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Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 1 SC482299 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 is a privately owned children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to 10 children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 December 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 outstanding

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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: Good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are supported well to develop their emotional resilience and helped to understand and feel at ease with their identity.  Children are provided with a range of activities to meet their development Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 2 needs.  Staff use an attachment-based model of care which enables them to support children effectively.  The registered manager has a clear vision for the home which is communicated well to the children and staff.  The registered manager and team managers are enthusiastic, child-centred and committed leaders who have the confidence of staff.  The management and senior leadership team is confident in its application of the model of care provided and organises relevant training and support for the staff team.

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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

 There are good recording systems in place to respond to complaints but these could be further developed where there are also safeguarding issues identified.  The maintenance issues within the home are completed. However, the time taken to address repairs in children’s bedrooms has been overlong.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2017 Full Good 04/10/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/03/2016 Full Outstanding 20/08/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 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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Recommendations

 Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, ensure that maintenance repairs within individual children’s bedrooms are completed in a timely manner.

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Recommendations

 All policies should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19) In particular, ensure that the procedures for responding to complaints also guide staff to manage any safeguarding issues which arise from them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager is dedicated, enthusiastic and consistent in her management of the home, supported by committed team managers who share her vision of the care they wish to provide for children. The registered manager has recently been promoted from deputy manager, with this latter post currently vacant. Although new to the post, the registered manager has assumed full responsibility for all aspects of the management of the home, which is progressing well under her leadership.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Admissions to the home are planned well, including emergency placements, which are equally effectively assessed in terms of both the child’s individual needs and any identified risks. Consideration is given to the child’s age, developmental needs and matching with the other children in placement. The registered manager ensures that there is additional staffing, including one-to-one support for children, where this is assessed to be needed. Since the last inspection, there has been a gender mix in terms Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 4 of children admitted to the home. Children are supported well when moving into the home, which provides a welcoming and child-friendly environment for them. Staff support children to move on from the home, through ensuring positive endings for all children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff appropriately advocate on behalf of children, including when they have experienced difficulties at school or in accessing healthcare. Staff support children to communicate their wishes and feelings; they ensure that children’s views are listened to. This includes children’s views in relation to their contact with family, and these have been acted upon and informed decision-making with the local authority. Children are enabled to voice their concerns and, consequently, there are only a low number of complaints

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are provided with specific attachment-focused training, together with training to support positive behaviour, which was identified as a need during the review of the behaviour management policy’. This includes the use of new tools to help repair the child’s relationship with staff where the child may have displayed difficult behaviours towards them. Staff provide clear boundaries for children, and the children respond well to the empathic and child-centred approach modelled by staff. Children are aware of the culture in place in relation to bullying: it is not acceptable within the home; and this positively affects the relationships between all of the children living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional literacy and self-esteem are supported very well within the home through the tools and approaches utilised by the staff. These help children to identify their feelings, share their worries and learn ways to manage sometimes-difficult feelings. Staff recognise when children have overcome obstacles, and this is part of the culture of the home; specific approaches are in place to acknowledge their individual achievement on a regular basis. This helps children to identify their individual strengths and develop their emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported in their learning, either through attending the home’s linked school or a local school which meets their educational needs. Staff actively support children with learning at home, through a weekly reading club and a homework club. Children’s therapeutic needs are met both within the home, through the support provided by the clinical psychologist, and through the direct therapy provided by the play therapist. Staff work with all agencies to ensure that all of the children’s health needs are provided and advocate on their behalf if there is delay in accessing a service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s community meeting is well structured and staff ensure that all children have an opportunity to participate, contributing to the weekly meal and activity planning. Children are actively encouraged to express themselves and share something about themselves and their day, with all children and staff responding empathically and enthusiastically, which supports the children’s sense of self. The support provided to the children reflects the attachment-based model of care, which helps children to develop a positive identity through the relationships developed with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals shared positive feedback in respect of care of the children in the home, and they recognise how well staff support children and work constructively with their Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 5 support network in order to meet the child’s individual needs. Professionals confirmed that they have close and beneficial contact with staff, who also keep them informed about children’s progress. Staff understand children’s individual needs and know how to respond to them. They demonstrate continued commitment to the children, including through periods when they struggled to manage their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is furnished to a good standard, providing a welcoming and homely environment for the children living here. There are toys, books and games suitable for the age group, which encourage children’s play and reflect the vision of the home. The main building and annex are attached, and there is a good standard of decor throughout. Children have been involved, with staff, in designing murals on the walls, and there are photographs of children throughout the home. Children are encouraged to personalise their own bedrooms to reflect their interests, and children coming to the home are supported to individualise their rooms, which helps them to settle in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can sometimes cause damage to their bedrooms when communicating difficult feelings through the behaviours they display. The resulting damage to the fabric of their bedrooms can negatively affect their sense of self, if not swiftly addressed. The registered manager recognises this, although current systems have not been quick enough in addressing these needs.

