Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in Hampshire

Unique reference number SC012001 Inspection date 12/06/2012 Inspector Roy Bega Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 07/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

A private organisation owns and manages this home. The home offers residential placements for up to six children of either sex, who are between the ages of eight and 17 years. It specialises in providing therapeutic care for children who have experienced trauma in their lives and display a variety of behavioural problems.

p.3

The inspection judgements and what they mean

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

This is an outstanding service that positively impacts on young people’s lives. It provides a nurturing and supportive environment within which young people feel safe and enjoy positive relationships with staff. Young people make exceptional progress in a number of key areas, notably education attendance and achievement, reducing challenging behaviours and developing self-esteem.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Staff are proactive in addressing the challenges young people present and work effectively in partnership with internal and external agencies to protect and promote their welfare. Education is seen as a priority and staff successfully promote attendance and support young people's educational achievement.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Young people know that their views are taken into account in the day-to-day running of the home as well as their individual care plans. They are consistently rewarded for their individual achievements and personal development.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The staff team is well motivated being directed by a proactive manager. Established systems provide effective monitoring of the home and the welfare of individual young people. The staff group is experienced, competent and work well together being motivated in terms of supervision and on-going training. Together they contribute in providing consistent standards of care to ensure that young people live their lives to the full.

p.3

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make exceptional progress within a caring nurturing environment enhanced by firm, fair and consistent boundaries. This is individually demonstrated through areas such as the reduction of challenging behaviour, a noticeable reduction of becoming absent without authority and the increase of personal confidence and self-esteem. Staff have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the complex individual needs of young people and an outstanding commitment to ensuring they have the best life outcome possible.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy good health and are motivated to take responsibility for their own medical and health needs. The development of self-esteem and understanding about their emotional and mental well-being aids their ability to have fun. They are aware how lifestyle choices can impact on their health; for example, balanced eating, exercise, understanding sexual health, better personal hygiene and the effects of smoking. Young people confirm staff are very approachable, listen to them and are understanding and supportive in ensuring their health needs are met. Comments made included, ‘staff are always prepared to listen to my problems at any time’, ‘they are sorting me out’, ‘I am now more confident in doing things’ and ‘I can now talk about things that happened in the past.’

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make considerable progress regarding their education. Personal education plans take into account individual starting points, ability and current situation. Proactive and continual communication with differing education facilities ensures individual needs, weaknesses and strengths are fully understood by all professionals involved. If appropriate, every effort is made to support young people to remain at the school they attended prior to moving into the home.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make decisions about their placement plans, reviews and running of the home. They feel confident to say what they think, can read what is said about them and sign records. Young people enjoy discussing a wide range of things including food, personal activities in the local community, holidays, sanctions/house rules and the decoration of the home. Comments received include, 'staff support me to become involved in community meetings and key-worker sessions' and, 'we say what we'd like to happen like activities and stuff and most of the time it does.’ A lot of discussion also takes place during social occasions such as mealtimes.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from rich opportunities to socialise and learn from a wide range of leisure opportunities. Activities and resources include local sports clubs, going to the cinema, boat trips, surfing, swimming and youth clubs. This gives young people opportunities to try new experiences, meet new friends and learn new skills. There was a hive of discussions, during the visit, regarding what young people would like to do for the summer holidays.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Where appropriate young people freely make contact with family members and friends. They are aware of the reasoning when it is necessary to agree planned and supervised contact with their families. These include visits to the home, telephone contact, and planned overnight stays with parents. Young people maintain, and in some instances, re-establish relationships with their families in planning a possible return home. Young people's emotional well-being during contact visits is effectively monitored by staff who are proactive in taking advice or guidance from management and other involved professionals. Staff receive, appropriate training, supervision and support to supervise and facilitate contact. Comments from young people include, 'I'm being helped to make relationships with other young people and adults' and, 'staff are helping me to rebuild my relationship with my mum.’

