Children's home run by Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd in Havant

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 1 SC482301

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Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to six children. According to the home’s statement of purpose, staff aim to provide a safe and secure home for children who may have suffered trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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: 17 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/07/2023 Full Inadequate 06/07/2022 Full Good 03/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, two children have moved out of the home in planned ways. Staff supported these children well, listening to their views and advocating for their wishes in important meetings. Staff appropriately reduced their involvement, with clear guidance and planning in place, to support children in taking measured, independent steps. This sensitively supported one child to ready themselves to leave the home with key social and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one child, their move in and move out of the home were not consistent with this good practice. Before a child moves in, the registered manager completes a suitability assessment. This includes the information shared by placing authorities and details known risks and shared likes and interests with other children living in the home. However, the assessment does not always demonstrate how staff will meet the specific needs of children. This means that staff are not always fully equipped to manage or reduce risks when children first move in. The registered manager has completed a reflective review of the child’s care planning arrangements, identifying key learning outcomes, such as staff receiving the necessary training before the child moves in. Despite staff being unable to meet the child’s needs, they did support an appropriate and suitable move out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has plentiful resources for children, including a giant swimming pool and gaming room. The redecoration and organisation of rooms has created inviting spaces, each individually and beautifully designed by children. The registered manager’s development plans are ambitious and capture the necessary next steps for continued growth, such as the redecoration of the laundry room and planned area for staff. This way of working helps children and staff feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to increase their independence skills in a natural and supportive way. Children’s targets are individually focused on developing their life skills, such as cooking, budgeting, applying for provisional driving licenses and working towards Wi-Fi-enabled devices. Children are clear on the steps that they need to take to work towards their goals and understand the importance of their growth and development. This is helping children to gain responsibilities safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education provisions in accordance with their relevant plans. Staff are clear about the importance of children attending school and colleges. They work with education professionals to ensure that children’s plans meet their needs. Subsequently, children make good progress, especially considering their starting points. One child has recently achieved accredited awards and is planning on starting college in September. Another child has been supported in drafting a new education plan for potential new admissions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 4 Staff have built good relationships with children. Key workers play an important role in listening to them and in helping them to achieve their goals and aspirations. Staff engage children in meaningful activities and enjoy spending time with them. Staff have invited one child to join a peer on holiday. The child said, ‘I am really looking

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

The registered manager works collaboratively with safeguarding professionals and keeps good records of safeguarding concerns, including children’s allegations against staff. He has worked with an allocated social worker and designated safeguarding officer to produce a joint protocol for one child. This means that there are clear and agreed responses when allegations arise. The registered manager’s monitoring of this issue is effective and demonstrates a significant reduction in allegations against staff since the approach was introduced.

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

There is good triangulation of known and emerging risks in relevant plans for children. Key workers complete detailed and focused workshops with children to help them identify personal risks. These workshops help to educate and provide children with the right information to make better and safer future choices.

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

Investigations are carried out properly. Concerns are well triangulated, and relevant safeguarding professionals are notified and kept updated throughout. Children and staff receive appropriate support following safeguarding concerns, and this is well reflected in recorded documentation.

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

Staff store children’s medication appropriately. Records kept by staff for the administration of children’s daily medications accurately reflect stock levels, and there are clear auditing processes in place. However, staff do not always correctly record occasions when prescribed medications for children are declined or not required. The registered manager plans to contact the child’s general practitioner to discuss a full medication review for one child.

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

In March 2024, a fire survey of the home was completed by an external contractor. This identified non-compliant fire doors that required management oversight and action. A recent quote has been provided for the remedial work, and the registered manager has written an interim risk assessment to highlight areas of risk and mitigation, such as all staff being fire safety trained. However, not all control measures have been identified in this document, such as staff closing doors that do not self-close. However, staff and children confidently speak about fire prevention and safety, and records evidence regular testing and fire drills carried out with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last full inspection, the manager has been registered with Ofsted. He continues to work towards his level 5 diploma in leadership and management and Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 5 plans to finish this within regulatory time frames. The newly registered manager is suitably supported by a senior manager, who provides additional managerial support and professional development. This is helping the manager to ensure that positive outcomes are achieved for children, staff and the home environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been two changes to the responsible individual since the last full inspection. This has been to support leadership changes and to help with geographic oversight and monitoring. Ofsted was notified of these changes before the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear and mostly effective systems in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home. When gaps are identified, action plans are devised and filtered into staff supervision as necessary. This is helping to review the quality of service delivery as well as ensuring that staff have the most relevant information on the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and team manager show a clear commitment to the well- being of the child currently living in the home. They talk confidently about their goals and targets and can identify key progress indicators for the child. The child said, ‘[Name of manager] is the best; he listens and is always there for me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has completed a full review on the reasons why some staff have left the home since the last full inspection. He plans to use this analysis to improve how staff are recruited, inducted and supported through their probationary periods, for example through the implementation of a ‘buddy’ scheme and an increase in supervisions and the induction period. He hopes this approach will help to strengthen newly recruited staff’s learning and support their skills and development as they gain experiences of working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff working in the home, and staff who have supported this home within the wider organisation, are complimentary of the newly registered manager and the transformation of the home. A member of staff said, ‘The home has come on leaps and bounds.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has met the previous requirements and recommendations from the last full inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 1 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records are kept for the administration of all medication, including ‘when required’ prescribed medication, when declined by children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, the registered person should detail all control measures taken in reducing the risk of non-compliant fire doors while waiting for full replacements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 7 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: SC482301 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 BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482301 9 regulates and inspects 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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