Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children's Services (2) Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report children's home: SC398480 1 SC398480 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services (2) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a private company. This company operates a number of children’s homes across the country. The home provides short- and long- term care for children who have faced adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 3 June 2014. He holds a level 5 equivalent qualification in leadership and management in health and care services.

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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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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

Date of last inspection: 29 October 2019

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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: SC398480 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2019 Full Good 16/04/2018 Full Good 30/11/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC398480 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive safe and nurturing care from staff and they thrive at this home. The environment is lovely and welcoming and has a warm family feel. Staff spend quality time with children and understand their individual needs very well. They know that building relationships is an important aspect of supporting children. As a result, children receive elements of outstanding care from a skilled and empathetic team and develop positive reciprocal relationships with those who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel welcome and develop a sense of belonging when they move into the home. This is because the manager and staff provide a high level of individualised support. They find out about children’s likes and preferences. Staff help children decorate their bedrooms to reflect their personalities. This helps children settle into the home quickly and feel part of a family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Dedicated managers and staff help children achieve positive outcomes. Children make some excellent progress from their starting points. For example, some children have moved from the home and into foster care. One child’s educational attendance has increased to 100%. Before moving to the home, he was not attending school. Another child is attending education regularly and no longer goes missing from home. Staff help children to recognise their achievements, which in turn improves their self-esteem. This helps to support their continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff found innovative and creative ways of supporting children’s education. This is because staff are ambitious for children and embraced challenges during an unprecedented time. Activities included outdoor adventures, a science week, a fashion show and mindfulness. This promoted children’s interests and supported their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place children’s well-being at the centre of their practice. For example, staff helped one child who experienced a bereavement to design and create a peace garden. She was joined by other children at the home and the beautiful peace garden is the result of a real team effort. Staff used art to support children to personalise the garden and think about loss. The peace garden provides children with a safe space to reflect and process their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff go above and beyond to help children stay in touch with their families. They help children reconnect with family members they have not seen for a long time. This helped reassure one child who was worried about his sibling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A parent shared with the inspector how well the staff understand her child’s needs. This has, in turn, helped her to improve her relationship with her daughter. Staff understand the importance of maintaining these relationships. As a result, children have positive experiences when they spend time with family and the plan for one child is now to return home. Inspection report children's home: SC398480 4 Individuality is celebrated. Managers and staff embed a culture of acceptance. Staff model positive and inclusive behaviours and attitudes. They find creative ways to educate children about inclusion. This helps children to reflect on their experiences. Children express themselves through their appearance and interests. As a result, children feel comfortable to explore their identity. They enjoy talking about their identity with staff. This is outstanding practice that promotes children’s self-esteem and acceptance of others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out, effective support and communication contributes to a positive experience. This is because staff prepare children well. On one occasion, a child moved suddenly, following a serious incident in the home. His well-being remained paramount and the support he received was exceptional. As a result, the best possible outcomes are achieved for children, even in difficult times.

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

Risk assessments are thorough. They provide guidance to staff about how to manage risks to children. The manager balances risk with a realistic view that children need to take measured risk. For example, one child has worked towards spending time in the community independently and is now managing this well.

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

Children enjoy a safe and predictable environment. Rewards and consequences help children to feel secure and promote positive behaviour. The manager reviews records and acts promptly on the rare occasion when he does not feel a response from staff is appropriate. This effective oversight helps staff to develop their practice and learn from incidents. In addition, it means that children receive a clear message that their welfare is paramount and this contributes to them feeling safe. Effective behaviour management means that the need for staff to restrain children to keep them and others safe has reduced.

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

Managers and staff respond quickly and proactively when children are missing from home. Staff follow protocols, including searching the local area and contacting family and friends to locate children quickly. Recording of such incidents is thorough. Staff work well with other professionals, such as social workers and the police, to ensure that children return home safely.

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

Staff keep children safe from online risks. For example, they have internet restrictions in place and closely supervise children. However, staff do not proactively educate children to keep safe online. This does not prepare children with the knowledge and understanding to make their own safe choices when using the internet as they develop.

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

Managers and staff mostly respond to incidents quickly. The manager communicates effectively with external professionals, such as social workers. The manager, staff and relevant partner agencies work collaboratively and effectively to keep children safe. Inspection report children's home: SC398480 5 On one occasion, the manager did not challenge a delay when he made a request to the maintenance team to reinstate a door alarm to a child’s bedroom. This may have prevented an isolated, yet significant, incident from occurring, during which two children spent time together during the night. Staff responded to what happened well, focusing on each child’s needs, talking to them individually and together, liaising with the children’s social workers and taking steps to prevent the same situation happening again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and inspirational manager leads a skilled staff team. He is ambitious for children and has high expectations for them. He inspires his staff team and leads by example. Staff share his passion to achieve the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. One staff member said, ‘He [the manager] is very empowering.’ The manager recognises the importance of a skilled and diverse staff team. He has high aspirations for them. The manager understands the strengths of his staff and how to get the best from them. This increases opportunities to improve experiences for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to training that continually improves their practice. A new online training system is in place that allows staff to access additional courses. This has been beneficial in preparing staff to meet children’s specific needs when they move into the home. For example, staff have completed training about mindfulness and gender identity. This means that they develop and enhance their skills to meet children’s needs. This has a positive impact on the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff use trauma-based research to inform their practice. For example, a therapeutic model helps staff to understand children’s complex experiences and the impact of these experiences on their development and behaviour. The in-house clinical team provides support to children and staff. As a result, staff are confident in delivering therapeutic care that meets children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager strives for consistency and excellence for children. He provides support alongside appropriate challenge. Staff receive monthly supervision and yearly appraisals. These include reflection on children’s experiences and staff’s individual practice, as well as the effectiveness of policies and procedures. Staff are motivated to learn and understand as much as they can about children’s needs and how to meet these the best that they can. The manager welcomes new ideas and encourages staff to develop in their role. As a result, children enjoy care provided by a stable, highly skilled and motivated staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is innovative in developing new ideas. He involves children in creating shared values. These values are intrinsic to the running of the home. Each child receives a personalised monthly newsletter. This helps them to build memories and keep a record of their achievements. The manager has also designed an imaginative Inspection report children's home: SC398480 6 children’s guide. This supports children to easily understand the day-to-day routines of the home and what to expect when they come to live there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an in-depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He has recently improved the monitoring and review systems for the home and the wider organisation. He uses these systems well to evaluate the quality of care provided. This supports ongoing development plans and continually improves experiences for children. In addition, staff develop personalised one-page plans for children. This includes a photo of the child and clear aims as well as outcomes. This helps staff to identify focused work to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are extremely complimentary of the service. They highlight strong partnership working and communication. Professionals recognise that children make excellent progress because of the care that staff provide. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘I have been impressed by the consistency of staff and child-centred approach.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have some excellent relationships with the local community. Children baked cakes for neighbours when they were unwell. Staff and children have taken part in creating food parcels and raising money for different charities. Children receive thank you cards for their efforts. This gives them a sense of purpose and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Robust action is taken in response to complaints. The manager is passionate about children sharing their views. Children know how to complain, and the manager thanks them for doing so. Complaints are few because of the very positive relationships that children have with staff. Inspection report children's home: SC398480 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should help children understand how to protect themselves, particularly in relation to online safety. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: SC398480 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services (2) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC398480 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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