Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Lancashire

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Children and young people have positive relationships with staff and are able to discuss issues which are important to them, raise concerns or complaints, and feel confident that these will be taken seriously and responded to.  Staff have high aspirations for children and young people to achieve. They promote education well, working in partnership with schools and teachers to support individual educational progress.  Children and young people are supported to move on from the home through effective transition planning. This includes moving into semi- independent and foster placements.  Activities are encouraged and promoted. Young people access a range of leisure pursuits to increase their social and recreational opportunities. This helps them to develop their friendships outside of the home and gain additional skills and interests.  The manager provides support through supervision and staff meetings to

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The children's home provision is good because:

enable staff to develop their skills and resilience in supporting and managing the needs of young people with complex and diverse needs.  The staff have positive relationships with other professionals, and advocate on behalf of the children and young people. Placing social workers comment positively on the progress made during the placement at the home.  Children and young people are supported to maintain good levels of contact with parents and carers, with staff facilitating this both within the home and the community.  The manager has addressed the majority of recommendations made at the last inspection. There are some shortfalls identified at this inspection in relation to monitoring and individual development of placement plans for young people, including healthcare plans. Behaviour management is not consistently supported, due to the consequences implemented not relating to the specific behaviours. Young people have not always had an

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The children's home provision is good because:

independent return home interview when they have been missing from the home. Some staff have not had their annual appraisal within the agreed timescale. These weaknesses are recognised by the newly appointed manager, and action is being taken to address them.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‘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

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must ensure that —

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Requirement Due date

2(b) staff work as a team where appropriate; (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 18/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure — (2)(f) staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. 18/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees have their performance and fitness to perform their role appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 18/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is in particular relation to ensuring that healthcare plans identify all healthcare needs and immunisation details. 18/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing at the time of placement.

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Recommendations

This is in relation to the door buzzers on individual young people's rooms. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised as appropriate. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

 The home's records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

This is in relation to sharing plans with parents.

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Information about this children's home

This home is an independent children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to eight children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/10/2015 Full Good 10/12/2014 Full Good

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Good

The home has had a period of change since the last inspection. A new manager has been appointed, following the retirement of the previous long-serving manager. In addition, some young people who had been resident at the home for a number of years have successfully been supported to move onto adult service provision. Further positive outcomes have been experienced by the successful move to foster placements, in accordance with future plans. These moves for the young people involved have been supported well by the staff, enabling the transitions to be a positive experience.

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Good

Children and young people have good relationships with staff. One young person said, ‘I feel really happy here. Staff look after me and I get the opportunity to do lots of things like swimming, going on holiday and going to the youth club.’ Another young person said, ‘It’s good here. We have lots of fun and I like the staff.’

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Good

Education is promoted well, with staff supporting young people to attend school and working in conjunction with school staff to promote educational outcomes. When a young person commences at the home, the staff work in partnership with the placing authority and virtual heads to secure the most appropriate school placement, and will advocate on young people’s behalf. Where there is an identified need, staff stay with a young person at school to help to address any behavioural difficulties until they are able to stay at school without the need for additional support.

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Good

Children and young people benefit from support to have their healthcare needs met by attending community healthcare provisions, including doctors, dentists and opticians. Individual healthcare plans are developed in conjunction with care plans. The vast majority of young people have detailed healthcare plans. However, one young person’s healthcare plan lacks information about immunisations, general health and outcomes of health appointments. While the outcome is recorded in the individual daily logs, this does not provide a clear and accessible overview of the health of this young person.

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Good

Activities and leisure facilities are tailored to meet individual likes and needs. Over the school holidays, young people have been on holidays as well as attending local summer youth clubs within the community. In addition, they use local leisure facilities, including swimming, going to the cinema and bowling. This enables them to make friends outside of the home as well as developing and expanding on their social networks. Independence is promoted in accordance with abilities and age. Young people take part in regular children’s meetings and contribute to planning menus, shopping and basic food preparation. Meal times are, wherever possible, spent together, promoting social interaction and engagement.

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Good

Staff help young people to understand when behaviours may place them at risk of harm, although some consequences for behaviours do not have a positive impact due to the lack of correlation between the behaviour and the consequences.

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Good

When young people move into the home, they are supported well to settle in. They all have their own bedrooms, which they are able to personalise to reflect their individuality. Staff are aware of the importance of maintaining contact and promoting family relationships. One parent said, ‘Staff support me to get to the home and always make me feel welcome. It is good, because my children spend time together and this helps keep us together as a family, even though we are not together all of the time.’

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Requires improvement

Young people have positive relationships with staff and say that they can speak with them if they have any worries, receive support and advice to help them, and feel safe. A parent commented that her child has told her that the staff listen to him and will take action if he is anxious or worried about anything. One young person said, ‘I get on well with staff and they talk to me about how important it is to be safe.’

