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

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in June 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 24 to 25 September 2019

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2018 Full Good 15/11/2017 Full Good 07/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained 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

Employment of staff The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, assist the new manager to complete a formal recorded induction into the organisation. 31/12/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality care and support from staff. Care planning reflects the individual needs of children. Children are making good progress in many areas, including education, emotional well-being and building relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to settle quickly. Placement matching is carefully considered. Staff place emphasis on the positive impact that children can have on the home and they assess risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children demonstrate trust and affection for staff, which staff reciprocate. They talked with pride about the achievements of children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in forming positive relationships. This is improving the quality of relationships that children have with other professionals in their support networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show a strong understanding of the needs of children and ensure that these needs are met. The input of the in-house clinical team and quality assurance manager has significantly enhanced the quality of care and support planning. Staff also work effectively with external agencies to ensure that children have access to the best support available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are benefiting from stable education placements. Staff maintain effective working relationships with school staff. This supports a consistent approach across Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 4 settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are developing a deeper understanding of the impact of early years’ experiences on children. This increased capacity for reflection is supporting staff to meet the complex needs of children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in a child-focused way. Regular discussions capture the views and wishes of children. Children feel confident to talk with staff about specific things that they feel would improve the quality of their lives. Children feel heard, and this is having a positive impact on their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is of a high quality. The manager has plans to develop this further.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff want to increase opportunities for children to develop positive peer relationships outside the home. Staff encourage children to maintain the networks they already have at college and community-based support groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give excellent examples of working with children in challenging circumstances. The home has a semi-independent flat, which children approaching independence can use to gain skills. This offers a pragmatic approach to preparing children for independence while affording an opportunity to identify additional support they may need going into adulthood.

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

Earlier in the year, staff faced significant challenges, with allegations, safeguarding and complex incidents happening more frequently. In the face of this adversity, staff have experienced a powerful learning opportunity. Guided by skilled experts in the quality assurance and in-house clinical teams, staff have been supported to enhance their understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. They now demonstrate a good understanding of the risks faced and posed by children.

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

Risk management is of a high standard. Staff use well-developed strategies to help minimise the frequency and severity of risk-taking behaviours.

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

Staff benefit from strong external partnerships, working together to keep children safe. A safeguarding partnership group with external agencies meets periodically to share best practice and offer mutual learning support.

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

Children at the home have complex needs. Staff understand and manage these well. Their sensitive and considered approach has delivered significant growth for children. Incidents are currently at very low levels. Children are learning to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 5 Leaders in the organisation lead by example, working together with staff to develop a shared vision for the service. They have successfully implemented more therapeutic ways of working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff described a sense of optimism and excitement for the future of the service. Senior leaders and staff acknowledge that there have been some significant challenges this year. However, staff feel that the way they have been supported and guided through this has been hugely developmental for them. They described strong support from all levels of management. Staff benefit from good supervision ─ both peer group and individual clinical supervision. They praised the wide range of different opportunities for support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is generally of good quality and well maintained. However, the new manager does not appear to have had a formally recorded induction to the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Seniors demonstrate high-quality development planning. It is clear this has helped to bring the service back from a difficult point to a much more functional place. The ability of managers to take a reflective and constructively self-critical view of the service has enabled the whole team to grow and develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are several good examples of close working with the clinical team and external mental health professionals to support the complex needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Seniors are passionate advocates for children. This is evident in the way they talk about their hopes for children’s futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders show a strong commitment to providing equality of access for all. Children have been given support to express their identities whether that be in relation to gender, sexuality or faith.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that they evidence children’s views being implemented in service delivery. Children said that they feel listened too and always receive feedback when they put forward suggestions. Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 6

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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 7

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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: Turnpike Gate House, Alcester Heath, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 5JG

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Inspector

Peter Jackson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482295 8 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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