Children's Home run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in West Berkshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 1 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is due to close soon. This is through no fault of the home, and it links to the withdrawal of a tenancy agreement by the new owners. Senior managers are working with local authorities to look at transition plans for the children to move into another home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is newly appointed to the role and was present throughout this inspection. They have applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were consulted with as part of this inspection and shared their views and feelings.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 15 November 2021

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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: 2483715 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2021 Full Good 07/10/2019 Full Good 12/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in all areas of their lives. They are happy and settled in the home and are provided with warm and nurturing care. Children have good relationships with each other and enjoy spending time together in the home and community. They have trusted and secure relationships with the core staff team and are provided with consistent routines and boundaries. This means children feel safer and incidents have started to be reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children engage positively in education and have good attendance and attainment. The staff work well with school staff, although one education provider commented that the information shared could be more detailed to provide better oversight of any behaviour of concern. This would allow the school to effectively plan for any additional support that the child may need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities in the home and community. Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests such as horse riding, joining the army cadets and swimming. This supports children to be connected to their communities and develop their social skills and friendship groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met, particularly around their emotional health and well-being. Children have been supported to develop better ways of communicating when they are upset. This has led to a reduction in incidents. Additional support is available through external agencies, and staff are starting to receive training around the impact of trauma. One child has made good progress with their communication skills and is now able to verbally communicate. This has given them a more active voice to express their views, wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain contact with people who are important to them. Staff work well with families and communicate with them regularly. Parents feel welcome in the home and, as a result, they spend positive time with their children. Staff are creative in planning activities that include the children’s siblings when they visit. This has helped to support and build on family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans are detailed and individual to each child. They provide staff with information about agreed targets and goals and the children’s needs. One plan is significantly out of date, which means some information is no longer relevant. The manager has not escalated this as a concern to the local authority.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are clear, detailed and individual to each child, although they are not consistently reviewed. Staff have not always followed agreed risk management Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 4 plans, and this has placed a child at risk of harm. Risk assessments have not consistently been updated following incidents.

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improvement to be good

Restraints are infrequent, but on one occasion, a restraint was used inappropriately. The recording of this is contradictory, as the narrative of the event does not accurately reflect the action taken. The manager has failed to reflect on this in their evaluation or take action to improve staff practice and understanding. This has allowed poor practice to go unchallenged, and children could be at risk because of this.

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improvement to be good

Allegations have mostly been well managed, and the manager has worked with external safeguarding professionals to agree on the action to be taken in response. On one occasion, a staff member did not intervene or immediately report a concern about a staff member’s practice during an incident. A child was harmed during this incident, and the staff failed to document the injury appropriately or in a timely way. This left children at further risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff recruitment records are confusing, and not all of them are stored together. Information is stored in different places, and the manager does not have access to some records. This prevents the manager from having clear oversight of the recruitment of staff employed to work at the home. Records of agency staff working in the home contain all relevant information. Agency staff receive a comprehensive induction before working with the children.

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improvement to be good

The fire risk assessment for the home was last reviewed in 2020 and should have been reviewed annually. This prevents external specialists from reviewing fire safety and the home’s adherence to fire regulations. Fire drills are regularly undertaken. However, not all children participate regularly. A night-time drill has not been completed in the last year. This prevents staff and children from learning how to safely evacuate the home when they may have been asleep.

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good

The manager has only recently been appointed to this role and, as a result, lacks experience, particularly around the expectations of the manager to provide good oversight and completion of tasks. Due to the imminent closure of the home, several staff have left, and the manager is completing shifts to cover the staffing shortfalls. This has further impacted on the manager’s ability to provide good oversight. There has been a lack of senior management support in ensuring that all tasks are completed.

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good

The manager is child-focused, and children are at the centre of their working practices. They model warmth and nurture to the team and, as a result, children receive good care. They have high aspirations for the children and know and understand them well. The manager has organised a holiday to ensure that children have a positive end to their time at the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 5 Staff do not have regular supervision or annual appraisals in line with the home’s policy. This minimises opportunities to reflect on practice and to identify training and development needs. The manager has provided support to staff during this time of uncertainty around the home’s future. Staff are understandably saddened and concerned for the children and their futures, and the manager is providing stability and consistency to the team.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training. However, they have not completed training specific to children’s individual needs. This prevents staff from further developing skills, knowledge and understanding of how best to support children.

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good

Children are provided with a warm and comfortable environment that looks very much like a home. Children’s bedrooms are highly personalised to their individual taste, and children have been involved in decorating their rooms. There are photos of the children around the home, which helps children to have a sense of connection and belonging.

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good

The manager has good relationships with families and professionals. They provided positive feedback about the home and the care that children receive. Parents and professionals commented on the good progress that children have made and how happy they are in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to regular reviews of risk assessments, staff reporting any safeguarding concerns in a timely manner and ensuring a fire risk assessment is completed. 1 May 2023

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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

promotes their welfare. 1 May 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to improving management oversight of the home and having measures in place to support the manager to complete expected tasks when they are supporting the home through working shifts.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff using restraint to enforce compliance, as this practice is not permissible. 1 May 2023

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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 a year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff having regular supervision and annual appraisals. 1 May 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that recruitment practices safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13)  The registered person must ensure that children’s care records are kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2483715 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bryn Melyn Care Limited, Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2483715 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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