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

Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 1 SC482301 Registered provider: Hillcrest Children's Services Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four children. According to the home's statement of purpose, staff aim to provide a safe and secure home for children with a primary diagnosis of autism and/or learning disabilities and associated complex needs. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 11 May 2025.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

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

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2024 Full Good 17/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/07/2023 Full Inadequate 06/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into the home are well planned and considered. The manager completes detailed assessments and consults with those who know the children well before they move in. This means that staff can tailor their care to each child. A child's recent move into the home was managed at his pace. This helped him to settle in well. During this process, leaders carefully consider the needs of each child, including those already living in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a welcoming environment. There is ample space for the children to spend time together or apart as they wish. Children are encouraged to personalise the communal spaces in the home and their bedrooms. Specialist therapists, such as the organisation's occupational therapist, advised managers about how to adapt the environment to meet the children's needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children form positive relationships with staff. Staff show children emotional warmth and physical affection. This gives the children a sense of being cared for and nurtured. The organisation encourages an inclusive community. For example, events and activities are organised with children from other homes within the organisation. Children develop positive relationships and cultivate a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have focused and informative discussions with children to explore relevant topics. Managers gain children's views through children's meetings and use them to help develop the service. One child has been chosen to be an 'inspector' for the other homes in the organisation and gives feedback regarding how well they are doing. This is a positive achievement for this child, whose self-confidence has improved since moving to the home. However, leaders did not consult with children prior to reviewing the children's guide or adapt it to a child who had recently moved in. This was a missed opportunity to improve the accessibility of this document.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to attend education. One child who is not attending school full time is accessing education at home. Another child was supported to choose a college course and has been accepted. He is managing the introduction to college well, with staff support.

p.3

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

The registered manager and staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that they collaborate with other professionals. Incidents are reviewed by the behaviour management trainer and any learning is addressed. Staff take necessary action to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively. If concerns in staff practice arise, senior managers take effective action to support children. Learning is completed with staff to improve practice. Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 4 Staff support children to better understand their trauma responses. One child has made progress in managing the trauma related to his previous experiences. He is now more able to talk to staff when in a crisis, which has reduced his risk of harm.

p.3

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

Staff have effective strategies in place to help keep children safe and these are clearly set out in individual risk assessments and are followed by staff. Staff take appropriate action when children are struggling with their mental health. They provide increased observations and specialist oversight and input. This provides a safe and effective response in times of crisis.

p.4

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

When restraint is used, it is for a brief period to enable staff to keep the child and others safe. Records of these incidents are clear and demonstrate that children and staff have had the opportunity to talk through incidents to reflect on and learn from them.

p.4

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

Managers ensure that the environment is well maintained. The actions from the fire risk assessment have been addressed. Any restrictive practices, such as door alarms, are reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate. However, the potential risk to children due to the home's close proximity to the sea has not been assessed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has had a period of closure since the last inspection. There has been a change of leadership and staff since the reopening of the home. Leaders and managers are focused on improving the service and have a good understanding of the strengths and areas to improve.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers understand the needs of the children and are child focused. They have high expectations of staff practice. Staff are confident in raising any concerns or practice issues should they occur. Children's plans are written to ensure that staff can support children effectively. Behaviour support plans are effective guides for staff to use to help de-escalate risky behaviours. Children's records are completed when children move into the home. However, they are not always reviewed when new information arises, and the information is not consistent across all documents. This has not had an impact on children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, meaningful supervision. Managers use these sessions to assess the staff's performance. They check that staff know how to safely meet the children's needs in line with their care plans and risk assessments. Staff are given space to reflect on their practice. Prior to the reopening of the home, the manager set quizzes and team- building tasks to share consistent information and create a unified team. Appropriate induction programmes and relevant training and development opportunities prepare staff effectively to meet children's complex needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and quality assurance systems are effective. The manager uses external scrutiny to make ongoing improvements to the quality of care provided to children. They work closely with specialist colleagues within the organisation to provide a good service for the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

keep the children's guide and the home's complaints procedure under review and seek children's comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (2)(c)) 31 March 2026

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(ii)) 31 March 2026

p.5

Recommendation

 The location assessment review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home's location and strategies for managing these, particularly in relation to the home's proximity to the sea and risks to children living there. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 6

p.5

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: SC482301 7

p.6

Children's home details

Registered provider: Hillcrest Children's Services Ltd

p.7

Children's home details

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

p.7

Children's home details

Responsible individual: Anna Satterthwaite

p.7

Children's home details

Registered manager: Elaine Aitken Sylvia Malphus

p.7

Inspector

Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC482301 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8