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:

 Young people are happy, they like living in the home and get on well with the staff and each other. They make good progress with regards to their emotional health, education and reducing their risk-taking behaviours.   Relationships between staff and young people are strong. Key working systems are effective. This gives young people regular opportunities to discuss worries or concerns. Young people are listened to and are fully involved in their care plans.  Partnership working is effective and ensures that young people have access to specialist support services to meet their individual needs.  Sustained improvement in education through attendance and engagement at school or college has contributed to the achievements that young people are making.  Young people enjoy a wide range of activities and have fun building positive memories for the future.  Support for young people moving on from the home is evident. Young people

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The children's home provision is good because:

experience well-planned transitions and remain in touch with the staff after they leave the home.  Staff understand risk and effectively safeguard young people without restricting their life experiences.  Risk management is robust, and this helps to ensure that young people are safe in the home, and increasingly safe when away from the home. Young people say that they are safe and feel safe.  The management team is in the home daily and has a very good oversight of the service. The team knows its strengths and weaknesses and is effective in planning for change and making improvements.  The registered manager actively and systematically monitors the quality of care provided. He has a thorough understanding of activity within the home, the young people who use the service and staff performance. His monitoring and the independent person’s reports are extremely detailed and comprehensive.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, in particular, the standard in paragraph (2) requires the registered person to:

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 31/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home's care. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  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. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and

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Recommendations

encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Information about this children's home

The home is one of a number owned and managed by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six male young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. There is also a registered school on-site.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 22/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/01/2016 Full Good

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Good

Young people are positive and happy living in the home. They make good progress from their starting points across all aspects of their lives. Observations show warm relationships between young people and staff. These relationships are strengthened through clear and consistent boundaries and young people have developed very trusting relationships with their staff. Collectively, young people were extremely positive of the support that they receive in the home. And, individually they say:

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Good

 ‘Staff are very helpful and look after us well and help us to keep to our normal everyday routines.’

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Good

 ‘All staff are very good at explaining why things can and can't happen.’

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Good

 ‘Moving to the home has made me more confident and I have a relaxed environment to live in before going into adult life.’

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Good

Young people confirm that they were welcomed into the home and received information about the services that they can expect to receive. This information provides them with the contact details of who they can complain to, advocacy support for them and what their entitlements are in the home. A young person’s parent and social worker say:

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Good

 ‘I feel that all of the staff are welcoming. They are very good with the children, and I know my son is being cared for really well.’

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Good

 ‘I am really impressed with the admission process, and I feel the staff really engage well with the young people, and ensure they continue with their education.’

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Good

Promoting educational achievement is a strength of the home. The organisation has its own registered school situated within the grounds of the home. Some young people attend this school while others are in college or seeking apprenticeships. From their starting points, all young people have increased their attendance in education and are engaging well, in line with their plan of care. Staff liaise well with the virtual school team and together they are aspirational for young people. They work hard to support young people in maintaining their educational placements. Where young people are not attending full-time education, staff provide them with well-planned and structured educational activities. This ensures that young people are not left behind and continue to be supported academically.

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Good

Staff support young people to engage in community activities, this includes a local youth club and gym. As a result, young people improve their social skills and build peer friendships outside of the home. Staff and young people enjoy group activities where they have fun and are competitive with each other. Young people really enjoyed a summer activity holiday away with staff, which further enhanced positive relationships. Young people are active in this home, which contributes to their good health.

p.7

Good

Staff have a very good understanding of the importance of young people being healthy. As a result of the young people regularly taking part in sporting and outdoor activities, eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet and attending all necessary medical appointments, young people’s physical health outcomes have improved. Young people’s emotional, social and psychological well-being is identified and supported by external professionals. Where specific therapy has been identified, staff receive training in order to carry on this work with the young people. Consequently, young people’s understanding and resilience to any attachment difficulties is enhanced and their confidence is improved.

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Good

For example, previously, some young people lacked confidence and were hardly speaking or engaging with other people. Through intervention they now have the confidence to engage and participate with staff and each other. Photographs seen during the inspection show a marked improvement in young people’s involvement with others from the time when they first arrived in the home and the present day. This reflects the fact that young people now have a sense of belonging. This helps them to achieve stability and use positive role models to inspire and guide them towards their future plans.

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Good

The staff encourage the young people to respect the home as they would their own home, now or in their adult life. Young people develop life skills according to their age and understanding. Young people at an appropriate age to do so, complete a life skills programme, which is subject to regular review. Skills such as independent travelling, budgeting and cooking are areas where young people have achieved success. Applications for passports and driving licences are routinely made and will benefit young people as they move on from the home.

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Good

The young people are involved in day-to-day decisions about their lives and their feedback is actively sought through questionnaires, regular group meetings, key work sessions and informal discussions. They are involved in the development of their care plan and risk assessments. As a result, they have an understanding of what staff are trying to achieve and trust them.

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Good

Significant improvements have been made to the home since the last inspection, new carpets have been laid and a full decoration programme is almost complete. However, the kitchen and laundry areas look worn and some broken furniture and decor within young people’s bedrooms needs attention. As a result, a requirement is made. This is to ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Good

The registered manager is aware of this additional work and has plans in place to address this.

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Good

Staff effectively safeguard young people. They understand, identify and respond to risk in an appropriate manner. The management team and staff work with external professionals and family members to develop and implement robust risk assessments and behaviour management plans. Staff use individual key work sessions to discuss areas of risk and support young people to develop risk reduction strategies. Staff manage risk without it becoming oppressive for young people. This improves young people’s responses and reduces risk. All young people say that they are safe and feel safe. No young person is at risk of or subject to being involved in child sexual exploitation.

