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

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for six children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. However, the home is currently only working with four boys, aged between 11 and 17. The current admission criteria are for young people who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and who require a medium- to long-term placement. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection on 9 April 2018. Following this inspection, a compliance notice was issued under Regulation 8(2)(v)(x), Regulation 12(2)(a)(iv) and Regulation 14(1)(a). All the notices were deemed to be met at a monitoring visit undertaken by inspectors on 1 June 2018. Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/04/2018 Full Inadequate 02/05/2017 Full Good 13/12/2016 Full Good 01/11/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered manager should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been no further admissions to the home since the last inspection. The young people in placement are now making progress in their emotional and behavioural development. This is because there is a new manager in post who has made significant changes in the home. These changes have ensured that young people receive consistent and well-planned care to support their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people now attend education or further education. Staff have put in place structures and routines in the home that support young people to engage in education during the day. For example, they have implemented reward charts to promote school attendance and they now ensure that young people hand in their electronic devices to staff at night. This has resulted in one young person receiving an end-of-term award for his attendance at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote young people’s health. They maintain good links with health professionals and ensure that young people attend health appointments. This has resulted in one young person receiving medication to improve a skin condition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The day-to-day experiences of young people living in the home are good. The home has been more settled recently. This is because staff provide clear routines and boundaries, which young people understand. Young people are happy living in the home and recognise the progress that they have made. They describe the home as being ‘more chilled’ than before.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with young people, identifying their individual interests. Consequently, young people take part in recreational activities that they enjoy, such as outings in the local area. The manager has established links in the local community, which he has used to involve young people in activities and voluntary work. These experiences help young Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 4 people develop confidence and new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are now better supported to develop independence skills according to their individual needs. Staff have put independence plans in place for each young person. These identify the skills that young people need to develop for independence, and young people are engaging with these plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to young people and take their views into account. For example, one young person identified in a young person’s meeting that he would like new carpets for his bedroom, and the manager addressed this. This has resulted in the young person taking more pride in his bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has made improvements to the physical environment. The home is maintained to a better standard and it looks more like a family home. There are still some areas which need improvement. For example, the doors upstairs look worn and dirty, and the home could be further personalised.

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

Significant events and missing from home incidents have reduced in the home since the last inspection. As a result, the home is more settled and young people have become increasingly safer.

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

Staff understand each young person’s known risks. The manager ensures that individual risk assessments include clear actions for staff to follow to reduce any known risks. Risk assessments are routinely updated and shared with placing social workers to ensure that there is a multi-agency approach to keeping young people safe.

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

Staff understand and follow missing from home protocols. When young people go missing from home, staff search for them to try to locate them as quickly as possible. The manager evaluates missing from home episodes. As a result, he has worked closely with one placing authority to reach an agreement that one young person can stay overnight at a friend’s house. This means that he is not reported as missing to the police when he spends time there.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks that the use of the internet may pose for young people. Staff identified a concern about one young person’s internet usage through their own monitoring. They have taken effective action to address this and have put strategies in place to ensure that the young person is safe.

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

Staff spend time with young people, helping them understand how to keep themselves safe. They use a good range of resources to help young people understand the risks associated with the internet and going missing.

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

Significant events in the home have reduced because staff are managing young people’s behaviour more effectively. Staff have received further training in behaviour management since the last inspection and have ensured that there are individualised Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 5 behaviour management plans in place for young people. As a result, staff are now de- escalating situations more efficiently, and restraint practice has reduced.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour with individualised rewards, and reward charts are being used more effectively. Staff are working more consistently as a team to address negative behaviours. This shows in the improved behaviour and the engagement of the young people with staff. When consequences are used, these are restorative in nature and are to educate young people about the behaviour. For example, one young person researched and completed a poster which showed the dangers of smoking in the home.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment processes to recruit new staff. This ensures that all staff in the home are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager in post who, in conjunction with the deputy manager, has worked exceptionally hard at addressing the shortfalls identified during the last inspection. As a result, young people are more settled in the home and are making progress. The manager and deputy manager are child-centred. They ensure that young people receive the best quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the progress that young people are making in the home. This is because he has implemented tracking systems to monitor young people’s progress and he works on shift sometimes, which enables him to get to know young people well. He uses internal and external monitoring systems to make continuous improvements to the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that all the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. The changes that he has made in the short period of time he has been in post show that he is able to take prompt effective action to address shortfalls. As a result, the home is meeting its aims and objectives in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the new manager and the changes that he has made. Staff said that they are well supported in their roles and that they are now working more consistently as a staff team. Staff receive regular supervision. Induction and probation periods are now reviewed in line with procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have all received a high level of training since the last inspection. They have undertaken training in a range of areas, including safeguarding, drug and alcohol use and self-harm. The manager needs to ensure that staff have access to training on radicalisation and the ‘Prevent’ duty.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are used to discuss young people and practice, which ensures that there is a more consistent approach in the home. Handover meetings are now attended by the manager or deputy manager, which staff report has improved communication in the home. Staff work well with external agencies to improve the Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 6 outcomes for young people.

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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 differences 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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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 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 1 Tustin Court, Riversway, Preston, PR2 2YQ

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Inspectors

Sarah Billett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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