Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Preston

Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 1 SC479647 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for six children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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

Date of last inspection: 13 December 2016

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Staff are skilled at developing positive relationships with young people, which make young people feel valued and settle into the home quickly.  Young people like living in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 2  Most young people are making good progress from their starting points due to the individualised and well-planned care that they receive from staff.  Staff have a good understanding of young people’s behaviour and individual risks and give young people’s safety high priority.  Feedback from professionals is consistently positive about the level of communication from staff.  The registered manager has ensured that there is a committed and stable staff team in place that has the knowledge and skills to meet young people’s needs.  The home is currently being redecorated to provide a more homely environment for young people to live in.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The manager must ensure that young people are admitted in line with the admission criteria detailed on the statement of purpose.  Recording of when independent return interviews are carried out and who has completed them needs to improve.Young people should have access to all areas of the home and when they cannot for safeguarding reasons there must be a rigorous assessment of the young person’s needs, which is properly recorded and kept under review.  The manager must review sanctions for effectiveness and revise sanctions when it has been identified that these are not working to change the behaviour that they were imposed for.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2016 Full Good 01/11/2016 Full Inadequate 08/03/2016 Full Requires improvement 03/09/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.3

Requirement Due date

14: The care planning standard In order to ensure that the care planning standard is met the registered provider must ensure— (2)(a) 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. 19/05/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered provider must notify HMCI without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 19/05/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person must ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (Regulation 21 (c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home,

p.3

Recommendations

must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. This is with particular reference to the bathroom being locked. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relations are a key strength of this home. Staff are skilled at forming positive relationships with young people quickly and use these effectively to make young people feel valued, make the right choices and make progress. One independent reviewing officer reported that, ‘The difference in X is tremendous in such a short period of time, with clear evidence of previous perceived risk-taking behaviours significantly reduced. What was great to see was how well X himself did during his review. This is something that I have not seen with X for some time. He both listened and positively contributed and presented as being far more positive in his presentation and his outlook.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive well-planned, nurturing care from a committed staff team. Young people like living in the home, feel safe and can identify staff members who they would talk to if they were worried about anything. One young person stated, ‘I think it’s sick in here, me. It’s all right, I would stay here, me. They have helped with behaviour by speaking to me and it calms me down.’ Another young person stated, ‘It’s all right here, I would rather be at home but staff are nice and they know what to say and do and I feel safe.’ A social worker commented about one young person, ‘A big thing noted last week was he is opening up to staff about his feelings, which indicates how settled he is and how comfortable he is with staff. He couldn’t be happier with the placement.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people attend education or further education. When they are not attending, the manager is proactive in working with local authorities and educational professionals to obtain a school place. Staff routinely request documents such as personal education plans for young people and attend school meetings. When young people are not in school, there is a clear, structured programme to ensure that they are meaningfully engaged during the day. Staff relentlessly encouraged a young person to attend a visit to a new school during the inspection and this perseverance resulted in the young person, who had been out of education for some time, attending a visit to his new educational provision.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote young people’s emotional and physical well-being by ensuring that they are registered with a general practitioner and dentist promptly when they move into the home. Staff encourage young people to eat healthily and participate in a range of physical activities such as trampolining and going to soccer dome. Staff have challenged the local council about free gym passes, which has meant that the young people can now access local gyms and facilities. Staff spend time with young people in one-to-one sessions educating them on areas such as safe sex and the dangers of drug use. This work has had mixed results: for one young person, it has resulted in a clear reduction of cannabis use, but with other young people, it has not yet been as effective.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to develop independence skills. Young people spoke about being encouraged to make meals for themselves, and tasks such as washing and changing their beds are incorporated into their daily routine. Staff put incentives in place to encourage young people to complete these tasks, which ensures that young people Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 5 start to learn the skills that they will need for adult life.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people’s contact with family members and key people who are important in their lives. Staff transport young people to contact, supervise contact when necessary, keep a record of any contact and liaise with social workers regarding any difficulties or changes to contact arrangements. This allows young people to maintain relationships with family members in a safe way.

p.5

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult young people regularly in young people’s meetings and key work sessions. If young people refuse to attend meetings, staff complete individual sessions with young people. Staff encourage young people to attend their own meetings, such as looked after child reviews, and will also provide written feedback for young people on meetings that they have not attended. Young people sit on the recruitment panel when the home is recruiting new staff and young people are given the complaints process on arrival in the home and know how to complain. As a result, young people feel listened to and their views are central to the running of the home.