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop life skills to assist them towards returning to their parental home, a foster placement or independence. Their thoughts and feelings are central to discussions and the planning of transitional arrangements. Completed 'life story books', which include photographs, cameo statements and comments about their experiences in the home, provide a recorded account for young people to take forward. Staff maintain appropriate contact and support throughout the transitional period and keep in touch with young people once they have moved on. This often results in some young people returning for social visits. Others prefer to stay in touch by means of phone calls or other forms of correspondence.

p.5

Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

p.5

Quality of care

The composition of the staff team provides a good mix of gender, age and experience. Young people benefit from outstanding, supportive relationships with staff which are based on mutual respect. Interaction is generally informal, good humoured with appropriate boundaries being maintained. Young people describe their staff as being, 'cool’ and 'brilliant' and express confidence in being able to talk through problems with them.

p.5

Quality of care

Through various approaches, the home seeks to enable young people with recognising and accepting responsibility for their inappropriate behaviours. It then encourages the development of more socially acceptable sustainable behaviours to improve young people's quality of life towards independence.

p.5

Quality of care

There are established forums including regular residents’ meetings and key-working sessions which young people use to express the views on aspects of how the home is organised and run. Young people learn to negotiate and develop confidence in expressing themselves. Young people are listened to and their views are valued in affecting changes on matters that are important to them.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff actively promote education as part of preparation for adulthood and provide young people with practical and emotional support. Staff have an excellent understanding of the young people's education and are enthused in providing consistent and meaningful support. Staff engage and work well with schools, other organisations and placing authorities to support young people's education including advocating to overcome any problems. Where young people become excluded from school, they are provided with appropriate education and training being supported to resume full-time education. Young people know how to report any concerns but rarely make use of the formal complaints process. They portray having confidence in taking issues directly to staff and being listened to. Staff are supportive and proactive in helping young people raise issues with agencies and organisations outside of the home.

p.5

Quality of care

Young people are cared for in line with their detailed and comprehensive placement plans. Individual needs are identified and well understood by staff. Young people have a clear understanding regarding the aims of their placement and what they need to achieve them. The company has a range of professional specialist staff to meet young people's assessed needs and has well-established links with external supporting agencies.

p.6

Quality of care

There is a strong emphasis within the home on promoting the young people's physical and emotional well-being, and welfare. Young people are encouraged to routinely attend appointments with their doctors, dentists and opticians. They also have access to a range of specialist services providing medical and psychological support. Staff have excellent knowledge of robust procedures for administration of medication.

p.6

Quality of care

Needs relating to young people's cultural background and personal identity are identified and positively addressed in both daily living and care planning. For example, young people are supported and enabled to exercise choice relating to culture and religious beliefs and helped to make links with members of their own communities. Young people also have equal access to all of the opportunities provided by the home.

p.6

Quality of care

The home provides a safe, pleasant and healthy environment in which young people enjoy living. The home is decorated and furnished to a standard which creates a pleasant domestic environment. The accommodation provides good spaces for group and individual activities. Young people have their own bedrooms which reflect individual personalities and interests. The home is well resourced for age appropriate leisure activities and interests to enable young people to acquire and develop life skills. Its location provides young people with easy access to community services. Transport is available for assisting young people to access the community, activities and education.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Staff take positive steps to ensure that the young people live in a safe, secure and caring environment. Young people feel safe in the home and particularly make reference to the home’s security measures and the availability and access to adults at all times.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding is inherent in the culture and practice of the home. Staff attend training and have access to clear information about child protection and safeguarding requirements. As a result, they demonstrate an excellent understanding of the agreed local authority and police protocols and action to take should they have any concerns about a young person's safety or well-being. Dynamic partnership working with external partners, such as the local designated safeguarding officer, means that the staff’s knowledge and understanding of child protection is continually being developed.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Incidents where children go missing from this home have become infrequent due to the close supervision from staff. Staff are very aware of the children's vulnerabilities and are very clear what action to take should such an incident occur, which includes agreed protocols with the local police. Likewise, incidents of bullying are rare, again due to the very close supervision by staff, good placement planning and excellent knowledge of children's needs and vulnerabilities.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

The privacy of young people is respected and information is confidentially handled. Staff are aware of those young people who enjoy quiet time in their rooms. Staff ensure that they do not enter young people's rooms without knocking. Young people's care records are maintained securely and contents are not discussed inappropriately. A good balance however, is achieved between respecting young people’s wish for privacy, ensuring their safety and encouraging their appropriate participation in activities so as to promote contact with their peers.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Staff receive training in a recognised method of physical intervention but the home follows a philosophy of prevention and distraction to minimise incidents of unacceptable behaviour. Where young people exhibit predicted and unpredicted behaviours and needs, management and staff respond proactively. They use these situations for further understanding young people's needs and past experiences and how best to support them. The staff are aware of triggers that affect individual young people's behaviour and how to respond appropriately. This is supported by up-to-date plans which ensure a consistency in response and approach.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