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Good

This approach also ensures that any potential for risk is reduced when young people are away from the home, visiting their family or friends and being involved in enjoyable activities which have an element of risk attached to them. For example, high wire tree walking, paintballing and go-karting. Such activities are overseen by qualified outdoor instructors.

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Good

Staff confirm their completion of appropriate safeguarding training and have up-to- date knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff are aware of the risk of child sexual exploitation, including social media and internet trends. Bullying or peer pressure is not an issue in the home as young people are good role models to other young people and look out for each other.

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Good

The response to any allegations made against staff is robust. Action is taken to safeguard young people who have raised concerns, and both the member of staff and young person receive good support during the investigation process. Information is promptly shared with the area designated officer, and the registered manager cooperates well with any subsequent police investigations. The area designated officer has briefed staff at a team meeting on updated guidance and local safeguarding procedures.

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Good

Staff responses to young people being missing from care are well coordinated, robust and effective, demonstrating a commitment to safeguard and protect in respect of this high-risk area. Staff identify that prevention is key, providing good supervision and planned activity. As a result, there has only been one missing from care incident in the past four months. This is a significant reduction and demonstrates the effectiveness of staff’s approach and the positive impact that this is having on young people.

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Good

Staff manage young people’s behaviour exceptionally well. Young people understand exactly what is expected of them and benefit from clear and consistent boundaries. Strong and effective behaviour management has significantly reduced any need for physical interventions to the point where there have been no restraints since May 2016. The use of rewards, positive praise and calm de- escalation strategies minimise any use of sanctions for inappropriate behaviour. While the home is busy and boisterous, staff were observed in recognising young people’s emotional needs, and allowing them time and space to calm down. This approach is understood, agreed and accepted by young people.

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Good

Regular health and safety risk assessments of the home environment protect young people, staff and visitors. This includes regular checks to the fire systems and fire drills to ensure that young people, staff and visitors can safely evacuate the home in an emergency. A further assessment of the external grounds of the home and the local area, undertaken by the manager, alerts staff and placing authorities about potential risks, as well as local resources.

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Good

A newly recruited staff member confirmed the process that she went through and feels that she was subjected to carefully selected and vetting procedures. The registered manager has refreshed his training in relation to the fair recruitment and selection process. This ensures that only staff assessed as suitable are allowed to work with the young people.

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Good

The referral for placement procedure results in very appropriate placement matching. The management team carefully scrutinises referrals and has a good knowledge of the needs that it can and cannot meet. The team confirms the support provided to it from the organisation and that its decisions are respected, when it considers placements as unsuitable during the referral process. The effectiveness of this approach can be seen in the progress that the young people continue to make.

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Good

The home is led by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager. He has extensive experience of working with young people in residential care. Young people benefit from this committed and knowledgeable manager who demonstrates leadership to improving the services in the home. He is supported by a deputy manager who is equally well experienced and has a good grasp on the service and areas for improvement. They work together with the team leaders and display strong leadership. As a result, the home has significantly improved since the last inspection and young people have made significant progress.

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Good

The registered manager uses his internal reviewing systems and the independent person’s reports to evaluate and improve the development of the home. As such, monitoring is robust and the analyses and development of young people’s progress is clearly charted and evaluated. It is evident through these systems how much young people have benefited as a result of living in the home. Also, the support provided to staff has significantly increased their morale. There has been regular reflection, particularly through periods of disruption and lessons learned from incidents.

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Good

Staff are sufficient in number to meet the needs of the young people and are qualified to level 3 or above. Collectively, they feel well supported through regular supervision, annual appraisals and during team meetings. They feel that the training they receive allows them to develop professionally and that it is around the individual needs of the young people who they care for. Staff have regular refresher training to keep them informed of updated guidance or changes to legislation. Staff appraisals set clear objectives for their own professional development.

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Good

However, these appraisals do not consider the views of others. As a result, a recommendation is made. This is to ensure that staff appraisals should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home's care.

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Good

The management team and staff provide care in line with the aims of the home, as described in a detailed statement of purpose document. The ethos of the home is underpinned by the use of positive relationships to enable young people’s development and well-being. The staff are providing a caring, structured and stimulating environment that is responsive to the individual needs of the young people. The statement of purpose document ensures that placing authorities are clear about the type of service that the home will provide to young people. The children’s guide is a creative summary of services offered, for the use of young people.

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Good

Effective working arrangements are in place with a range of external agencies. These include social workers and education and health professionals. Regular meetings such as reviews, strategy meetings and care planning meetings take place. The management team shares information well with all agencies. This ensures that young people are safeguarded and that effective communication is taking place and young people’s current and future plans are well coordinated.

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Good

There is a lot of useful information showing some good evidence of how young people have made progress in the home. However, some of this is spread throughout several case files for each young person. During the course of the inspection, some minor details were noted to be incorrect or required updating on a number of documents. These discrepancies do not significantly impact on the welfare of the young people. Other examples of the discrepancies found within young people’s case files include duplication of information and documents being filed incorrectly.

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Good

As a result, a recommendation is made. This is to ensure that staff should understand their important role in ensuring young people’s case files represent the young person’s journey in the home. And, encourage the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them to record significant life events.

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Good

The registered manager has addressed the recommendation from the last inspection. There are now clear reporting systems in place to notify all appropriate authorities including Ofsted of any significant event in the home.

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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 the ‘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 0300123 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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