p.5

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

Individual risk assessments identify individual risk and behaviours and include actions that staff should take to manage individual risk and behaviours. There is now a clear protocol in place, which details actions that staff are to follow to support, supervise and monitor young people who are under the influence of substances. As a result, staff understand individual risk and know what actions to take to minimise risk and keep young people safe.

p.5

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

Staff understand what to do if a young person goes missing and they follow missing from home protocols consistently. They are proactive in searching for young people to try to find them. For some young people in the home, there has been a significant reduction in incidents of them going missing from care. One social worker commented, ‘To be honest we were really concerned about him before he moved. I have spoken to him and he has said he could have gone missing since being here but he hasn’t. This is because staff are engaging with him and investing in him, he was going missing every day previously, they provide nurturing and he is so much happier and saying he wants to stay. He is invested in placement and feels like he belongs.’

p.5

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

Staff consistently remind local authorities of their duty to carry out independent return interviews when young people have been missing from care but these do not always take place. Staff do not always clearly record whether return interviews have been carried out and if so by whom. This means that it is not always clear whether the statutory guidance on return interviews has been followed and this limits the opportunity for obtaining information from the young person, which may prevent further episodes of going missing.

p.5

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

There has been an unsettled period in the home, with young people causing damage to property. Staff de-escalate most situations effectively. However, the police have been called on two occasions. Staff work well with the police to ensure that young people are not unnecessarily criminalised. The police visited the home and completed a session with Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 6 the young people in conjunction with staff regarding this behaviour. Overall, there had been a reduction in this behaviour prior to the inspection.

p.5

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

All staff are trained in the team teach model, which is the model that they are expected to use to manage challenging behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of how young people’s individual experiences and emotions affect their current behaviour and know what strategies to use to manage any challenging behaviour. There is a low level of restraint used in the home, because staff are effective at preventing most situations escalating to the point where restraint is required. Staff’s skill in de-escalation was observed during the inspection when young people displayed challenging behaviour. A consistent approach to behaviour management by staff means that young people learn to manage their feelings and emotions in a more constructive way.

p.6

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

Staff promote positive behaviour by the use of incentives which young people understand. One young person explained how he earns points each week. The manager identified during the inspection that sanctions used need to be reviewed for effectiveness, and has a clear plan in place to address this, including a behaviour management day for staff where each young person’s behaviour management plan will be reviewed. This will ensure that sanctions used are effective to support a reduction in negative behaviour.

p.6

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

The staff and manager understand and follow safeguarding processes, which ensure that young people are kept safe. The manager does not always ensure that Ofsted is notified of allegations made and this prevents Ofsted having the necessary oversight in knowing that young people are safe and protected.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified manager who has been in post since 2016. The manager is child-focused and committed to the continued improvement of the home. She has a good understanding of young people’s needs and progress.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to get a more stable, experienced staff team in place. New staff complete a robust induction process, which includes the relevant training to ensure that they are equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the young people. Staff speak highly of the training available within the organisation and all staff are up to date with training in areas such as safeguarding and first aid. Staff feel well supported by the management team and receive regular supervision to support them in their role.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work effectively with other professionals such as the police and social workers to support young people’s progress. Feedback from professionals is consistently positive about how well staff communicate with them to support the progress of young people. One social worker commented, ‘Staff are good at communication, they are open, honest and have worked well with us. They care about X and are working to make sure they Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 7 have good relationships with him.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been three young people admitted to the home since the last inspection. The manager completes thorough impact assessments, which include consideration of any risk factors on the existing group of young people in the home. The manager has recently admitted one young person on a short-term basis, which is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose, that states that, ‘The current admission criteria is for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties who require a medium- to long-term placement.’ This has resulted in a short-term placement for this young person, which does not provide him with stability, and is not conducive with ensuring stability for the other young people who live in the home.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She acknowledges that there are still areas for development and she has plans in place to improve on shortfalls such as case recording. The manager ensures that she promotes tolerance, equality and diversity in the home through discussions about young people treating each other with respect outside young people’s meetings and she plans to introduce themed nights to help young people to learn about different cultures.

p.7

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is a large, old building which is looking worn and in need of redecorating. The manager has a clear plan to address this in the home’s development plan, which includes agreement for a new kitchen and a programme of redecoration, which had started on the first day of the inspection. Young people spoke about being involved in choosing the new colour scheme for rooms in the home and were in the process of individualising their bedrooms during the inspection. This will provide a more homely environment for young people to live in.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

p.7

Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC479647 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hexagon Care Services, 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

p.8

Inspector(s)

Sarah Billett: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 9 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.8

Inspector(s)

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 http://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.9

Inspector(s)

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

p.9

Inspector(s)

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

p.9