Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 1 SC482295 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 and accommodation for up to seven children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 25 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 and 11 November 2021

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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: 24 September 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 for children's home: SC482295 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/09/2019 Full Good 29/08/2018 Full Good 15/11/2017 Full Good 07/10/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good-quality individualised care. The home environment is nurturing and supportive, which allows for trusting relationships to develop between staff and children. All children have made progress since arriving at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have access to education and make progress. Staff work proactively with education provisions to support children. Children who had not been attending school prior to this placement now attend. Staff show ambition for children to achieve. As a result, children have confidence and aspirations for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are heard, and their views are highly valued. They speak confidently about their wishes and needs. Children know how to complain. Weekly community meetings allow opportunities for children to give their views and this encourages a sense of trust and positive relationships. As a result, they feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a variety of activities and experiences, including horse riding, baking and regular days out. Children’s achievements are celebrated and applauded by staff. Notably, one child has a part-time job, and another child has aspirations to go to university.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for their futures. All children have up-to-date care plans on file. These plans are appropriately reviewed and updated at meetings. Staff are flexible and adapt to the changing needs of children’s care plans. One external professional said, ‘They are good at risk assessing, planning and matching. I would give them a good 8 or 9 out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Day-to-day practice during the COVID-19 pandemic was regularly reviewed to ensure that staff were working in line with government guidance. Clear planning by the managers and staff ensured that children’s care was not disrupted during the COVID-19 restrictions.

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

Staff prioritise safeguarding in their practice. Risk assessments are robust and understood by staff. Since the previous inspection, there is good evidence of staff monitoring ongoing risks to children. Risk assessments are regularly updated, based on the individualised needs of the child. Children feel safe in this home and can identify who they would speak to if they had concerns. The previous requirement is therefore met.

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

The home is in the process of being redecorated throughout. Children are consulted and actively involved in the plans for design. Children’s contributions and artwork are on display throughout the home, which provides a homely and personalised feel to the environment. Health and safety is a priority in the home, and checks are Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 4 regularly undertaken. Since the previous inspection, fire doors have been replaced with no other further hazards identified. The previous requirement is met.

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

Staff know how to respond to children’s varied behaviours. Incidents of restraint are very low, and only used as a last resort. When there has been an incident of restraint, staff reflect and consider if any changes need to be made to staff practice or children’s plans. Staff therefore adapt their child-centred practice to respond effectively to each child’s specific needs.

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

Since children have moved to the home, there has been a reduction in the number of times they have gone missing. There have been no episodes of children going missing for several months. The number of safeguarding incidents is very low. All children, professionals and family members spoken to expressed no safeguarding concerns. Staff keep children safe in his home.

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

Children’s files are largely up to date, with the relevant information available. There is one file where a child’s statutory medical report had not been received from the local authority since she was placed several months previously. While there was evidence of attempts made by staff to follow up, these have not been consistent.

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

Overall, staff report serious incidents to the relevant safeguarding agencies and Ofsted as required. However, there have been two instances when Ofsted was not notified, despite other professionals being informed. This compromises the regulator’s ability to oversee the safeguarding practice of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a highly effective and approachable registered manager in post. She is child centred, ambitious and passionate about children’s progress. This sets a motivational culture in which staff strive for quality in their practice. Staff report that the manager is ‘amazing’ and someone who genuinely cares about the children. Children like the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff’s focus on developing trusting relationships with the children is extended to professionals and families. All family members spoken to said that all staff communicated with them well and that their children had progressed. One parent said, ‘When my child first came, she was volatile with anger issues. Now she takes everything in her stride.’ Positive partnership working helps to build trust and engagement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by regular formal supervision and appraisals. Mandatory training has been completed by the staff team. Training reflects the needs of the children in their care. Therefore, the recommendation made at the previous inspection is met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows and understands the home’s strengths and weaknesses well. The six-monthly quality of care reports are consistently submitted to Ofsted. In the most recent report, the safeguarding section was not completed, despite Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 5 safeguarding being a prevalent theme. This was a missed opportunity by the manager to identify and analyse the issues around safeguarding in greater detail. Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 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—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(c)(e)) 24 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on in the regulation 45 report. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff inform and engage with those who also hold a responsibility for the child’s health to ensure their health needs are met under regulation 5 - engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 7

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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 for children's home: SC482295 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sadie Dangerfield

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Inspector

Skye Frain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC482295 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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