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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 1 SC482293 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 privately owned children’s home provides care for up to seven children with complex social and emotional difficulties who may have also suffered trauma. At the time of this inspection, three children were registered as living in the home. All children were seen during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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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

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: SC482293 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/11/2023 Full Good 07/09/2022 Full Good 21/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time building open and trusting relationships with children. They understand the importance of this for children who have experienced trauma and instability. They talk to children about all aspects of their lives, and, in turn, children go to them for guidance and advice. This has contributed to the progress that children make. Children have developed their self-awareness, confidence and emotional resilience, and one child’s ability to resolve conflict has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop essential independence skills. Staff work with children to identify and implement planning which is in line with the individual needs of the child. This includes support to manage their own self-care, navigate public transport, plan food shopping and cook meals, manage finances and navigate relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children show anxiety and concerns about moving in to more independent accommodation, staff respond with sensitivity and patience, providing children with reassurance. Support for a child to move out of the home was provided with due consideration given to the child’s thoughts, feelings and anxieties. Staff understand that this can be a difficult and emotive time and plan to make it as positive as they can.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education and learning for children. They talk to children about the importance of education for later life. Staff advocate for children to get the support that they need to participate in lessons and raise concerns promptly. When children have been reluctant to attend school, staff have provided consistent encouragement, which has had positive results. When children do not attend school, staff encourage them to complete educational activities on a daily basis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who understand their health needs. Children are supported to attend appointments. When they show reluctance to attend appointments, staff talk to them about their worries and look at ways to support their attendance. Concerns about medication errors are quickly and effectively addressed. Staff address delays in children having specialist assessments, communicating with others and advocating for ongoing need. Children are educated about the potential value of engaging with mental health services. This has resulted in a child deciding this would be a positive step for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend safe and positive time with their family. Staff spend time with children, listening to their memories and experiences of siblings and parents. Staff navigate conversations about loss and grief with care and warmth, understanding the significant impact this can have on children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to-day life is planned to meet their needs. Staff encourage them to lead active lifestyles and eat a varied and healthy diet. Concerns about reliance on technology impacting negatively on self-care and relationships are actively addressed. Staff engage children in a range of activities and experiences that are aligned with their hobbies and Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 4 interests. Staff actively encourage children to develop new interests. Carefully made memory books and monthly newsletters provide children with a vibrant, lasting record of their time living in the home.

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

Children who live in this home feel safe. They have formed strong relationships with staff and know how to raise a complaint and where go to for advice and protection if they need it.

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

Staff have a good knowledge and insight into the risks that children are exposed to. Planning to consider risk and how it can be managed and mitigated is thorough and focuses on therapeutic practice. Staff talk openly with children about risks, such as going missing, vaping and violent and aggressive behaviours. Staff are imaginative in their ways of working with children and use tools such as quizzes and workbooks. Children said that they value the learning from these conversations.

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

Responses when children have gone missing have not always ensured that children are safe. Planning for the event that children go missing has not contained clear direction for staff. This has led to minimal searches taking place. However, staff do contact police or liaise with other professionals or children’s families when it is appropriate. Staff request return home interviews and speak to children about their reasons for going missing. The manager accepted the need for more robust missing protocols and amended them during the inspection. However, this will need to be embedded into practice.

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

During incidents, staff maintain boundaries and follow planning designed to support children with their emotions and behaviours. However, methods to support children and end incidents are not always effective, due to the dynamics within the home. This has been acknowledged, and measures are in place to address this on a temporary and long- term basis. When restraint has been used, it has been appropriate.

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

Staff work with other professionals to consider risks and risk management. They are proactive in requesting meetings with external professionals and the inhouse clinical lead. One professional was very positive about staff’s ability to ‘think out of the box’ when considering a child’s needs and risks. Information is appropriately shared within the multi-agency arena. This allows staff to provide children with more informed care and support in relation to navigating risk.

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

Complaints and concerns about staff practice are listened to and taken seriously. Managers take action to ensure that children are safe. They communicate with other professionals and share necessary information. Investigations are well planned and thorough. Outcomes are fair and actions resulting from the investigation are clear. Complainants are kept updated and outcomes of investigations are shared in a timely manner. One child was provided with additional support to understand the investigation process and outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 5 This home has previously experienced a turbulent time in relation to managers. However, there is now a registered manager and deputy manager in place. They are incredibly reflective and have a drive to make continuous improvements to benefit the children who live here. Leaders and managers are invested in the children and in achieving positive outcomes for them. They speak about the children with care and compassion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers know what is going on in the home. They confidently talk about the children, staff, practice and the running of the home. However, there is very limited evidence of management oversight on documents about children. Managers are not regularly monitoring, reviewing or evaluating children’s progress or staff practice to inform care planning. Despite this, planning for meeting children’s needs is good quality and provides clear direction for staff in line with children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of planning for a child to move into the home is mixed. Staff gain essential information from those who know the child and consider how they will meet their needs and manage risks. However, consideration is not taken of the impact of children’s behaviours and risks on each other and how this can be mitigated. Managers have reflected on this and plan to review how they can make their assessments more thorough and robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive care from a core team of staff who know them well. Staff enjoy working in the home and are committed to the children who live there. Staff feel supported by leaders and managers, who are present in the home and lead by example, taking on shifts and proving support when necessary. Staff commented on the positive changes since the arrival of the new management team. Staffing issues are being addressed. When agency staff are being used, managers aim to secure staff who are known to the children to provide them with consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they receive supervision sessions that meet their needs. However, the quality of written recordings of supervision sessions do not always reflect the depth of the conversation that takes place. Concerns about staff practice are addressed during timely meetings and planning to support improvements in practice is focused. A new staff member did not receive a formal supervision session for an extended period after they started in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings have not taken place regularly. Written recordings of these meetings do not reflect the conversations, reflection and learning that staff say takes place. Staff attend valuable monthly sessions with the clinical team. This allows for reflection and discussion about the children and their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 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 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— that staff—

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments and protocols for the event that children go missing from the home ensure that appropriate action is taken to find the child and return them to a place of safety. 18 November 2025

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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— 18 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 7 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that analysis and evaluation of the impact of children’s behaviours and risks on each other and how they can be mitigated is completed prior to making a decision for a child to move into the home.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child

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Requirement Due date

and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they monitor and review staff practice.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they evaluate the progress that children make.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are provided with regular supervision, particularly new staff members. 18 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that carers follow the home’s policies and procedures to benefit the children who live there. There should be clear lines of accountability. In particular, the registered person should ensure that documents detailing supervisions and team meetings show the discussion and reflection that take place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC482293 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: Keys Group, Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Carla Simkiss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482293 10 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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