Children's Home, Residential special school run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 1 SC482300 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited 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 for up to six children who may have social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties. The organisation also provides an on-site education provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 December 2020, to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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: SC482300 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/07/2019 Full Good 25/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are highly skilled and build strong, trusting relationships with the children in their care. Interactions between staff and children are natural and nurturing. Through these positive relationships, children experience increased levels of stability and feel more secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s therapeutic model is evident in staff practice. Children access specialist counselling and relevant therapeutic interventions. Staff work together with professionals to support children with their identity and any bullying that may occur. One child said, ‘Staff have helped me with my emotions.’ As a result of this care, children make good progress in improving their emotional and psychological well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good physical health. Staff follow up on any health issues experienced by the children. One child underwent surgery, and was extremely well prepared and supported by the staff team, through a child-centred book. This book prepared and reassured the child. This reduced the child’s natural anxiety about the operation and the child was well supported throughout their time in hospital.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education. All children are accessing education, this includes onsite, off-site and online learning provisions. On occasions when children have faced difficulties with education, alternative arrangements have been made. This problem-solving has encouraged one child to re-engage with their learning. Staff advocate for all children and support their individual educational needs. They have high expectations for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain and have their voice heard. Staff respond to children’s views with dignity and respect. If children make a complaint, they receive a timely response that is child-friendly and clearly explains the outcome of the complaint. Children feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Older children are prepared for their futures. One child has obtained their provisional driving licence and has also saved money to buy some electronic equipment. External professionals report that staff support children to gain independence skills, as appropriate to the child’s age. Children also receive key-working sessions, in line with their personal care plans, to further develop their life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is homely and welcoming. It is situated in a rural location and the children have space to play and express themselves. Children enjoy a variety of activities off site, as COVID-19 restrictions ease. Activities include horse riding, swimming and guitar lessons. The children enjoy these experiences. Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 4

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

The safety and well-being of children is a clear focus in this home. Staff have a good understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities and potential to behave in ways that could result in them coming to harm. Individual risk assessments provide clear strategies for keeping the child safe.

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

Missing-from-home episodes for children at the home are minimal. The number of safeguarding incidents is low. Management oversight is reflective and is recorded within the relevant timescales. External professionals report that children are safeguarded at this home.

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

Staff respond to any complaints that children make about bullying behaviour, whether this has occurred on site or off site. Staff advocate on behalf of children and actively follow up on plans that are in place to support the children. Children feel protected and listened to by staff.

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

Physical restraint is rarely used. One member of staff said that the team’s practice is based on ‘what we can do to de-escalate’ as opposed to a physical hold. Records of any physical intervention used are generally clear and well detailed. These records show reflective oversight by a senior member of staff.

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

Although the home itself is safe, there is a shipping container located in the grounds near to the home, which is freely accessible to children. There have been recent incidents involving children climbing on it. The provider has plans in place to remove the container. However, the item remains in the grounds and remains a potential risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has created a culture where the children are valued, and staff are motivated to provide a good standard of care. She is supported by a skilled and committed group of team managers. Staff praise the support of senior managers and hold the leadership team in high regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are of good quality and occur regularly for most staff. However, one member of bank staff who undertakes regular shifts in the children’s home has not received regular supervision. This means the member of staff has not received feedback on their practice, to help them learn and develop as a residential worker.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff did not receive any formal appraisals of their practice in 2020. During the inspection, staff were unable to access and refer to their previous appraisal documentation. The absence of appraisals means that it has been some time since the staff have had a formal review of their fitness to perform their individual roles. This risks inconsistency in performance and reduces opportunities for staff to reflect, develop and plan their professional development. Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 5 Leaders work hard to maintain effective working relationships with external partners. Comments from professionals and parents are positive. Serious incidents are reported to relevant external safeguarding agencies as required. However, there has been one instance where Ofsted was not notified of an allegation made by a child against a member of staff. This compromises the regulator’s ability to oversee the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In general, the response to maintenance issues in the home is prompt. However, access to a child’s bedroom to assess potential repair work has not been possible, because the child has refused access to the repair person. Staff have not been successful in helping the child to understand the need for adults to gain access to their bedroom for specific reasons, such as a potential health and safety matter. The issue was left unresolved for some time, but was resolved during the inspection visit. However, this matter could have led to the child being at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the previous inspection, a recommendation was made relating to the workforce plan and staff training. A workforce plan is in place and has been reviewed regularly, showing progress. However, the associated training document does not include up- to-date training records. The organisation is currently transferring between training record databases and this has had some negative impact on the accuracy of training information available to senior staff. The recommendation is therefore repeated. Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 6

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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 if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 13 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 13 August 2021

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 13 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that although a child’s bedroom is not generally entered without their permission, it may be necessary to establish Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 7 routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC482300 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: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspectors

Skye Frain, Social Care Inspector Anna Williams, Social Care Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC482300 9 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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