The physical environment is safe, appropriately secure and well maintained taking account of the needs and characteristics of young people cared for. There are established systems and structures to maintain safe practices and fulfil health and safety obligations. There are robust fire safety arrangements which include staff and young people being familiar with the actions they should take in the case of a real fire. There is a good maintenance and repair programme for the building. The organisation employs its own maintenance staff to ensure faults are rectified as soon as possible.

p.7

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from a stable staff team. Staff, working with young people in the home, are carefully selected and vetted. The home has suitably robust recruitment procedures in place which include a systematic approach that ensures that it is effective in practice.

p.7

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

p.8

Leadership and management

The home is effectively and efficiently managed. There is strong, visible leadership which promotes high-quality care and positive outcomes for young people. The management of the home is led by a Registered Manager who is supported by an experienced staff team. This structure is successful at meeting its aims to foster social awareness and mutual respect within the home and wider community. It achieves this by encouraging a happy and caring atmosphere through a professional and motivating environment.

p.8

Leadership and management

Staff are confident in the management support they receive. This stems from the quality of the induction process through to on-going formal and informal supervision arrangements. The staff team are well balanced with staff of both genders. The deployment and numbers of staff on duty at any one time is indicative of the needs of the young people. The management team ensures that staffing levels take into account extra responsibilities. For example, when staff are representing young people at their looked after children reviews and attending school meetings. Induction procedures are thorough, the content is meaningful and staff are finding this level of training interesting and applicable to their work with young people. One young person said that there are always enough staff on duty and staff are always helpful, even during the night.

p.8

Leadership and management

The quality of staff support and supervision makes staff feel valued, appreciated and respected by each other. Staff demonstrate their wealth of knowledge about young people's needs and how they cope during very challenging and complex situations. The skills, experience and backgrounds among the staff team are diverse and wide ranging. This is a positive contribution to working with young people who are vulnerable due to their past experiences and therefore at times require intense levels of support and intervention. Models of therapeutic support are accessible to staff and this helps them understand and implement the purpose and ethos of the home. Young people have key workers but have equal relationships with all staff.

p.8

Leadership and management

Training opportunities for staff are extensive and wide ranging. Staff are supported in obtaining professionally recognised qualifications such as a relevant national diploma qualification and therapeutic studies. Staff also welcome the on-going training and mentoring by external trainers. The senior management team is proactive and responsive to staff development. In doing so, they facilitate in-house learning and are developing this area of support. Staff use their training wisely and can associate this with young people's support needs.

p.8

Leadership and management

The home demonstrates a capacity for continuing improvement, based on its track record and performance since its previous inspection. The management team has robust systems in place to ensure on-going monitoring is taking place and that information collated leads to development and improvement. The home is able to identify excellent care practice as well as further areas for improvement. Staff are very enthusiastic about working at this home and have very high expectations of themselves and the support they provide to young people. The home offers care and accommodation for young people in line with its Statement of Purpose and objectives which are understood by interested parties. There is an appropriate young person's guide. The manager and responsible individual regularly consider the running of the home and young people's individual needs to maintain excellent care levels. Young people’s needs, development and progress are well

p.8

Leadership and management

recorded to reflect their individuality. The company's practice to determine occupancy levels by the needs of the young people is being followed.

p.9

Leadership and management

Monitoring arrangements are very effective. Significant events are notified promptly and dealt with appropriately to improve practice where possible. The Regulation 33 visits are thorough and include observations. The manager monitors the quality of care through her Regulation 34 reports but also on an on-going basis through supervision, involvement with young people, contact with their parents, carers and other agencies.

p.9

Leadership and management

Records are clear, up to date and stored securely, and contribute to an understanding of the young people's lives. All significant events relating to the protection of young people accommodated in the home are notified by the registered person of the home to the appropriate authorities and appropriate action is taken following the incident.

p.9

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.

p.10

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.

p.10