Children's Home, Residential special school run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in West Sussex

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 young people make steady progress.  The young people have developed positive relationships with the staff. They feel respected and listened to.  The care planning for the young people is detailed and individualised, with achievable goals.  Group and individual activities are helping to instil confidence in the young people.  Education is highly valued by the young people. They attend regularly and advance to college.  Management responded extremely well to the negative behaviours of the young people.  A new manager has been appointed who has previously been registered in respect of another of the organisation’s registered children’s homes.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6. In order to meet the quality of care standard, the registered person must: (2)(c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of the children. In particular, make the games room practically available to children. 1 April 2017

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Requirement Due date

7. In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered person must: (2)(a)(ii) help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. In particular, obtain the views of children during key-working sessions. 1 April 2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.3)

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Information about this children’s home

The privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to 20 young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The company also operates a school on the same site as the children’s home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/10/2015 Full Good 09/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people have good experiences residing in the three houses that make up the children’s home. They enjoy positive relationships with staff and with each other; they are well supported to work through emotional and behavioural difficulties within a safe environment.

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Good

Care planning is sound and this is evidenced by numerous examples of young people making progress. Files for the young people are well maintained, containing essential documents such as care plans, looked after review minutes and evidence of staff contributions toward their progress in meeting individual goals. Regular-key working sessions were held to discuss issues with young people. However the views of the young people and whether they understood the issues raised were not reflected in the records.

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Good

Positive relationships have been formed between the young people and staff. The staff received positive comments from the young people. A young person stated, ‘The staff actually do listen and try to get to know you which makes it easy to live in the home.’ Numerous observations were made of the young people positively engaging with staff and following corrective guidance when necessary.

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Good

Young people who have difficulty transitioning to the home are provided with extensive support, as their progress is monitored at monthly professionals meetings. This system allows managers to identify whether the home is appropriate for young people in the long term. Several placements were ended after it was determined that they were detrimental to the other young people. This action has allowed the home to settle after a few months of challenge.

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Good

The majority of the young people receive quality learning at the educational provision attached to the home (which was recently judged to be good by Ofsted). Daily communication occurs between the home and school staff and this promotes consistency in their care. Young people who have successfully transitioned to college have updated pathways plans on file. A young person’s most recent school report stated, ‘He has really settled into college and has tackled all work with enthusiasm.’ This demonstrates the good promotion of education within the setting.

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Good

The health needs of the young people are met in accordance with their care plans and specialised assistance is sought if determined to be a need. For example, prompt referrals are made to the local child and adolescent mental health services. Staff pay special attention to any medication that is prescribed for young people and ensure that they understand the purpose of the medication. They administer it safely while monitoring its impact on the young people.

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Good

Independence for young people is promoted and encouraged. They are provided with opportunities to obtain age-appropriate skills and utilise them in the community by earning trust time, or to reside in the designated independent rooms. Young people presented as confident in their ability to complete basic tasks such as shopping, travelling and cooking.

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Good

There is a wide range of group and individual activities available on site and in the community. The staff have been instrumental in encouraging the young people to participate in activities to develop their own interests. One young person has shown a great level of commitment by overcoming some early adversity and becoming the star player on a local basketball team.

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Good

Young people maintain relationships with their parents and significant others even when they reside a considerable distance from home. This contributes towards their identity, as the staff support and monitor all arrangements. Parents speak highly of their communication with the staff on behalf of their children. A parent of a young person said, ‘The staff are excellent. They keep me very informed and ensure that contact is scheduled.’

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Good

All three houses are maintained to a good standard. Private bedrooms allow the young people to have their own personal spaces which reflect their identity. There have been several improvements made to the accommodation. However, the games room has been closed for a considerable amount of time. Staff believe that this would be a useful resource to occupy young people and deter negative behaviours, if it again became functional.

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Good

The young people said that they feel safe and comfortable with the staff. Records indicate that safeguarding the young people is essential to the practice of the staff as they support them to learn how to keep themselves safe from harm. Safeguarding training is current evidencing that staff understand the actions to take should any concerns arise for the safety and well-being of the young people.

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Good

Safeguarding policies are up to date and comprehensive. There are separate polices for child sexual exploitation, children who are missing from care and radicalisation. Each policy offers consistent advice and guidance to the staff. Management overview ensures that all matters are passed to the designated officer for consultation and further action if needed.

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Good

Young people going missing from care has decreased after a period in the summer in which several episodes took place. There was a strong response from staff as they adhered to the missing from care policy by working in partnership with the placing authority and the police. In all instances, the young people returned safely. However, the majority did not have return interviews on record.

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Good

The management team ensures that young people are kept safe following any allegations against a member of staff until there is a formal resolution. These matters are addressed confidentially, with the staff member being treated fairly; the process is understood by the staff team.

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Good

Records indicated that there have been a large number of physical interventions for one young person. They were undertaken as a last resort to keep him safe, based upon his concerning historical behaviour. The placing social worker stated:

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Good

The staff have managed X’s behaviour extremely well. I can honestly say that in majority of the instances staff had no other options. X’s view is that the restraints have been performed correctly and he knows he needs to reduce his behavioural issues.

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Good

Management has decided to change the approach to behaviour management. They were previously trained to focus on intervention. The emphasis will now be on preventative and positive strategies to understand and manage challenging behaviours better. Several members of the staff team have completed training and are now qualified to teach the new approach to their colleagues.

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Good

The process of recruiting new staff is thorough. Information provided by potential staff is verified, resulting in safe recruitment practices for the staff working with the young people.

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Good

The location risk assessment identifies any concern in the local area that could affect the young people. Regular monitoring of health and safety takes place to make sure that the home is physically safe and secure. All fire and maintenance checks are completed and documented. Staff and young people are aware of fire procedures and what actions to take in the event of a fire.

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Good

The previous manager cancelled her registration and is no longer with the organisation. A new person with experience as a registered manager has been appointed and will start in March this year. The regional director is in the process of registering as the responsible individual and is familiar with the home from his former role as its head of education. In addition, one of the house managers has left to pursue other career opportunities.

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Good

These changes have not had an adverse impact on the care of the young people. Managers have responded by promoting an experienced house manager to acting head of care, ending the placements of several young people which were having a negative impact on others in the home and temporarily lowering the number of residents. This action has allowed the three houses to remain manageable and settled.

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Good

The majority of the staff are qualified and have been in post for several years. They willingly support each other and show excellent commitment to the young people.

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Good

Staff speak highly of the support they receive from managers which allows them to perform their duties. Training specifically relates to their practice with the young people, while supervision and annual appraisals provide formal discussions regarding well-being and practice development. Mandatory team meetings are held regularly which enable reflective group discussions to take place and provide learning.

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Good

External monitoring of the home by the independent visitor provides a fair and accurate account on a monthly basis. Informative reports are submitted immediately and management promptly follows up any actions recommended. Internal monitoring is sound. The progress and outcomes for the young people are assessed in quarterly reports and the quality assurance manager ensures that policies and procedures are up to date and comply with regulations.

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Good

The ethos and services outlined in the statement of purpose are clearly evidenced in the records of young people.

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Good

Quality links have been established that benefit the young people. Professionals made positive comments regarding the staff working in the home and praised them for effectively working with them on behalf of the young people.

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Good

The managers accepted the requirements and recommendations and provided assurances that these minor shortcomings will be addressed promptly.

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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 that 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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