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Requires improvement

There have been no recorded incidents of bullying. However, staff remain vigilant and discuss with young people the importance of treating one another with respect and understanding. Young people spoken with during the inspection do not feel that bullying is an issue at the current time and said they were confident about alerting staff if this happened.

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Requires improvement

Young people have risk assessments and behaviour management plans in place. However, some recordings lack robust detail which, in turn, means inconsistent responses from staff in helping young people adhere to agreed boundaries. This includes the implementation of some consequences. However, the manager takes action to address this by discussing the implementation of sanctions and strategies to help young people understand and develop positive behaviours. This is an ongoing development area and one which continues to be monitored. Some staff are skilled in de-escalation techniques, and this minimises the risk of physical intervention. Where this happens, the majority of records reflect the incident clearly. The manager evaluates all records and, through this evaluation, staff have begun to have the opportunity to reflect on the use of physical intervention. Young people are offered support and opportunity to have their views recorded, although

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Requires improvement

There have been a number of incidents of young people missing from home recently. These have been for short periods of time and not overnight. Previously, this had not been an issue and, although staff followed agreed procedures, there has been an inconsistency in records maintained and it is not always clear whether the young person has been missing or absent. Due to the age and vulnerability of the young people, it has been agreed that all incidents of young people being away from the home without permission will be reported as missing, and the police alerted to the age and vulnerability of the young people. Requests for return interviews are made to enable young people to have the opportunity to discuss the reason why they have been away from the home. However, these are not always completed in a timely manner. Some young people, when absent from the home, have been involved in behaviours which have resulted in damage to a neighbouring

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Requires improvement

property. The staff have worked in partnership with police to address this through restorative measures to enable the young people involved to have an understanding of how their behaviour impacts on others. This proved successful and negated criminal charges being made.

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Requires improvement

Young people know how to complain, and the manager ensures that complaints are addressed appropriately. The home has good links with the local authority designated officer, ensuring that any concerns are raised in accordance with statutory guidance.

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Requires improvement

Recent updates to the monitoring of young people’s safety has included installing individual buzzers on young people’s bedroom doors at night. However, whether there is permission for these to be in place is not clear within individual agreements on their care files.

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Requires improvement

The manager ensures that staff recruitment adheres to safer recruitment procedures and appropriate checks are in place prior to commencement of employment. These measures make sure that the young people are safeguarded from adults who may pose a risk to them.

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Requires improvement

Regular health and safety checks are completed to ensure that the home is a safe environment for young people to live in. This includes fire safety checks and that suitable insurance is in place. There is an agreed refurbishment programme to continue to improve the overall environment of the home for the young people. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The home operates within the agreed statement of purpose. Since the last inspection, there has been a change in management of the home. The previous manager retired in February 2016 and a new manager was appointed in April. The new manager has previously been a registered manager of a children’s home and her application for this home is currently being processed. She holds relevant qualifications, including a level 5 qualification in leadership and management. Since commencement of employment, she has had a period of ill health, impacting on the progress and plans for the home, including the consistency of recording and documentation within individual care plans. There have been a number of changes at the home, including young people moving onto adult services and foster placements. Although these are positive moves, this has meant a number of changes in recent months. Additionally, the home has had a reorganisation in the

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Requires improvement

staff rota arrangements to work in accordance with the organisation’s other homes’ staffing arrangements. Some staff have left the home and there are some current vacancies. However, wherever possible, continuity of staffing is provided to minimise the impact on children and young people, although the use of additional staffing though an agency has not always promoted this. Recruitment is ongoing to ensure that levels of staffing reflect the needs of the young people and minimise the use of agency staff.

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Requires improvement

The manager has identified, through monitoring, ongoing areas of development within the home. This includes recording the young people missing from home reports and the inconsistency of return home interviews. She has also identified consequences to some behaviours not being effective in changing these. These have been discussed at staff meetings to promote consistency.

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Requires improvement

Regular staff supervision is in place to enable open dialogue and reflect on individual practice and development. Staff training enables staff to keep their skills and knowledge updated and have a greater understanding of relevant changes in legislation. However, some staff have not received their annual appraisals, although this has been identified by the manager.

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Requires improvement

Children’s files are kept securely to ensure confidentiality. Records reflect the needs of young people, although some records contain greater levels of information reflecting individual needs and outcomes to contribute to their future understanding about their time at the home. Staff say that children, parents and other relevant people contribute to plans. However, some parents are unaware of the home’s individual care plans for their child and some young people are not sure whether they have contributed their wishes and views to their plan. The manager and staff work in partnership with other agencies to promote young people’s welfare. One social worker commented, ‘the manager provides me with regular updates via email in relation to (name). Staff respond promptly to any queries that I have and promote a positive working partnership.’

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’. An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance, ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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