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 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to eight children. Currently, there are only girls accommodated. The home’s statement of purpose describes caring for children who have experienced a fragmented education and lifestyle and who also exhibit behavioural difficulties as a result of past emotional and physical trauma. The home has a self-contained flat which is used to help a child to experience semi- independent living. It is one of several children’s homes owned by this nationwide organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since May 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 October 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2019 Full Outstanding 07/08/2018 Full Outstanding 30/10/2017 Full Outstanding 05/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 4

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outstanding

The care provided to children at this home is outstanding. Children make consistent progress, which is promoted by committed staff who support their continued development. Children are provided with dedicated individualised care that helps them to make exceptional progress.

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outstanding

Staff know the children well and understand their needs. They have clear strategies in place to help children to overcome barriers to success. One child said, ‘Staff have helped me do so much since I have been here, I have received so many certificates here and at my clubs.’

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outstanding

Before children move into the home, staff carefully consider the needs of the children currently resident. They consider their age, interests and how they will thrive as individuals and as a group. All children’s views are considered and children living in the home hold a welcome celebration for new children moving in. This reduces anxieties for children and gives them a sense of belonging from the onset.

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outstanding

Staff strongly promote children’s education. Since being at this home, children have increased their attendance and improved their performance in school. Most children have moved to mainstream schools and have made substantial progress. Children’s achievements are celebrated. One child proudly presented her school certificates to the inspector, expressing pleasure in her hard work and the support she receives from the staff team.

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outstanding

Staff work collaboratively with other agencies to ensure that the care provided to children is exceptionally well planned, supported and agreed. Where possible, parents and other family members are involved. Children are consulted in their care planning processes and invited to meetings where their care needs are addressed.

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outstanding

To promote relationships between children, professionals, families and the community, the home organises open days and festivals. These occasions remove the stigma in which children’s homes are sometimes perceived and promotes positive relationships among people who are involved in children’s lives. This also gives children a sense of pride and belonging in their home and the community they live in.

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outstanding

Staff communicate effectively with children to obtain their views. They use a variety of methods, including the Picture Exchange Communication System and written and verbal communication. Children share their views in several ways, such as through community meetings and key-work sessions. Children contribute to the recruitment process of new staff by submitting questions for applicants to answer. Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 5 As a result, children feel involved in decisions in the home and the arrangements for their care.

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outstanding

Children live in a generally well-maintained home. Children and staff ensure that there is a homely feel throughout. Photos are displayed of children and staff on holidays, celebrating occasions such as birthdays and participating in activities. The home has several communal areas, such as a snug room, lounge areas and a beauty room, where children can spend time together, or alone to play and relax. Their bedrooms are decorated taking into account their interests and their sensory needs. There are a few areas, such as the shower rooms, that would benefit from refurbishment because they are worn and do not match the high standard of the rest of the home.

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outstanding

Children have access to an extensive range of activities both at home and in the community. They enjoy the large garden space, which is well equipped with swings, trampolines and suitable exercise equipment. Children enjoy growing vegetables, flowers and fruit, which they use in cooking healthy meals. They go to community-based activities, such as singing lessons, trampolining, gymnastics, horse riding and Army Cadets. One child said, ‘It’s nice staying here, it’s fun to go out on activities.’ A parent said, ‘Staff are so good here, they provide a variety of activities and this improves children’s mental health.’

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outstanding

Staff and leaders have high aspirations for children to progress and achieve. Dynamic independence plans are implemented with children’s involvement. Staff help children to plan their move away from the home. Children learn about life skills and benefit from an initial move to an independence flat which is located within the home. As a result, children feel empowered and supported by staff to take the next steps in their independence and to continue to do well.

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

Safeguarding concerns are well managed. Since the previous inspection, some children have gone missing from the home. Clear protocols are in place to guide staff on actions to take when children go missing from care.

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

Children’s understanding of keeping safe is enhanced through the provision of workshops. These are conducted by the local police liaison officer and other external services. This gives a positive outlook of the police and gives them the information they need to make informed choices about their safety.

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

Risk assessments are individualised and detailed. Staff are well trained in safeguarding practice. They are well informed of the vulnerabilities of each child and have clear strategies to keep them safe. When safeguarding issues occur, leaders, managers and staff seek the support of the clinical team. The team is invited to staff meetings where staff reflect on practice and review approaches that help to keep children safe. This ensures that their care is informed by specialist staff and that the assessment of children’s needs is firmly grounded in accepted theories of mental health, emotional well-being and understanding how trauma, Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 6 loss and previous experiences can impact on children’s behaviour, development and thought processes.

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

When children have emotional difficulties, staff respond compassionately and consistently. They ensure that physical intervention is used as a last resort. If physical intervention is used, staff reflect on the incident with children and the clinical team to ensure that learning takes place in order to reduce the need for the use of this intervention in the future.

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

Children know how to complain. They are able to report concerns to staff. Leaders and managers attend to all complaints. They ensure that they are assessed and escalated where further investigations are required. Allegations are reported to relevant child protection agencies and thoroughly investigated.

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

On one occasion, staff whose role was to supervise children became distracted. This lapse in supervision led to an allegation of inappropriate behaviour between children. This incident was appropriately reported to relevant parties and measures were implemented to increase the supervision of children. Staff are now more alert and curious about potential risks between children and their role in keeping children safe.

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

Recruitment procedures are extremely thorough. Leaders and managers carefully recruit and select staff who are suitable to work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A new manager has been recently appointed. She has made extensive changes to the procedures in the home and has implemented plans aimed at improving the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and leaders provide an environment where staff are given the opportunity to learn and develop. Comprehensive training and development opportunities are provided to support staff to be competent in their roles and to prepare for further career development. Training is continuously reviewed. Therefore, additional training is provided, when required, to meet the needs of the children. This means that staff’s skills are constantly being improved in order to meet the range of needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision sessions for staff are regular. New members of staff receive fortnightly supervision to support them through their induction process. The manager uses supervision and annual appraisals as effective tools for coaching staff and reflecting on practice. This ensures that staff receive ongoing professional development opportunities. Staff appreciate the support and guidance provided by leaders and managers. They feel listened to and their views are considered carefully in terms of the day-to-day running of the home and ongoing service development. Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 7 The manager has excellent processes in place to check and track the progress made by children. Children are supported to identify aims and objectives for themselves and these are reviewed regularly with their involvement. Direct work sessions are completed with children. When objectives are achieved, they are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

celebrated and children are rewarded. This helps children to notice each small step they take and keeps them genuinely engaged in doing things that help them to succeed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnership working is strong. Staff, leaders and managers work well with other agencies to ensure that children’s needs are met. Social workers confirm that information is shared appropriately and decisions are made collectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager promotes equality, diversity and inclusion effectively. Children and staff maintain a positive culture which celebrates and supports children to learn from staff who have different sexual identities, cultural and religious backgrounds. Managers work alongside the staff and the clinical team to promote children’s choice and acceptance of self-identity. Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 8

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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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

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)(ii)(iv)(b)) 30 November

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely and domestic environment. The home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, it should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 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: SC482303 10

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sadie Dangerfield

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Inspector

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482303 11 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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