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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 1 SC482303 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 providing care and accommodation for up to eight girls. The home’s statement of purpose describes placements as being for ‘young people who have often experienced a fragmented education and lifestyle and who also exhibit behaviour difficulties as a result of past emotional and physical trauma’. It is one of several children’s homes owned by this nationwide organisation. The home has a self- contained flat used to help a young person to experience semi-independent living. Ofsted registered the manager in October 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2018 Full Outstanding 30/10/2017 Full Outstanding 05/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 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 ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation so that the process followed and how it has led to the outcome is clear. (Regulation 39(3)) 30/11/2019

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Recommendations

 The home should work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of and support to use communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6). In particular, ensure that children’s views are meaningfully incorporated into care plans, so that children’s wishes and feelings are given expression.  The registered person should make best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph

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Recommendations

10.24) In particular, evaluate the use of any unauthorised hold with a child and comment whether it was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances, and ensure that children’s views of any measure of control are sought in addition to their reflections on their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home radiates the philosophy that every child deserves the highest standard of care and is capable of achieving the utmost of their potential. This finds expression in a variety of ways, including finding areas of genuine shared interest. Key workers spend time every month with young people, doing a memorable activity, which ranges from Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 4 going to a West End musical to going to a favourite coffee shop. A family member commented on the close relationship staff had with his child, saying, ‘All the team are on the ball, they like the same things she likes and are on the same wavelength.’ Staff pay great attention to the individual needs of young people, for example noticing that one young woman learns best by hearing, rather than reading. A staff member therefore bought a device to record text books for her to listen to. This illustrates how children are helped to achieve and to know that they matter as individuals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff engender a feeling of belonging for young people. More than one young person said, ‘I don’t class this as a children’s home, but a family home.’ A few professionals have suggested that this means it is difficult for staff and young people to ‘let go’ at the end of placements. However, the meticulous preparations that staff make ensure that young people are as prepared as possible, practically and emotionally, for the changes to come. Most young people have a history of long absence from school before coming to the home, but quickly attain near 100% attendance and begin to achieve. One young person has recently started at a mainstream school due to the improvements she has made, with progress described by one professional as ‘rare for any of our children’. The manager and staff take every opportunity to promote young people’s self-esteem and sense of being effective. They are adept at ‘making positives out of negatives’. For

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

example, activity that puts a young person at risk on social media may result in undertaking an accredited workshop on internet safety. The young person therefore has a certificate to show their newly acquired knowledge and skills, as well as something to live up to. Young people are proud of having such tangible proof of their abilities. The clinical team’s input is invaluable for staff, helping them to support young people in a resilient way, and to young people themselves in helping them to manage challenges better. One young person said, ‘I now control myself and I have people I can talk to. I’m learning to express my anger – not wait until my treasure chest is full’ (referring to a way she has learned to handle strong emotions). The manager and staff inspire young people to have personal goals in the short and longer term. One way of doing this is by encouraging young people to write hopes and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

ambitions on pieces of card and place them in their own bucket. These are used to discuss what can be done to achieve those hopes and ambitions. The home’s plans do not reflect such goals or other views of young people well. Young people’s contributions are often just to confirm that they agree with what staff have written. Nevertheless, young people are helped to make important, sometimes life- changing, decisions. One young person said, with determination, ‘I want to make something of my life’ and this is a much greater possibility for all the young people having lived in this home.

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

Staff are good at explaining to young people why particular behaviour is not acceptable, such as the risk it puts them at or the impact on others. This often takes the form of a workshop, sometimes delivered by a professional from outside the home. Young people Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 5 come to understand the benefit of this approach. A child said, ‘They tell you off because they want you to learn and not make the same mistakes.’ For some young people, the impact is dramatic. One social worker said she was ‘shocked’ that a young person quickly agreed with boundaries she had refused to accept at home. Another young person’s missing from home episodes were well into three figures last year. However, since coming to live at the home, she has run away just once in a similar period. As a result, the risks to young people, including those of exploitation, have greatly reduced. Progress wavers for some young people, but staff constantly think about different ways

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

of approaching problems and young people appreciate the concern and support that they are offered. One commented, ‘This year hasn’t been the best for me, but staff are by my side and help push me forward,’ adding, ‘This home is amazing.’ Professionals and family members alike commented on how staff help young people by providing consistent expectations of behaviour within a nurturing environment. A teacher said, ‘Staff have a close relationship with young people, but it is clear and boundaried. Children need people who are friendly but who put boundaries in place.’ Fundamental to the home’s approach is to understand why young people behave as they do and to devise strategies that address the underlying causes as much as the actual behaviour. Staff ensure that behavioural support includes the young person knowing that they remain loved and cared for, despite what has happened. A particularly creative

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

example is how staff manage the removal of potentially unsuitable items in young people’s bedrooms. Occasionally, staff restrain young people to ensure everyone’s safety. Although the manager or another member of staff speaks to the young person afterwards, they do not routinely ask for their views about the hold itself, whether they understood why it was used and if they thought it was fair. On one occasion, a member of staff used holds that were not agreed for the young person involved. Although reviewed on inspection and deemed proportionate given the level of potential harm, the manager did not comment on this in her monitoring of the incident on the record. There was, therefore, no evidence that the incident had been sufficiently scrutinised to ensure good practice or to learn lessons from it. The manager and staff use processes and procedures well to promote young people’s welfare. They have, for example, embraced a new medication policy and records format

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

that introduces an audit regime as a means to further protect young people from potential errors.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff go to extraordinary lengths to support young people to develop a sense of belonging and a feeling of security. The manager motivates her team to provide the highest quality of care and, together, they inspire young people to overcome challenges and have high ambitions. Line management and clinical supervisions, team meetings and handovers provide staff, Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 6 including those who work at night, with the structure needed to reflect on practice and promote professional development. Records demonstrate that the emotional impact of the work is recognised and managed well. The manager’s review of the quality of care contains a plethora of initiatives to further develop the service. This includes the ways that young people are supported, networks with other professionals are strengthened, and the homely nature of the environment is enhanced. This amply demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The whole team has worked to improve the areas where recommendations were made at the last inspection. They now ensure that all documents clearly state the name of the author and are dated and signed appropriately. This improves accountability and the opportunity to seek clarification if necessary. The manager produced a new complaint form to capture the process and outcomes, but did not complete it for the one complaint made since the last inspection. The account therefore lacked clarity. The manager and staff have historically had an excellent rapport with the community police officer, which has led to young people having better relationships with the police service. Partnership meetings, initiated and hosted by the manager, have widened this to other local officers and staff of a GP surgery, all of whom have a more informed idea of the role and responsibilities of children’s homes as a result. Attendance of these

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

meetings has included the designated officer of the local authority and managers of other homes in the area, and resulted in sharing information such as intelligence about local ‘hot spots’ for criminal activity and improving safeguarding practice. The staff liaise with other professionals such as a teacher of horticulture (who works with young people in the garden) and the clinical team that shares the home’s ethos and desire to further enhance its work. A member of staff has written a ‘local area guide’ for social workers, parents and others to tell them about local resources. This gives them ideas about where they might take young people when making visits to the home, improving the experience for everyone. The manager and staff encourage young people to contribute ideas for and participate in the running of the home. Examples include a ‘De-Escalation Bible’, in which young people and staff add tips on how they can be helped when feeling stressed, and choosing a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

fragrance to put in diffusers around the home. These ideas allow young people to be creatively involved in running the home and to care for their environment.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC482303 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: Turnpike Gate House, Alcester Heath, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 5JG

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Inspector

Chris Peel, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 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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