a result of this inspection.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding . Young people make outstanding progress in this service. They thrive in a home that offers structure through a clear behaviour management system that encourages progress. This encourages young people to make positive choices and to use every opportunity to develop and reach their potential.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Care plans have been developed that recognise young people's individuality and encourage the celebration of difference. Young people are assisted to develop a healthy sense of self and to recognise the rights and feelings of others. This enables them to more easily engage with the wider community. The home actively acknowledges racial, religious, gender and other differences and encourages open discussion and learning on such issues. The home offers young people a wide range of activities and encourages them to pursue their own particular interests. This gives the young people the opportunity to have new experiences and learn new skills.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff guide and encourage young people in their education with good results. Personal education plans include realistic targets, which young people understand and feel they can achieve. Strong links have been forged between the home, the proprietors own education unit and local schools. Young people are rightly proud of their achievements in education and they acknowledge that staff encourage their regular attendance and offer practical support.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are actively involved in engaging with young people about a range of health- related issues, which results in consistent improvements to health and fitness. Young people are encouraged to take appropriate responsibility for their own health needs and are taught how to make informed decisions about their life style. Young people's good health and well-being is successfully promoted because staff are knowledgeable and aware of each individual young person's needs. Every young person has a fully completed health care plan that includes all of the required information as part of their wider placement plan.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are appropriately supported to maintain contact with their families in line with arrangements detailed within their care plans. Young people are supported by staff wherever necessary during family visits. Placement plans and supportive case file records make explicit the authorised arrangements for contact between each young person, their family, friends and their social workers. The home has adequate space to enable visitors to the home to see young people with an appropriate degree of privacy, without impacting unreasonably on the other young people’s experience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

It is clear from records that all young people have made considerable progress since their admission. School attendance and achievement have both improved and unauthorised absence has reduced considerably. Staff encourage progress by celebrating achievement however small and by encouraging young people to develop a personal pride in themselves, each other and the home. Young people enjoy an outstanding level of care which is tailored to their individual needs and is delivered by a caring, dedicated and experienced staff team. Young people are clear that staff listen to them, respect their views and work hard to ensure that issues are fully explained. Young people live in a homely environment that is well maintained, appropriately furnished and decorated. The home is safe and secure as a result of the effective management of health and safety. This home provides each young person with a safe nurturing environment, where they are supported to achieve. The home is

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Outcomes for children and young people

staffed by a team of dedicated care staff who are extremely well lead, which enables young people to achieve outstanding outcomes, irrespective of their initial starting point.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding . Young people clearly benefit from the security and structure that exists within this home. The experienced and extremely competent staff team have created a homely nurturing environment that has well defined boundaries. These boundaries are consistent and help to give young people a feeling of security without denying each young person's individuality. Staff and young people genuinely enjoy good relationships based upon mutual respect and positive regard. These positive relationships enable young people to feel safe in the staff’s care and also helps them to improve poor self-image and build up emotional resilience.

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Quality of care

Young people are positive about the care they receive and state 'staff here really do care.’ Staff provide the right balance between nurturing and enabling young people to develop appropriate self reliance. Care planning documentation and risk assessments are excellent, which ensures that staff have good up to date information about the young people in their care. The individual needs of the young people including cultural, religious, language and racial needs are identified and addressed. In addition, all young people have regularly meetings with their key worker to discuss their recent progress and any issues of concern. Young people commented that staff make the effort to try to explain why, when they are not able to do what they the young person may want. As a result, young people feel involved and consulted about all aspects of their lives and feel they are given every opportunity to contribute to their own care plans. Staff actively seek young people's

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Quality of care

views at both an individual and group level and respond in a way that makes the young people believe that their opinions are truly valued.

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Quality of care

Young people are successfully encouraged to express their feelings and emotions without infringing the rights of others. Young people are helped to understand the consequences of their actions because of the home’s ethos to promote positive behaviours.

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Quality of care

Staff place great importance on young people’s education and are proactive and consistent in supporting young people's achievement. They successfully engage with schools and as a result attendance is excellent. This helps young people to value the achievements they make and to try to achieve to the best of their ability.

