Children's Home run by Hill Top Children’s Care Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 1 Registered provider: Hill Top Children’s Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to two children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in July 2020. The first child was admitted to the home on 21 August 2020. There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since October 2021, when the home’s registered manager resigned. Ofsted has not received an application for registration from the interim manager, who has been in post since that time.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was conducted on site and involved meetings with children and several staff. Email and telephone contact took place with placing authority social workers, other professionals and a parent.

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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 17 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 2 The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experience and progress is limited by poor management oversight and leadership. This has an impact on the quality of care provided to children and presents confusion for the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Despite these concerns, the child enjoys a range of activities and new experiences, for example, a first haircut and visiting popular London landmarks. Staff are proactive and organise activities in the home, such as baking and art and crafts. Meaningful experiences help children to develop trusting and positive relationships with staff. Inspectors observed warm interactions between staff and the child during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The views of the child in placement support this. The child said, ‘It feels like home, other places have not felt like home to me.’

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improvement to be good

The child’s engagement in education is positive. This provides constructive routines and gives the child a sense of achievement. Staff use activities to encourage the child to write an account of her experience and develop her written English skills. The home celebrates the child’s achievements by displaying certificates and pieces of work around the house.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management is effective. Staff use creative solutions to help children manage difficult emotions, for example, offering alternative techniques such as going for a walk with staff when children are struggling. This has seen a reduction in negative behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Contact with friends and family is prioritised. Staff drive a long distance on a weekly basis to ensure that family time takes place. This helps children to rebuild important relationships.

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improvement to be good

The child’s wishes and feelings are respected. Staff are guided by the child on important issues such as choices of activity or help in drafting the weekly menu. This practice helps children to feel heard and maintains the stability of the home.

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improvement to be good

The training provided to staff is insufficient. Staff have not undergone training in important areas such as the sexual exploitation of children. This limits the effectiveness of direct work with children.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is not safe. Bedroom wardrobes are not secured to the walls and present a hazard to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 4 Risk assessments are effective and identify issues early. Assessments are understood by staff and are reviewed on a regular basis.

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improvement to be good

There are no reports of children going missing from the home. Despite this, staff understand the importance of following the home’s missing-from-home procedures if a child was to go missing.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice is variable in quality. Despite a number of allegations and concerns, the home’s induction programme for new staff does not outline whistle- blowing procedures. This limits staff knowledge of this important area of practice.

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improvement to be good

Multi-agency working is effective. Staff monitor children’s behaviour and feed back any concerns to allocated social workers. For example, staff report observations from children’s time with their family. This ensures that information is shared promptly, and that action is taken to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management of the home is inconsistent and confusing. The interim manager is the third manager since the home opened 15 months ago. Despite requests from the allocated inspector, the interim manager has not applied to Ofsted for registration. This is a breach of the regulations for children’s homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

This is the interim manager’s first experience of managing a residential provision. He does not receive consistent supervision from the responsible individual, despite his inexperience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Succession planning is lacking and there is no deputy manager in post. Therefore, decision-making at vulnerable times such as at the weekend is left to inexperienced staff who lack any form of management training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not communicate with each other. For example, the interim manager was unaware of the existence of a workforce development plan until this was provided by the responsible individual during the inspection. The failure to ensure that the interim manager is provided with important documents promptly demonstrates management confusion and presented difficulties during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Ofsted has not received a review of the quality of care report since January 2021. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home and compromised the preparation for this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s admission register fails to fully record the duration of children’s placements and where children move to when they leave the home. This limits the manager’s evaluation of each placement. Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 5

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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 provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home—

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Requirement Due date

if there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person is to ensure that an application for registration is made. 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 31 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 6 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered provider must ensure;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the home should ensure that wardrobes are secured to walls to prevent possible harm to children. 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 31 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the home should ensure that the outcomes for children are properly recorded in the home’s register. 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the home should ensure that staff have specialist training that meets children’s individualised needs. 31 January 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, through the induction process, staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home has a plan in place to maintain effective management when the manager is absent, off duty or on leave. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 8

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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: 2594629 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hill Top Children’s Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 73 Francis Road, Edgbaston, West Midlands B16 8SP

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Inspectors

Leanne Grant, Social Care Inspector Barnaby Dowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2594629 10 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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