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

Inspection report children’s home: 2509366 1 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

This privately run home was registered in March 2019 to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people. The manager is registered with Ofsted.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

This was the first inspection for this home. Inspection report children’s home: 2509366 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff spend a lot of time with the children and have plans for enjoyable activities for them, both in and out of home. The children have good relationships with staff and can talk to them about any personal issues. The children can have their say and their views are listened to. The children know how to make a complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take part in variety of activities such as bowling, cycling, going to cinemas and attending the gym regularly. The children have attended a summer camp and enjoyed this. One child has completed a rock-climbing course and the other one has experienced building a bird house.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is attending school and has managed to build up to accessing a full-time timetable. The other child has had assessments on his educational needs and an education provision has been identified for him. When he was not attending school, he had access to a tutor in the home. While attending school will help the children to develop their independence to some extent, they have not got many other opportunities to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are healthy. One child has stopped smoking following positive encouragement from the manager and staff. The staff are helping the children to make good choices in respect of healthy foods and lifestyle. If the children need additional help with their emotional well-being, they are referred to appropriate services such as child and adolescent mental health services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have access to activities that reflect their culture and heritage. The staff support and encourage the children to engage in faith-based activities, if they wish to do so. The young people make choices about the foods that they eat.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children get rewards for their positive behaviour. They can choose additional activities or get money towards items that they wish to buy as a result of their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to see their families and staff help this by welcoming family members to visit the home as well as taking the children to see their family members. This improves the relationships between children and their families.

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

The children are safe at this home. They do not go missing, which was an issue with the children before moving into the home. There is no police involvement in respect of their behaviour. The staff know the risks about the children and know how to keep them safe. The staff monitor the children closely, which means that any risks to them are further reduced. Inspection report children’s home: 2509366 3 The staff and manager have regular discussions and communication with the social workers, who get a weekly report of the children’s progress and behaviour. The staff also keep parents informed about the children’s progress.

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

The children have trusted adults that they can go and speak to if they are worried about anything. They feel listened to and they listen to the adults around them, who provide good advice.

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

The children receive regular help from the clinical team and are engaging in the therapeutic programme. The staff are also working with the clinical team to gain advice and better ways to support the children.

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

The children follow 24-hour plans that set out clear expectations of their behaviour. This structure helps children to understand what is expected of them and therefore regulates and reduces their risky behaviours. The children benefit from regular formal and informal key-working sessions with staff that cover real issues that are relevant to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have a good knowledge of the children and have good relationships with them. The manager is enthusiastic and wants the children to do well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in staffing following some recent vacancies. The manager is balancing this shortfall with existing staff doing additional hours and the use of regular bank staff. Funding for additional agency workers is now also agreed. This mitigates the potential for any negative impact on the children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the service and utilises the monitoring from the monthly independent visitor’s reports. She consults regularly with parents, social workers and other professionals. The feedback is positive and highlights good and regular communication from staff and the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and manager receive regular supervision which concentrates on the overall progress of the young people, staff development and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the staff team work well together, and they have a shared understanding of the needs of the young people and the practice within the home. The staff use consistent rules and boundaries with the children, which have worked. For example, one child is now able to get a full night’s sleep, whereas before their sleeping pattern was poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work proactively with the local community to ensure that children have access to faith groups and leisure facilities such the gym, bowling and outdoor activities. These help the children to have a sense of belonging and motivation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Matching has been thorough with the young people in the home. The statement of purpose clearly reflects the ethos and objectives of the home, which are achieved. Inspection report children’s home: 2509366 4

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Recommendations

 Children should be supported to express themselves as individuals and should be given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day to day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21) Specifically, to promote age-appropriate independence by giving the young people some free time while ensuring their safety.  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice in terms of sufficient staffing. This means a home having enough suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of all children in the home. The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted, including ensuring that the

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Recommendations

employment of any temporary staff will not prevent children from receiving the continuity of care that they need. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 2509366 5

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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: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

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Inspectors

Krista Hardy, social care inspector Parveen Hussain, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: 2509366 6 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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