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

Staff support children, using reflective tools, to understand how they communicate feelings through their behaviour and to learn new ways to express these. Children are encouraged to express themselves and share their humour. There are specific positive incentives in place, through which staff support children’s self-esteem, which helps the child to develop a positive sense of self. These approaches engage children effectively; they have also been put into practice in another children’s home within the organisation, following the positive outcomes here.

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

Safer recruitment procedures are in place, including full assessment of previous employment history and information provided through disclosure and barring service checks. All applicants undertake a written exercise in relation to safeguarding, as part of the selection process, which further strengthens the recruitment process. Children write interview questions which contribute to the selection process and inform decision-making in respect of potential new employees. Children receive feedback about their contribution, through the community meetings.

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

Children know how to complain and are supported by the staff team to use the complaints process if they wish to. Although there has only been one complaint made, in relation to another child in the home, this related to safeguarding. From this, it is recommended that reporting and recording systems be reviewed in respect of complaints, to provide more clarity in terms of actions taken where there is also a safeguarding issue identified. This is in order to ensure consistency across all procedures in relation to the recording of safeguarding issues. Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 6 There has been one occasion when a child went missing from the home, and was subsequently found in the local area. Overall, children are protected from harm and are able to talk to staff if they have any worries. However, there has been an occasion when a child with one-to-one support from staff in the home was not adequately safeguarded.

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

The registered manager responded effectively and undertook an appropriately thorough investigation of the safeguarding concerns and a timely response to the practice issues identified within the team. There has been learning following this incident, and no further safeguarding concerns have arisen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has fully met both requirements from the last inspection: Regulation 44 reports are completed and shared with them prior to Ofsted receiving these. In response to the requirement relating to recording of the use of physical intervention, an additional form has now been put into place. This document considers how to repair the relationship between a child and a carer following a difficult incident and enables all parties to gain an understanding of what led to the situation. This is restorative in its approach, while also being focused on the child’s relationship with their carer. The child is therefore helped to think about different ways to react to their feelings, and the carer reflects on different strategies which may help the child in the future. The registered manager has recently developed a new monitoring system, to enable oversight of these incidents and monitor trends, which is reviewed every month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a thorough understanding of the children’s individual needs and advocates on behalf of the children in respect of education, health or contact issues, where needed. She ensures that staff are provided with relevant training to meet the changing needs of the children in the home, ensuring that children are supported effectively by staff who have up-to-date knowledge and skills. The staff team works collaboratively with other agencies, including education, health and children’s services, to ensure that the children’s individual needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with regular monthly supervision, which provides time to reflect on their practice and how this impacts on the care provided to the children. The structure of the supervision provided ensures reflection in relation to specific issues, including safeguarding, with relevant actions agreed which are reviewed each month. The registered manager has ensured that supervision is provided at the same level, for all staff, to contribute to the safeguarding culture of the home following the review of the safeguarding concern. Staff development is discussed within supervision, which includes appropriate induction and training for new staff and completion of the level 3 diploma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team managers support the staff, and the staff respond positively to their collective leadership style; the commitment to the children is evident throughout the team. The registered manager and staff team have the full support of senior leadership and they receive recognition of the support they are providing to the children in their care . The overall management structures in place provide a consistent approach in the service Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 7 provided, through joint effective communication. The senior leadership provides consistent support to the registered manager and has confidence in their management of the home. They support the change to referrals irrespective of gender, while recognising the importance of matching referrals to the needs of children, following the review of the safeguarding concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The facilities within the home and play area in the garden have been developed, including a new mud kitchen and messy play area, to meet the needs of the children placed here. Good links have been established within the local community, through the coffee morning held in the garden and the relationships with connected homes nearby, which benefit the children through widening their community network and interactions with other children. Children enjoy activities and groups away from the home, as well as activities, for example yoga, organised at the home. Children have also enjoyed an outdoor activity holiday away from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff recruitment continues to be a priority, as there are currently three vacancies. The senior leadership focus is on recruiting the ‘right people’ to work within the home, which contributes to the safe recruitment strategies in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear understanding of the strengths of the home and ways in which to continue to build on these. This includes reviewing the use of the communal spaces within the home to effectively meet the needs of all the children. The senior leadership is mindful of the need to balance the needs of the current children in placement with those of potential new children admitted to the home, to ensure stability for all children living in the home, and this is reflected in the planning for the year ahead.

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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: SC482299 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

Maria Lonergan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482299 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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