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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 1 SC482411 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

This home is registered for up to six female children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is run by a large private organisation which has a number of other similar services nationally.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2018 Full Good 18/09/2017 Full Outstanding 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 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

Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff–

p.3

Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

p.3

Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

p.3

Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

p.3

Recommendations

 Appropriate forms of contact should be promoted and facilitated for each child.

p.3

Recommendations

(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.18)

p.3

Recommendations

This is in relation to ensuring that a meeting is convened to promote partnership working between a parent, the placing local authority and home staff to resolve visiting arrangements for a child. Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home provides a settled, nurturing environment, and children report that they feel safe and well cared for. Children benefit from excellent routines and structure.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a stable, experienced group of staff who are skilled in building and sustaining positive relationships with children. Staff and managers champion children’s needs and celebrate achievements and progress.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. Each child has a detailed care plan, with clear expectations linked to individual needs to encourage and support progress. Staff are aware of, and meet, children’s identity, religious and cultural needs.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Plans are regularly reviewed with each child. Children’s views are listened to and acted on. They contribute to weekly meetings and speak with advocates and the independent visitor. For example, children have influenced decisions about the use of communal rooms following the recent expansion of the home. The culture at this home is inclusive, relaxed and open.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are identified and met. Children are encouraged to develop a healthy lifestyle. There has been success in supporting children to cease substance misuse and reduce, or cease, smoking tobacco.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children, who have previously had poor or mixed experiences in education, are making good progress. Some children are receiving home tuition while local authorities seek education placements.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one child there was significant delay in securing a school place. Managers were proactive in liaising with virtual schools and local education settings. They did challenge the placing authority. A requirement is made to ensure that where challenge is not effective it is formally escalated within the local authority.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with social workers and families to ensure that young people sustain any relationships that are important to them. This has worked well for most children. There is a need for the home’s managers to resolve some communication difficulties with a parent in order to support visiting arrangements for one child.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the development of independence skills with all children. Children are responsible for their rooms. They learn to shop, cook and manage budgets.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been planned transitions for two children moving on from the home since the last inspection. The inspector spoke to one child and her parent. They felt supported by staff and were very positive about the quality of care and relationships developed in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 5

p.4

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

Staff work well with partner agencies to keep children safe. There are very few incidents of concern. There has been one notifiable incident since the last inspection. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Given the presenting risks for children at the start of their placements, this is significant progress.

p.5

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

The combination of detailed, updated risk-management plans, individual work with children and the safe location of the home, supports children to stay safe.

p.5

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

Plans are informed by an assessment of children’s emotional well-being. There are limited incidents of self-harm and self-injurious behaviours, and there continues to be a reduction.

p.5

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

There is a robust, consistent response to the risks associated with the use of digital technology and social media. There are explicit contracts with children, from the start, regarding the use of mobile phones and searches in the home.

p.5

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

Managers carefully consider the needs of the children already resident when agreeing to new children moving into the home. There have been a small, time-limited, number of incidents of peer-on-peer bullying behaviour, triggered by changes in the group. This has been robustly addressed and well managed. Resolution meetings and individual anti- bullying work have been effective. Children said that they have reflected on behaviours and there are no current concerns.

p.5

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

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. All supervision discussions include a discussion about safeguarding concerns and practice. A social worker referred to staff understanding a child’s story and working effectively to enhance the child’s understanding of staying safe. A relative said that staff have provided appropriate boundaries, and that the child has described the care provided by staff as empowering and protective.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an experienced, hands-on manager, who is involved in the children’s day-to-day experiences. Staff speak positively about working at this home and refer to a supportive, child-focused, team ethos.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are established, effective partnership-working arrangements with all local agencies and schools and with placing local authorities. The manager has learned lessons regarding escalating concerns formally within the local authority in respect of delays in education arrangements for one child.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers report that they receive helpful, timely information and that staff contribute to assessments to support children’s plans and progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 6 There are monitoring and review systems in place to inform the development of practice and to support managers and staff to understand the impact of the quality of care on children’s lived experiences. Managers respond to recommendations from the independent visitor and to consultation with partners, families and children. An example of this was consultation with children’s social workers and with children prior to the home expanding from accommodating four children to six children. This transition has worked well. Children refer to having more space for different activities. The home is a comfortable, child-friendly environment.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which is practice based. Managers address performance issues where appropriate.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are a range of training and development opportunities that support staff to meet children’s needs. Most staff have the required qualification. There are a small number of recently recruited staff who are enrolled on the qualification course.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are regular team meetings. The records show that they are generally task orientated. Children’s needs and progress are discussed. They could also be used as a training and development opportunity.

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 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.

p.6

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: SC482411 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-On-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

p.7

Inspector:

Cathey Moriarty, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482411 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

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 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.8

Inspector:

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

p.8

Inspector:

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

p.8