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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 1 SC482295 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to seven young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 15 to 16 November 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children develop extremely good relationships with staff.  Children’s views are listened to and acted on.  Staff understand and cater for children’s needs to a consistently high standard.  Children take the opportunities provided to them and grow and develop into Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 2 well-rounded young people who have a positive contribution to make to society.  Partnership working is strong and benefits the children through effective care planning for them.  The manager and his staff are passionate about their work and are committed to, and are successful at, helping children achieve the best outcomes possible.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 One risk assessment was not up to date.  Serious events and updates about these risk assessments have not been notified to Ofsted.  There were shortfalls in some areas of record-keeping, including the records of safeguarding investigations.  One of the fire doors does not close flush to the doorframe.  The admissions risk assessments do not show that all areas of risks and needs have been considered to aid decision-making about the viability of a child moving into the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/12/2015 Full Outstanding 05/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay of any significant event, in line with the regulation. (Regulation 40(4)) In particular, ensure that significant events are notified and updates are provided to Ofsted. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which in particular provides for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34(1)(2)(d)) In particular, implement the record-keeping requirements. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25(1)(a)) In particular, ensure that, at all times, fire doors are in good working order. 29/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which: include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) In particular, ensure that all information that staff need to care for a child effectively is accurate and up to date. 29/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 4  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) In particular, ensure that the frequency of supervision for every staff member is in line with the organisation’s expectations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children currently living in the home are progressing very well and their needs are met to a high standard. However, there are shortfalls in the assessments and decision- making about which children come to live in the home. Full consideration is not given to the current skills of the staff team, or if the child is likely to fit in with the existing group of children. There is a warm welcome given to new children moving into the home by staff and the other young people. This helps them to settle into life in the home. Staff listen to children and, where possible, act on their wishes about their care planning. This helps children to feel that they have control over their destiny. Staff value each child as an individual with their own needs, wishes and aspirations. Staff know each child well and understand how children’s past experiences have affected their emotional well-being and behaviour. Formal and informal direct work with children is of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

a very high quality. Staff spend good-quality time with children and provide them with good advice and support to help them overcome their fears and worries. Children know that staff care about them and that they are fully committed to, and successful in, helping them to overcome their difficulties. The impact that staff have on children’s educational attendance and achievement is a real strength. Children respond very well to the general support, praise and encouragement they get from staff. Most children have settled extremely well into the organisation’s school and are achieving really well. Some children have made exceptional progress academically and socially and, as a result, have either integrated back into mainstream school or moved on to college. Children develop aspirations for their futures, including, for some, a university education. Children who were out of school at the time of their admission to the home are also supported exceptionally well to attend class and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

to engage in their learning. For some children, this has involved devising, with education staff, a reintegration plan. For example, one child is home tutored in the mornings and attends school in the afternoons, with the aim of getting her attendance up to full time. Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 5 Children are healthy and supported well to attend routine health appointments. Staff ensure that children who need more specialist support, for example in relation to their psychological well-being or mental health needs, get the services that they require. Children take part in various activities around the home and in the community. For example, in the home they help staff with cooking and baking, they use the gym, play pool or relax and watch a DVD or the TV with staff and each other. Children also do activities away from the home. These range from physical activities, such as white water

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

rafting and skiing, to going on a holiday abroad with staff. All of these activities help children to have new experiences, develop skills that will be useful to them in the future, and have fun with staff and each other. Staff develop very good working relationships with families. This work helps children and their families to improve, or to maintain, relationships. Staff understand the emotional impact that seeing their family can have on children and are excellent at supporting them to understand and deal with these feelings. A parent said how staff have built up fantastic relationships with her. She went on to say, ‘I feel like we are in it together.’ Children, with the support of staff, develop skills to give them a good start to independent living. Some children are successful in getting part-time work before they move on from the home and learn to budget. Whenever possible, staff support children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

who have moved on from the home. Many ex-residents keep in contact with staff through phone calls and visits. One ex-resident is now working in the home on an occasional basis. This shows that children develop a strong and long lasting sense of belonging.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children living in this home are kept as safe as possible. Children trust and confide in the staff, who listen to them and help them to sort out their problems. In one case, a risk assessment was not updated in a timely way; however, when the inspector pointed this out, it was immediately rectified. Overall, the approach to risk management is strong. Staffing levels are high and enable staff to spend good-quality time with each child This limits the opportunities for children to put themselves at risk. Staff and the local community police officer, who is a regular and popular visitor to the home, help children understand how the risks they take endanger them. For example, children learn about how dangerous it can be for them to go missing and about risks they can face when using social networking sites. As children make progress in these areas, they are trusted to have time alone in the community with their peers or to use the internet with minimal

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

supervision. Children respond well to the reward system in place, and to the firm and consistently applied boundaries. As a result, children make very good progress in managing their behaviour more effectively and there has been a decline in the need to use physical interventions and sanctions. These improvements, along with the improvements in their emotional well-being and social skills, has led to children being less impulsive and now Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 6 think before they act. Children reflect on and learn from the mistakes they make. The strong relationships with the police and the local authority officer for safeguarding are used effectively to ensure that children are kept as safe as is possible. The safeguarding officer reported that the manager contacts her to request consultations and advice, and she is confident that the manager uses the guidance she provides to him.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding concerns are referred in line with safeguarding procedures and investigated appropriately. Children have been supported well to take part in investigations where required. However, one allegation of sexual assault a child made against an unknown member of the public was referred to the local authority, but was not notified to Ofsted. Additionally, there are shortfalls in the record-keeping of safeguarding investigations and the outcomes of some investigations are not recorded. The children live in a pleasant, homely environment. Overall, risks from the home’s environment to staff and children’s health and safety are minimised through regular health and safety checks. However, during the inspection one of the self-closing fire doors was faulty and this meant that the door would not have been effective in containing a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers maintain a strong focus on and commitment to improving the lives of children they care for. They and their staff have high expectations for the children. They ensure that high standards of care are maintained and that children are very well supported to reach their full potential. A social worker said that this is one of the best homes he works with and highlighted that, ‘The lengths they (staff) go to support children are impressive.’ Overall, there are effective arrangements for monitoring the work and developing the quality of the care provided, which ensures that there is continual improvement. The manager has consistently addressed any requirements or recommendations made as a result of inspections. Although there are a number of new members to the staff team, all are settling in well to their roles. It is clear that the staff share a high level of enthusiasm and commitment

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to the children in their care. Staff are strong advocates for them and care deeply about them. A social worker said how the child she works with has made huge progress because of the care she receives. A parent highlighted how impressed she is by ‘the extraordinary skills staff have when working with young people’. The organisation invests in good-quality training for staff. Staff use their training to improve their practice and to maintain the high quality of care provided to the children. Support to the manager and staff is of a good quality, although supervision for some staff is below the frequency expected by the organisation. The manager has maintained good relationships with the local community. Partnership working with external professionals is strong and this ensures that children get the support that they need to progress in all areas of their lives. There were some shortfalls in relation to the records made and maintained about

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 7 children. For one child, information about substance misuse was incorrect, some documents were not signed or dated, and not all children’s files had the required paperwork from their local authorities. While the missing paperwork had been requested from the relevant local authorities, some of it on more than one occasion, these attempts had not been successful.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 8

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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

Rosie Dancer, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 9 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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