Children's home run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in Havant

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC482298 1 SC482298

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Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited

Inspected under the Social Care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to care for up to 21 children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home offers an on-site college educational facility which is registered with the Department for Education. The majority of the young people attend the college. The home currently offers care for children and young people aged 12 to 19 years.

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This monitoring visit

This home was last inspected in June 2017 and was judged to require improvement. Since then, Ofsted has been notified of several incidents in the home. The increasing severity of these, the most recent being four young people going missing together, resulted in several monitoring inspections. Young people are not safe at the home. There has been, and continues to be, serious failures in how staff and managers promote the safety of young people. On 4 July 2017, four young people left the home together and went missing. Staff made some efforts to locate the young people but they could not be found. All four young people are considered vulnerable to child sexual exploitation. The young people returned on 6 July 2017. However, the actions of staff were poor and did not promote the young people’s safety. Despite young people’s risk assessments making clear the actions to follow on the young people’s return, none of these actions took

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This monitoring visit

place. These included the provision of sexual health support and the involvement of police in obtaining potential evidence. Furthermore, staff poorly managed the behaviour of the young people on their return. Additional staff had to be requested and two young people not involved in the missing incident had to be moved to an unused area of the home. This resulted in the two young people being unsettled. The young people told the inspector that they were, and continue to be, worried for their safety. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC482298 2 An incident occurred on 1 July 2017 when a young person who was locked in the bathroom was not responding to staff. This young person had previously made threats to harm themselves in the bathroom. Staff knocked on the door for 20 minutes and noted that the door lock had potentially been tampered with as they could not gain entry. They then rang the police for advice. The police advised to

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This monitoring visit

make entry by force to the bathroom. When staff did this, they found the young person in a state of distress but physically unharmed. This was notified to Ofsted in line with regulation. However, the provider did not take effective actions following this incident. The young person’s risk management plan was not revised and no medical attention was offered to the young person, despite the previously known concerns about their welfare. This failure to ensure appropriate actions took place means that young people are not protected. The inspector found that there was no guidance for staff in how to manage such situations should they occur again. This means that young people are at considerable risk of harm in the home. During another monitoring visit on 7 July 2017, the inspector noted two young people with bruises to their faces. One young person had been hit by a peer in the home. An incident report was provided to the inspector. Staff intervened in this

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This monitoring visit

incident and separated the young people. The second incident involved a young person who alleged that staff had caused the injury. An incident report for the second young person was requested but not provided. Staff were of the view that the young person was accidentally struck when the young person tried to get involved in a restraint involving their peer. However, in the absence of any detailed report or account of the incident, the exact circumstances remain unknown. This represents a significant failure to ensure that incidents in the home are correctly recorded and, where necessary, appropriate actions are taken. A further monitoring visit took place on 9 July 2017. During this visit, the inspector was told that one of the young people had made a disclosure about the events that took place while the young people were missing from the home. It was clear, based on the young person’s disclosure, that young people had been abused while missing

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This monitoring visit

from the home. The actions taken by the provider in response to this disclosure were not appropriate. Notification was made, by the provider, to the local authority designated officer. However, the disclosure did not implicate any adult in a position of trust. The inspector made sure that appropriate referrals were made to the placing authorities of the young people involved in the incident. During the visit of 9 July 2017, young people were spoken to. They advised that they were involved in the plans to move them from the home and that they were looking forward to their new placements. Senior managers from the organisation were also on site supporting staff. The staffing levels were appropriately maintained over the weekend and there was sufficient staffing in place. However, on 10 July 2017, Ofsted was notified of an incident on 9 July 2017 in which young people had set a small fire in a room. This led to the home’s fire detection system being

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This monitoring visit

disabled. The provider ensured that the local fire and rescue service were consulted Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC482298 3 over this shortfall. During the visit of 7 July 2017, senior managers from within the organisation carrying on the home were present and spoke with the inspector. They advised that there are plans to close the setting and young people’s placing authorities had been told that the young people in the home would need to be moved over the next 28 days. However, the monitoring visits identified significant failures to promote and protect the safety of young people in the home. Ofsted made the decision to suspend the provider’s registration. A notice of suspension was served on the provider, by hand, on the evening of 10 July 2017. At the time of the notice being served, one young person remained at the home and left the home on 11 July 2017. The setting is now suspended until 9 October 2017.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

13/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/09/2016 Full Requires improvement 21/06/2016 Full Inadequate 31/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC482298 4

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC482298 5

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Turnpike Gate House, Alcester Heath, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 5JG

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Inspector

Pete Hylton, social care inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC482298 6 to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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