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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 1 SC482296 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 children’s home provides care for up to eight children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. There were eight children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2021 Full Good 10/09/2019 Full Outstanding 03/10/2018 Full Outstanding 22/08/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 3

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outstanding

Children at the home make exceptional progress from challenging starting points. The home supports young children who have experienced significant trauma and neglect. Children often arrive at the home presenting with high anxiety and can display complex behaviour. Staff work with deep care and affection, stabilising children quickly and supporting them to make transformative changes in their lives.

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outstanding

Staff prioritise their relationships with children’s education settings. Some children benefit from a linked school, managed by the same organisation as the home, while others maintain successful placements in other local provisions. Staff from the children’s schools praise the quality of support and cooperation from the home. One headteacher said, ‘We have had highly positive experiences working with this team. They are dedicated and eager to learn new skills, like signing to support a pupil better. [Name of manager] is amazing at supporting his staff, who always communicate clearly with us. I think [name of child] is the luckiest girl to have a place in this home, and I wish other homes were as amazing as this home.’

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outstanding

Each child benefits from a dedicated key worker. Staff demonstrate high levels of knowledge and insight into the children they care for. Staff create highly personalised care plans that focus intently on what is important for each individual child. Staff also make effective use of analytics and tracking to create a clear picture of progress, identify areas of focus and to evidence success for children.

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outstanding

Children benefit from vast resources at the home for play, learning and fun. The home is situated in large grounds, full of age-appropriate play equipment and sports facilities, and children can also learn to look after animals which live on the site. The home has a very domestic look, which is slightly diminished by one large hallway covered in noticeboards. The manager has already been having conversations with staff about bringing this area of the home in line with all other areas.

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outstanding

Children’s wishes are placed at the heart of decision-making. They say they are listened to and their views are important to staff. Staff create lots of opportunities for reflective conversation with children. This helps children to learn about their place in the social life of the home. This also supports children to develop empathy and understand the impact they have on those around them.

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outstanding

Parents and carers build positive relationships with the team wherever possible. One relative said, ‘Staff are just the most supportive people, who place [name of child] at the centre of everything, advocating for him all the time and placing his needs at the forefront of all their decision-making.’

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outstanding

Staff work tirelessly to achieve positive outcomes for every child. However, they are also willing to recognise when the placement is not right for a particular child. In Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 4 these cases, they will advocate strongly and support children to make positive transitions to more suitable placements. They will not give up until they know a child has found the right home for them.

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

Staff work with children who can present significant risks and complex behaviour. They have a highly developed and research-informed understanding of the impact of children’s early years experiences. This enables staff to recognise that behaviours are a product of children’s experiences. As a result, staff work in a knowledgeable, sensitive and caring way to lower the risks to children. This results in a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of incidents for children over time.

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

Staff have supported children who have come to the home with considerable risks of going missing to significantly reduce their incidents of going missing.

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

Staff form strong working partnerships with schools, social workers and carers wherever possible. This provides a consistent and stable support network around children. Staff make good use of regular planning meetings and inter-agency cooperation to create a safe environment for children in and out of the home.

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

Staff manage the behaviour of children skilfully and creatively. The home is a busy environment which requires vigilance, rapid dynamic risk assessment and quick interventions to support children who may be struggling with their emotions. Staff make excellent use of distraction and de-escalation techniques, with the aim of minimising physical holds where possible. There has been a high level of physical interventions but, for all children, staff are able to use tracking data to show a reduction in incidents. However, continuing to reduce physical intervention remains a priority for staff.

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

Staff have worked with children this year who make frequent verbal allegations when in a heightened emotional state. The manager has ensured that all incidents have been reported promptly to relevant agencies. He has also collaborated creatively with social workers and local authority designated officers to manage this in a safe way that minimises unnecessary work for all concerned. Professionals and carers express trust in the safeguarding support for children at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear vision for the home. He is reflective and insightful and a role model to his team. His love and pride for the home, the children and the staff are tangible. He places an emphasis on recognising the successes of children and staff. He encourages a culture of gratitude. This creates a home where staff feel valued. Staff have a strong role to play in the development of the home and feel their opinions and expertise really matter. In turn, children reflect this culture. They are encouraged to recognise the kind acts of others and celebrate success. Children also have a strong and confident voice in day-to-day life and decision-making at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 5 The registered manager has built a strong senior team who provide the staff with excellent support and guidance. Staff receive high-quality supervision and professional development opportunities. The quality of staff development is

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

particularly apparent with newer members of the team. They display remarkable insight, skills and knowledge for staff who are still in the preliminary stages of their childcare careers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager maintains excellent oversight and monitoring of all elements of practice at the home. He has responded proactively and positively to shortfalls found at a previous Ofsted monitoring visit, driving up standards and making significant improvements in the overall quality of care and support in the process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager engenders the trust of those he works with. Children, staff, professionals and carers were universal in their praise for his leadership at the home. One staff member said, ‘He is a really passionate manager. He led the development of the home’s approach, helping to define core values. He role models how he wants the home to be. Staff are really invested, and their opinions are valued.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager places an emphasis on supporting staff to develop their understanding of the needs of children at the home. He has invested in a resource library full of helpful texts, articles, books and podcasts for staff, which is kept up to date by a dedicated member of the team. He has also marked out protected development time for staff, creating space for staff to do personal learning, online training and research. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that, for children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 for children’s home: SC482296 7

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sadie Dangerfield

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Inspector

Peter Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482296 8 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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