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

Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 1 SC482344

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Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to eight children who may require support with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a qualified and experienced registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, six children were living in the home and their views were sought.

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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 outstanding

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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: SC482344 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2024 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding 03/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children enjoy positive and meaningful relationships with staff. Staff show emotional warmth to the children and there is lots of fun and laughter. This helps children to build trusting relationships with staff, which supports children to feel settled in the home and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff know each child extremely well. They understand their needs and provide excellent individualised care and support. As a result, children are thriving in their development and sense of self-worth. The children are encouraged to participate in day-to-day decision-making and the planning of their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children’s progress is exceptional, considering their starting points when moving into the home. For example, one child has been successfully supported to develop their independence skills in preparation for attending college and moving into a semi- independent living provision at the home. One child said, ‘Staff are really nice and will help me if I need something but will leave me alone if I don’t need help and let me do things myself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children attend education on a full-time basis. Staff actively support the children to attend and make good progress with their education. Staff advocate strongly for the children and ensure that their individual education plans encourage their ongoing participation and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests at local groups. This helps them to become involved in their community and develop friendships. Staff also use their knowledge of the children’s interests to develop their participation in activities in the home together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The environment is welcoming and is decorated and maintained to a high standard. Each child’s bedroom is personalised with individualised artwork that children have helped to design, and lots of toys and personal items. This helps children to settle when they first arrive and contributes to their sense of belonging.

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

Staff use physical restraint as a last resort to keep the child and others safe. The least restrictive measure is always used. All incidents are reviewed by the manager and reflection and debriefs inform staff practice. The child is spoken to following an incident and in regular key-work sessions. Staff use a restorative approach with the child after an incident, which enables relationships to thrive.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques and strategies with each child if they are Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 4 becoming overwhelmed by emotions. Together with this, staff use their knowledge and strong relationships with the child to understand their behaviour. Therefore, children receive swift and coordinated responses from staff to keep them safe.

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

Staff undertake training in safeguarding and child protection along with specific training in relation to the children’s individual needs. Staff also benefit from support from the organisation’s therapeutic team, to understand complexities in behaviours and their safe management. Staff have regular supervision discussions, team meetings and handovers which encourage consistent reflection and learning throughout the staff team.

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

Children are safer because staff understand the risks that they can be exposed to. Risk assessments are reviewed, updated and shared with staff regularly. This provides clarity and direction for staff if incidents occur, and staff follow these plans consistently. However, there are gaps in the review of some risk assessments, which have been caused, in part, by a change in the online recording system. This remains an area for development.

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

The manager is a strong and tenacious advocate for children. He understands the importance of transition planning for children leaving the home. One child had recently been preparing to leave the home. The manager challenged the initial transition plan, which did not meet the child’s needs, with the professional network. One professional said, ‘I was particularly impressed with the home and the manager; he made it clear it was not enough time to support endings for the child. Everything he said was absolutely right and he managed to slow this down. He was quick to advocate.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is innovative and highly ambitious. He is committed to providing a home where children can flourish. The manager has excellent support from a strong leadership team who are equally committed to the care and progress of children. This is an integral part of the home and its success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Positive feedback from external professionals recognises the effectiveness of the home’s care of children and their communication. One professional said, ‘They go above and beyond for the children.’ Another said, ‘The home is one of the most child-centred homes that I work with. They are in regular communication and always attend meetings, while being positive advocates for [name of child].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has also fostered strong links with family members. One parent said, ‘He is a very, very proactive manager, to the point that if you are distressed and he is not at the home, he will still ring you. He goes above and beyond and shows he cares about the children in the home and their families too. I have a lot of respect for [name of child] being there.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are always visible in the home and regularly work directly with the children. This allows managers to not only build relationships with children but also to model their styles and strategies to support staff in their learning and development. Alongside this, Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 5 the manager carefully matches the children’s needs to the staff’s skills and experience when allocating key workers, which allows positive relationships to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is stable. Staff say they are happy and well supported at work and are invested in the children’s care. Thorough recruitment procedures are in place that ensure staff working with children are suitable to do so. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review their continued suitability. Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there is a consistent and effective approach to record-keeping. Important information about children should be readily accessible to staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC482344 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC482344 8 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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