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Quality of care

Young people live in a home that is appropriately located, designed and maintained. Although the home is rural in its location the company have more then compensated for this with the excellent level of transport provision. This means that young people have convenient transport for activities, shopping and home visits.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. The home has a very comprehensive set of individualised assessments of risk for each young person in residence. These cover aspects of their potential behaviour, the environment and the activities they wish to undertake. Risk assessments are used positively, to identify potential risks and to provide effective strategies to help to minimise these. These assessments are designed to enable young people to enjoy new experiences and to expand their horizons safely, rather than as a means of rejecting new ideas or stifling initiative.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a good range of detailed policies and procedures in place covering aspects such as anti-bullying, complaints, safeguarding and behaviour management. These policies are well known to staff and are effectively implemented. Staff receive comprehensive training with regular updates in all these areas, which enables them to protect young people from the risk of harm and abuse. The regular and effective monitoring of the home's records and staff practice contribute to ensuring that young people receive safe care in line with their individual needs.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Each young person has a behaviour management plan that is focused on the individual and gives clear guidance to staff about managing challenging or anti-social behaviours. The use of sanctions is fair and consistent. Staff work hard, guided by other relevant professionals, to enable young people to moderate and improve their behaviour. There is an emphasis on recognising and rewarding positive behaviours, rather than purely punishing those behaviours identified as being unacceptable. This enables young people to develop more socially acceptable behaviour and better prepares them to interact more positively with the wider community. Staff ensure that young people understand that the boundaries that are in place are there to ensure their safety. Young people are invited to sign all records relating to the use of sanctions, which helps them develop understanding and responsibility..

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff use physical interventions rarely and only as a last resort to ensure the safety of all. When incidents do take place they are comprehensively recorded and each occasion is monitored by the manager, who ensures that the intervention was necessary and was applied correctly. She also ensures that young people are aware of their right to complain, receive any medical attention if required or requested and that social workers and where appropriate, parents are informed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has a vigorous health and safety regime, which ensures that all fire precautions, drills and equipment servicing is conducted routinely, consistently and within timescales set by the relevant regulations. High staffing levels further help to keep young people safe and reduce any risk of harm.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding . Young people, their families and placing authorities receive good information about the services offered by the home, through a clear Statement of Purpose and young person's guide. The home's Statement of Purpose includes all information required by regulation and accurately reflects the practice witnessed in the home and the home's conditions of registration.

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Leadership and management

The home's Registered Manager is well qualified, very experienced and provides excellent leadership and support to the staff group. Good communication between staff ensures that each young person's individual needs are consistently met. Young people are invited to take an active part in the running of the home and they are encouraged to make their views known. Staff ensure that a safe, secure and nurturing environment is maintained which assists young people to make real progress and to fulfil their individual potential.

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Leadership and management

Staff receive regular training and professional supervision which helps keep the care provided consistent and assists staff to be clear about their individual roles and responsibilities. Staff training and development is recognised as important and staff receive a comprehensive range of training to enable them to meet the diverse needs of the young people. The majority of the staff team are very experienced care workers that are well qualified and highly motivated; this enables young people to enjoy the benefits of living in an effectively managed home. Professional staff development is reviewed regularly and a comprehensive induction procedure is followed when introducing new staff into the home. Staffing levels are good, enabling young people to receive high levels of staff interaction and attention. Staffing levels are based on the assessed needs of the young people and are flexible to ensure that levels can be increased if necessary.

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Leadership and management

Staff are aware of their responsibilities in respect of notifying appropriate authorities of significant events relating to the protection of young people living in the home. Clear system's have been established to enable this to happen effectively.

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Leadership and management

The manager has established good internal quality assurance monitoring systems. It is clear that she checks all reporting systems regularly and comments if any record fails to meet either the home's policies, procedures and regulations. All such issues are clearly dealt with, either through staff supervision, or by additional staff training. Regular internal monitoring reports are produced which help the home to develop its practice and ensure that young people are receiving the care and support they need.

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Leadership and management

Monthly regulation 33 visits to the home are carried out by a representative of the company. These visits generate reports that are shared with Ofsted. These reports are comprehensive and give an accurate description of the functioning of the service and compliment the internal monitoring systems to ensure that young people receive the care they need.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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