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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 1 SC482301 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd

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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 six children who have social, emotional and mental-health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified manager has been registered with Ofsted since 27 October 2015.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 7 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none taken

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2017 Full Good 28/03/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 2 06/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/02/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff, seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(a)(b)(c)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(v)(b)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(c)) 25/01/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 4 The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement. within 28 days of the revision (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious, or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44(7)(a)) 25/01/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and welcoming. Children have a partly open-plan living and dining space with areas for them to meet together, in addition to a separate communal lounge. Staff support children to personalise their own bedrooms to reflect their individual preferences. Staff help children to understand the day-to-day plans in the home through the daily meetings and the use of visual plans. This helps children to know what is happening in their home, and is particularly important given their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by a caring and committed staff team. Staff have developed positive relationships with each child. Their chosen therapeutic approach, which underpins the way staff support children, is reflected in their interactions with them. Staff help children to understand they way they are feeling and the reasons why they may be feeling this way. Children also receive support from the in-house therapist. Staff respond well to children when they communicate their feelings through their behaviours. This supports children’s emotional resilience and its effectiveness is reflected in the minimal use of physical intervention.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s individual learning well. Children attend either mainstream schools or the school that is linked to the home. Education is prioritised by staff and this is reflected in the children’s regular school attendance. Staff support children’s learning on an informal basis when they are unable to attend full-time for a period due to health issues. Children are supported to engage in activities together outside of school. This helps them to develop positive relationships and understand individual differences. Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 5 The views of children are regularly sought through individual and group consultations that are undertaken by staff. Staff have supported children particularly well in accessing independent advocacy. This has been particularly helpful for children when they have moved on from the home. Children’s relationships with their families and friends are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

supported well by staff. Where possible, staff enable individual children’s families and friends to visit them in the home.

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improvement to be good

The established staff team has a good understanding of safeguarding. However, the significant number of new staff members are still developing their knowledge in relation to safeguarding. Generally, the assessments of risks undertaken by staff show that they have a good understanding of each child’s identified risks. Staff ensure that there are strategies in place for reducing these risks. However, the individual potential risks for one child had not been fully identified and suitable strategies had not been put into place. These risks were identified, and effective strategies put in place, during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children have on occasion been missing from the home for periods of time. Staff have followed procedures for requesting an independent interview when the children have returned home. However, one child’s local authority did not respond to the interview request, but this was not followed up by the home. Safeguarding concerns are shared appropriately by staff with the local authority. When an appropriate response to a safeguarding concern was not received from one child’s placing authority, the home did not challenge this effectively, even though the communication with this placing authority is usually good. This has since been followed up by the registered manager and an appropriate response has been provided.

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improvement to be good

Employment checks for new staff members follow safer recruitment practice. There is a comprehensive induction and training programme provided. The staff receive individual supervision which provides them with space to reflect on their own practice. This was not consistently provided for staff and the registered manager for a period of time during this inspection year. Sickness within the team and changes to senior management impacted on how often the supervision was being provided. The staff now receive regular supervision with a new regional manager who has recently recruited.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager and regional manager responded effectively to the only allegation received in respect of a staff member. The registered manager sought advice from the designated officer. A thorough investigation was completed by the registered manager in consultation with the individual child this related to. The disciplinary measures put in place by the senior management team were proportionate. This, together with the support provided for the individual staff member, shows the registered manager’s knowledge of her safeguarding responsibilities. Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to her role. She has a good understanding of the children’s individual needs. The home is managed well by the registered manager with the support of the new deputy manager. Together they provide stability and contribute to the consistency of care provided to the children. This is important given that there have been some changes to the staff, with new additional staff members joining them. These staff members have transferred over from being bank staff to being permanent members of the team. This reflects the registered manager’s leadership of the staff team, as staff reported that they felt supported by her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of the quality of care undertaken by the registered manager within the home is good. This is supported by the independent person’s monthly monitoring visits. The monthly reports on these visits have been shared with Ofsted, although there was a significant delay in this being shared on one occasion. The registered manager maintains good communication with placing authorities, and is effective in sharing concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The low level of complaints reflects that children feel able to talk with staff about matters that concern them. When complaints have been made by a child, these have been immediately addressed by the registered manager, which has shown the children that they are listened to. There has been a change in senior management since the last inspection. The registered manager is supported well by the regional manager through the regional manager’s regular visits to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the staff and their individual strengths. The registered manager is enthusiastic about developing the staff team and understands how this impacts on the care provided. The strengths and areas for development for the home are well understood by the registered manager. The statement of purpose is reflective of the model of care the home provides. However, it does not have up-to-date information about the staff team.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 7 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: SC482301 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd, Turnpike Gate House, Alcester Heath, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 5JG

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Inspector

Maria Lonergan: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482301 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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