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

Inspection report children's home: SC480671 1 SC480671 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is one of several children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, aged 11 to 17 years.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The organisation has made the decision to limit the home’s occupancy to six girls.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

If required, children and young people can access the organisation’s on-site school, which is currently in the process of registering with the Department for Education.

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: 8 November 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC480671 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2017 Full Outstanding 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Good 17/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC480671 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

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person, if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(2)(c))

p.3

Requirement Due date

Specifically, improve the level of consultation with third-party stakeholders, including parents and relatives. 13/02/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.3

Recommendations

Specifically, ensure that priority is given to ensuring that all staff complete training in the topics of child sexual exploitation, self-harm and the use of physical restraint. Inspection report children's home: SC480671 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been several significant changes since the last inspection. In May 2018 the home was closed. Children, staff and the registered manager relocated to a new home. The home reopened in September 2018 with a newly appointed staff team, a new manager and a revised statement of purpose.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Six children have lived at the home since it reopened. Every effort has been made to meetthe needs of the children, taking into consideration the experience and skills of this newly formed staff team. For the majority, the experience of living at this home has provided children with a period of stability that has enabled them to make good progress relative to their starting point and time in placement.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have left the home since it reopened. The manager served notice on one child in recognition that her challenging and risk-taking behaviour, which was impacting negatively on other children, could not be safely managed. The second child, at the child’s request, was supported well to transition to a mixed-gender children’s home that would enable her to better maintain her chosen identity of living as a boy.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally satisfied with the care that they receive and enjoy good relationships with staff. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of each child’s needs. These are captured in records that are comprehensively detailed and provide a good insight into each child’s individual needs, risks and behaviours. Children’s progress is reviewed regularly as part of a multi-agency approach to care planning. One social worker said, ‘Staff are really good at promoting (name)’s needs. Communication is excellent, and they are good at listening to (name) and working with us and (name) to achieve (name)’s goals.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are integral to the operation of this home. There are plenty of opportunities for children to express their opinions, make choices and be involved in decisions about their lives. Educational and reflective key-working sessions are used to enable children to reflect on their past and understand and better manage their needs, behaviours and risks. This targeted approach, combined with the child-focused support from staff, is helping children to better manage their lives and plan more positively for their future.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The delay in the registration of the on-site school means that interim arrangements have had to be made for those children who would attend this provision. Initially, children were home schooled using a combination of qualified teachers and care staff. More recently, these children have started to attend another school run by the organisation, while the others are registered at one of two local authority pupil referral units. There is good evidence that education is valued and encouraged by staff and the three of the four children who are now attending school regularly. For the child who is more difficult to engage, staff are persistent in their efforts to help them to recognise the benefits and Inspection report children's home: SC480671 5 importance of education. However, it is too early in the child’s placement to assess whether their efforts will be successful.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to keep in touch with their family and other people who are important to them. Staff work closely with family members and social workers to ensure that a cohesive and progressive contact plan is in place. This collaborative approach is helping to strengthen relationships between children and key people and, for some children, contributes to the potential for them to return home to live.

p.5

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

The manager and staff are trained in safeguarding and have a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. They are fully committed to and effective in promoting children’s safety and well-being, which contributes to children feeling safer because of being at this home.

p.5

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

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities. They give the management of these the utmost priority and are effective in the implementation of individualised risk management strategies. This means that behaviour such as self-harm is managed effectively and in the best interest of the child.

p.5

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

Individual risks and vulnerabilities are carefully considered and reviewed throughout each child’s placement. Staff encourage children to explore their own behaviours through meaningful discussions, reflective incident debriefings and targeted key-working sessions. Children are given age-appropriate information on topics such as e-safety, child sexual exploitation and sexual health, and this is delivered in a fun and interesting way. As a result, children are developing an improved concept of personal safety, with some making better choices about keeping themselves safe. A social worker said, ‘The way that staff have managed (name) is really good. They have done a lot of work around child sexual exploitation, which is now benefiting (name) because she is developing an understanding of herself and risk. She has not gone missing and put herself at risk since November 2018.’

p.5

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

Individualised plans are in place and are implemented effectively when children go missing. Staff are proactive in their efforts to locate and safely return children, working closely with the police and other agencies in this respect.

p.5

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

As staff’s confidence increases, so does their ability to implement consistently a structured environment that is based on clear expectations, boundaries and planned daily routines. As staff come to know the children they can better recognise and respond to changes in mood. Sanctions are used infrequently, with staff preferring a restorative approach that enables children to understand and change their own behaviour. Staff make every effort to avoid physical restraint, but on the six occasions that it has been necessary it has been as a last resort and done in a sensitive and caring manner. Inspection report children's home: SC480671 6

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run effectively by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. She has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and a clear vision of the type of child-focused service that she wants to develop. She has taken a planned approach to developing a new service and has established a good foundation on which to build through good leadership and management.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is working hard to establish a credible and competent staff team. Six staff have left the home since it opened in September 2018. Most of these vacancies have been recruited to, and the home currently has three full-time vacancies. This is not having a significant impact on children’s care, because the manager is being proactive in ensuring that admissions are considered in the context of the available staffing resources.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are benefiting from the care and support from staff who demonstrate a genuine commitment to supporting them to make positive changes in their lives. Staff talk with enthusiasm about their work and are highly complementary about the support that they receive from the registered manager and her deputy. Staff have been inducted well into the home and receive purposeful supervision that supports professional development. A good range of mandatory and needs-led training is available to the staff team. However, some of the newer staff, including casual staff, have yet to complete training on the topics of self-harm, child sexual exploitation and the use of physical restraint.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of staff practice, care planning and children’s progress. She implements a range of effective internal quality assurance processes that are used to promote an improvement agenda. This monitoring activity is further enhanced by the monthly scrutiny of an independent visitor, who provides a sufficiently detailed report that can be used to address any identified shortfalls. However, these reports do not yet include the views of external stakeholders such as parents, relatives or professionals. Inspection report children's home: SC480671 7

p.6

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 whom 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: SC480671 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Paul Scott, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC480671 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

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9