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:

 The home is good because young people progress well. They continue to improve their social and practical skills and interact well with staff. They feel safe here.  Staff give the education of each young person a high priority. As a result, each young person is achieving as much as possible in their education setting.  The interim manager has sustained the service at a good level. He has maintained a positive and supportive environment for staff and young people.  The property gives young people plenty of space inside and outside, with reasonable access to urban facilities. It has the benefits of a rural location and is presented to a good standard in most areas.  There is very little turnover of staff. This gives young people a secure base on which to develop.  Staff benefit from a thorough training programme, which addresses their need to be qualified. It also gives them the necessary skills to meet the

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The children's home provision is good because:

home’s statement of purpose. Additional time has been added to the induction process so that new staff are properly prepared to meet the individual needs of each young person.  Staff sustain good relationships with other professionals and with young people’s families. These provide an important framework for each young person. Other professionals feel positive about the service.  Staff apply insufficient planning when preparing young people for their futures. This inefficiency means that some young people are not progressing as well as possible. Some staff are not sufficiently clear about how the placement planning process supports young people.  The fire safety measures have been reviewed and altered. However, this is not recorded and is a potential cause of confusion in an emergency.  The inside of the property is somewhat ‘tired’ in places. Certain matters require more urgent attention, and the outside is under-utilised.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, to ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe, the registered provider must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. This is with regard to completing an up-to-date fire risk assessment and to training staff accordingly. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a) 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. This is with regard to ensuring that the property is presented to a satisfactory standard.

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Requirement Due date

(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate. This is with regard to ensuring that all staff use the placement-planning processes effectively. 27 June 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b)(iii) plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. This is with regard to there being clear programmes of training for each young person who is preparing for independence. 27 June 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Keep a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions and ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.4).

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Information about this children's home

A large provider of children’s services operates the home. It has three beds for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, one of which is for a resident who is over 17 years of age. The property is located in a rural area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25 January 2016 Interim Declined effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

26 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

The young person who has lived here the longest said, ‘I’m happy here. It’s good.’ His social worker supported these positive views. The group of residents is unchanged since the last inspection, and the staff team is consistent. This is the basis of their good relationships. Young people benefit from a high level of consultation at formal and informal levels. Their views make a difference to the home, for example, to the shopping arrangements, development of the huge garden, and the planned refurbishment of the bathrooms.

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Good

Staff have involved the young people in discussions about the interim management arrangements. Consequently, young people have accepted the temporary manager well, and the change has not unsettled them. Staff and young people receive regular advice from therapists to help to reduce young people’s concerns and to support them to deal with challenges, such as family bereavements and disappointments. This is effective and shows in the remarkable emotional progress made by some young people. They are now able to accept setbacks and changes of plans with a reasonable level of equanimity, given their ages. Young people also enjoy good physical health.

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Good

Staff help young people to sustain and improve their relationships with their families, some of whom live a long way away. This helps to stabilise young people in the home. One young man is currently having more visits to his home area, so that he can eventually return there. The team is planning, supporting, and monitoring this carefully so that he avoids previous difficulties. The support provided by one local authority to another young person has been poor. Despite the efforts of staff to gain clarity and to address his rights, the lack of planning for his future has delayed his progress. This has also contributed to some drift in staff practices. Staff are not sufficiently coordinated or systematic in their efforts to educate young people about necessary independence skills, especially those young people with additional needs. Nevertheless, young people continue to learn new skills, such as taking greater control over their prescribed medication. They engage

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Good

in productive pastimes in the community, such as sports, and have the confidence to try new activities. During the inspection, one young man was preparing his birthday party invitations, and another was experimenting with his new fishing equipment.

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Good

Young people’s educational attendance rates are very high. They usually attend the company school nearby and/or local colleges and achieve clear progress from their starting points. One is currently taking examinations and has obtained top marks for effort. Another enjoys attending college where he has made a number of close friends. One successfully remains in classes now without leaving in frustration, which is a major improvement. The rural location of the home means that young people require lifts to the nearest bus stop. Two young people are planning to get their provisional driving licences as part of their preparation for greater independence.

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Good

The standard of presentation of the property is satisfactory in most areas, although loose wires in the lounge, a damaged bedroom window retainer, an unexplained wire near the bath, and minor damage detract from the homeliness. The two bathrooms are poorly presented in places, so the manager has arranged for their refurbishment in this financial year.

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Good

Young people benefit from a clear method of assessing the risks that they face. Staff regularly consult other professionals, such as teachers and the police, to keep young people as safe as possible, while allowing them to take proportionate risks. Some young people have made excellent progress in reducing their risky behaviour. The measures used by staff have removed one young person’s dangerous behaviour in only a few months. He no longer targets certain staff or acts in a racist manner. As another young person pointed out, this is a substantial benefit to that young person and the rest of the household. Consequently, the young person’s social opportunities have expanded, and staff are reducing the precautionary measures.

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Good

Robust health and safety precautions keep staff and young people safe. Since the last inspection, staff pay extra attention to training new staff in the fire safety measures. Fire drills occur routinely, but as a training event do little to improve the effectiveness of staff. The manager is considering using different scenarios and integrating the organisation’s business continuity plan into future drills. The health and safety manager for the company has altered the fire risk assessment. This means that some procedures have changed, including, for example, the availability of a fire escape ladder. However, the records do not confirm this. This is a potential cause of confusion in an emergency.

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Good

There have been very few negative incidents since the last inspection, which is indicative of the young people’s good progress. Young people are not at risk of sexual exploitation and incidents of their running away are extremely few and of short duration. In such cases, the placing authorities provide appropriate support, which includes arranging interviews to see why the incident occurred. The positive nature of these circumstances allows children to feel secure and to thrive.

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Good

The interim manager took over at a sensitive time following the last inspection, when the service had declined in effectiveness. After a child-sensitive transition, he has ensured that the service provides young people with a high standard of care. Under his leadership, they have continued to progress well. Following her planned absence, the registered manager will return to the post in the next few weeks. She and all but one of the permanent staff team are suitably qualified. The newest member of staff has nearly two years to complete her qualification. The company also provides a good range of other training opportunities.

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Good

The manager and company have fully addressed the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. In particular, young people and new members of staff now have substantially more time to acclimatise to each other. These, and other measures, have served to protect staff and young people well. This safe environment has also helped young people to develop their skills substantially. Staff have improved their attention to all new documents. This contributes to their good level of consistent practice in caring for young people. The interim manager has also improved the accountability of staff, as required, and recognised pressure points. As a result, co- key workers now share certain responsibilities with team leaders. In the same period, the company has amalgamated with another. Senior personnel interpret this positively, but it is too early to tell what, if any, impact it will have on the service. No immediate changes are expected.

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Good

The transition between managers has had some inevitable consequences, albeit of minor impact on young people. Key workers have continued to administer young people’s placement plans, but their effectiveness has lapsed slightly. Some staff are not clear how the paperwork affects their practice. The relationship between agreed targets and key-worker discussions, for example, is not always clear, and the tracking of progress via star charts is not persuasive. The new manager has maintained the monitoring of the home at a satisfactory level, as befits someone in a temporary position.

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Good

The formal supervision meetings between staff and their line managers occur at the prescribed intervals. However, supervisors keep records but do not give copies to their supervisees. This makes it more difficult for staff to address any shortfalls in their practice. Staff take opportunities to develop their skills, which serves to ensure that sufficient competent individuals are available for senior positions. The current statement of purpose accurately records the staffing and other arrangements. The management of individual shifts has improved by placing team leaders on a different shift pattern from other staff. This serves to encourage consistency of practice between staff.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 whom 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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