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

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make good progress. They attend school and college regularly and have good support in other areas of their lives.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home has a consistent staff team that provides good continuity of care to young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff team are good at making meaningful relationships with young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The new manager is good at assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the team and the service. Improvements have already been made and more are planned.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people learn to keep themselves safe. The frequency of negative incidents declines.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Some improvements are needed to risk assessments, placement plans and the home’s statement of purpose.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered provider must ensure-

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Requirement Due date

(2) (a) that staff - 26/10/2015 (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. This is with regard to written risk assessments being understood, completed accurately, and read by all staff.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered provider must ensure-

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Requirement Due date

(1)(a) that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

(2)(c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed. 26/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure the statement of purpose includes a description of the home’s policy and approach in relation to children’s rights. (Regulation 16, schedule 1, section 9(b)) 26/10/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure the home complies with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than 'institutional' impression. This is with regard to ensuring the microwave cooker is sufficiently clean. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Accept placements for children only where the registered person is satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. This is with regard to showing in the written impact assessments how decisions were reached. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Information about this children's home

This is a two-bedded home operated by a large provider. It provides care and accommodation for children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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good

Overall, young people are settled in the home and are becoming more comfortable as time progresses. The small size of the home means that each young person receives highly personalised care. They know the majority of their carers well and benefit from the skills of team members in establishing effective relationships.

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good

Continuity of relationships between young people and staff is maintained at a good level. If young people move between homes within the company, for example, some staff move with them. The effect of this commitment means that young people are able to take good advantage of the opportunities provided to them, such as the wide-ranging recreational and social chances. One young person enjoys rock-climbing, for example, and both have recently been on a summer holiday. Table top games and craft projects are a key feature in the home. Activities often have an educative purpose, too. Shopping trips, for example, may go to certain places where young people are exposed to different points of view and cultures. The manager is considering how to develop this more systematically. Young people develop sufficient confidence to use the complaints procedure and know they will receive an appropriate response.

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good

Both young people benefitted from carefully managed admissions. Although their circumstances were very different, each was fully involved in the decision. As a result of such successful engagement, young people are motivated to make the best of their time here. However, the written records, known as impact assessments, are insufficiently descriptive. They do not clearly tell staff, those who are monitoring, or young people who subsequently ask for access to their records, how these critical decisions were reached.

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good

Young people re-establish important relationships with members of their families. This is an important contribution to their emotional well-being, which is facilitated well by staff. Young people’s increasingly positive frames of mind help to reduce negative incidents, which leads to them having the greater independence they desire and need. One professional reported, ‘After an initial settling-in period, this young person is now happy in placement and much calmer.’ Their emotional progress is also encouraged by regular meetings with therapists. This is a key part of the purpose of the home. As a result, young people’s self-confidence improves markedly and they contribute constructively during important meetings, sometimes for the first time.

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good

Young people feel relaxed in the home. This led to a member of staff commenting that one young person had ‘regained her sense of humour’.

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good

The service provides each young person with good opportunities to practice independence skills, regardless of their age. The compromises caused by the rural location are addressed satisfactorily by having sufficient company vehicles to meet each young person’s needs.

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good

The changing needs of young people are addressed by amending the level and type of supervision. Recent improvements in behaviours have been reflected in a reduction in the use of bedroom door alarms. This demonstrates a good understanding by staff of the right of young people to sufficient privacy. The rights that children and young people can expect to be respected are mentioned in the statement of purpose, as required. However, it is not in sufficient detail to explain the approach used in the home.

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good

Generally, young people sustain a high level of engagement in education. This leads to them taking examinations and pursing realistic ambitions. One young person wishes to pursue her interest in hair and beauty. Attendance levels are good and young people have learnt to advocate for themselves with external agencies. Staff address any difficulties by promptly arranging meetings with teaching staff and implementing new strategies. This sustains the commitment of young people and helps them succeed.

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good

There is a relaxed atmosphere in the home and staff organise each shift in a systematic way. This gives young people confidence in the adults around them. They feel safe and show this by engaging in fewer negative incidents. Their relationships with staff are good. Threats to young people’s safety, from going missing or self-harm, reduce markedly over relatively short periods of time. Their concerns are discussed with them in detail and they are engaged effectively in devising strategies to prevent recurrences.

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good

Staff members speak regularly to other professionals, such as the police and social workers, to promote the welfare of the young people. This work is consolidated through good liaison with young people’s parents. As a result, the risks posed by young people fall and they normalise their activities. One young person has chosen to use her free time to re-engage in a church group in her home area. Young people’s progress in keeping themselves safe is a credit to staff who do not always benefit from consistent social work support. One young person has suffered from a particularly high level of turnover of social worker, which has been raised with the local authority.

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good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are shared verbally with staff during regular team meetings. However, the detailed written versions are not always read by all staff or completed accurately. Also, written risk assessments are not fully understood by senior staff. This results in contradictory evidence in files regarding the risk of child sexual exploitation. This compromises the ability of the team to act consistently, which is essential to young people making as much progress as possible.

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good

The service has a new manager who has the necessary, level five, qualification and skills. He has been in post since April 2015 and is undertaking registration with Ofsted. After a period of some uncertainty, there is now effective engagement with staff through regular meetings. Staff feel they are listened to; one said, ‘It’s all good now!’ As a result, the team are much more positive than previously, which directly benefits young people. A new responsible individual has also been appointed since the last inspection to whom the manager is accountable.

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good

The organisation of staff members has been improved individually, during each shift, and as a team. This has been an important focus of the manager’s first development plan. This helps to get the best from each member of staff and leads to young people’s good progress. Careful consideration is being given to ensuring that staff fully understand all duties and this contributes to the smooth running of the home. Of great importance to staff is the recent reduction in their moves between homes. This makes them feel settled and able to offer their best. The manager is clear that further improvements are desirable and is ambitious to achieve them.

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good

Young people benefit from an attractive, detached property that is in a rural location overlooking fields. There is plenty of outdoor space and sufficient rooms indoors for private conversations or activities. Young people are involved in the presentation of communal areas as well as their bedrooms. Satisfactory standards of hygiene are maintained in most areas although the microwave cooker was not clean and posed a potential risk to the health of young people and staff.

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good

Placement planning requires improvement. A key shortfall is that young people’s written plans are not familiar to all team members because they have not read them. This has not been resolved since it was raised during a quality assurance visit by a local authority in June. This shortfall is also evident in other documents. In addition, the written placement plans are not sufficiently up-to-date, regarding, for example, new processes to support education and independence training. The progress that young people undoubtedly make is organised by methods that are not sufficiently well linked to the placement plan, such as key worker sessions. These shortfalls compromise the ability of the team to coordinate young people’s progress as efficiently as possible. The new manager accepts that this area of work requires attention and is now a priority.

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good

A good standard of monitoring is undertaken every month by an independent person and by the manager. A new person is now coordinating quality assurance throughout the company. The organisation is seeking to improve and new ideas are shared widely. These processes, plus the energy of the team, form a sound basis for further progress.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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