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Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 1 SC482299 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

The home provides care for up to 10 children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, eight children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2018.

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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 outstanding

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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: 28 February 2023

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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: SC482299 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Good 07/07/2021 Full Good 21/08/2019 Full Good 29/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have made progress from their starting points since living in the home. Children have opportunities to learn new skills and have new experiences. For example, all the children have attended two holidays this year and have tried abseiling, rock climbing and free-falling for the first time. One staff member spoke passionately about the children helping each other to have fun and be safe on their holiday. Most children attend full-time education. When one child was having difficulties accessing lessons, managers and staff worked creatively with education colleagues to provide bespoke learning, accessing workbooks and learning new skills. All children will attend full-time education in September 2023. Most children are enrolled in additional leisure opportunities, such as adventure clubs, horse riding, drama classes and swimming lessons. This increases the children’s social skills and confidence in new environments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. As part of their plan, through their passion for writing, they were supported to express their feelings about living in the home in a beautifully written poetry book. This gave them a sense of belonging at the home; their views were listened to and their goal to move to a family was achieved. Children are involved in how they are cared for. Committed staff capture children’s views and provide emotional support to enable children to directly contribute to their reviews. Plans are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the care and support that children receive. One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. When children move into the home, carefully considered plans are in place to ensure that the children feel welcomed. Children’s plans are generally clear and detailed; however, for one child who has just moved in, information regarding their diagnosis and sensory

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

needs were not clear. This meant that staff did not have the information needed to fully meet the child’s specific social, emotional and education needs. Leaders and managers have reflected on this and identified lessons learned. The home is large and spacious with a well-equipped garden and playroom. While one piece of play equipment in the garden was broken, the children were aware of the risks and that they were not able to use this equipment until it has been repaired. Children’s bedrooms are decorated to reflect their interests, and include their favourite cuddly toys and their choice of soft furnishings. One child was very proud to show inspectors a signed photo of their favourite football team. Staff value the importance of children spending time with their families and people they are close to. The manager and staff work tirelessly, planning and helping with Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

travel to support these relationships. One parent said, ‘They do this without question as they see the importance and benefits to my child.’

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

Staff are extremely knowledgeable about the children and their risks and vulnerabilities. Clear safeguarding processes are followed by staff and are effective. Staff are knowledgeable regarding their safeguarding responsibilities and actions to take when they are concerned for a child’s welfare. Children’s well-being is at the centre of the process and information is shared with professionals from social care, education and the police in a timely way. Staff are trained in the appropriate use of restraint. Staff use de-escalation techniques and individual support methods to help children feel better without needing to hold them. Incidents of children needing to be held are low. When children are held, this is for the shortest time possible and only when absolutely necessary. As part of the management review of incidents, children are supported to find alternative ways to express their feelings and emotions. This has led to a

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

decrease in incidents for all the children. Children are listened to and allegations are acted on. Records show good safeguarding practice and information sharing with relevant agencies. However, in one example, the manager did not keep a chronological record of all measures taken to mitigate risk. Although this has not impacted on the quality of care children have received, it is a missed opportunity for the manager to demonstrate how her effective oversight affects outcomes for children. Strong friendships between children and relationships with staff give children a sense of security and belonging at the home. As a result, no children have gone missing. Children enjoy stimulating and physical outdoor activity and play. Children are not over-reliant on technology. Although children do have access to games consoles, games are downloaded and have no online connectivity. This means that there is no risk of the children being in contact online with people they do not know.

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

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment practices. This means that children receive care and support from suitably trained and qualified staff. The health and safety lead has good systems and audits in place. These are overseen by managers. This helps to reduce risks and keep children safe in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership and management are outstanding because this home is led by a registered manager with a vision for excellence. She has a hands-on approach to her management and leads by example. Her enthusiasm and engagement with the children inspire the team through positive role-modelling of good practice. This embeds a culture of high expectation and aspiration for children and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 5 Managers know the strengths of the home and the areas to improve on. Detailed development plans and comprehensive internal and external monitoring give the registered manager clear oversight of the running of the home and experiences for children. The highly experienced staff team demonstrates that exceptional childcare practice is imperative to the progress of children. The skills and experience of the staff team are enhanced by individual development processes that support further career

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

progression, into senior roles. All staff have opportunities to undertake responsibilities and tasks to strengthen their knowledge and improve the quality of care for children. This promotes excellent staff retention and provides a welcoming environment where children feel permanence and stability. Therapeutic practitioners provide staff with clinical supervision and child-centred reflection sessions. This promotes a therapeutic approach to care and support for the children. However, not all staff have received formal training in the home’s therapeutic model of care, to fulfil the home’s statement of purpose. This has not affected the nurturing environment and experiences for children. Staff receive regular and well-documented supervision. During the summer holidays, when staff are busy supporting children’s activities, a less formal ‘check-in’ takes place. This means that staff well-being and children’s needs are constantly

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

monitored. Staff said that they feel supported and that the management are always available. One staff member said, ‘They are the best managers I’ve ever worked for.’ Staff contribute to and engage in weekly team handover meetings. This gives staff the opportunity to review the children’s care and plans for the coming week. This meeting also gives staff the opportunity to discuss and review other areas of the service, for example training, health and safety and medication. This means that staff are informed of any changes to practice resulting from the manager’s audit and review of the home. External professionals talk about a home that has a committed and dedicated manager and a strong staff team working together to focus on positive experiences for children. Social workers are impressed with the professionalism of staff and the communication and information that they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 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, The 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the responsible person should ensure that staff are trained to deliver the home’s therapeutic model of care, and that staff receive training related to children’s specific conditions prior to children moving into the home. 30 November

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Recommendation

 The responsible person should ensure that the home’s record of incidents includes a description of the action taken and the outcome of any resulting investigation. Specifically, the responsible person should have clear chronological records of all safeguarding incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.14) Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 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: SC482299 8

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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: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 4AG

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Inspectors

Tony Waite, Social Care Inspector Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482299 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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