Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 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 to manage two children’s homes with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 09 to 10 September 2019

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are making exceptionally good progress at this home. They are cared for by strong and caring adult role models who are proud of them. The staff team has created a welcoming family atmosphere that consists of nurture, respect and positive parenting. Consequently, the young people are settled and have developed some trusting, endearing and affectionate relationships with the staff. This is enabling the young people to reflect on their complex past. They confide in the staff and are receptive to learning, which enables them to make choices and prosper. A parent said, ‘She is in the best place. She is safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are making good progress with their education. This is a marked improvement from their previous levels of engagement. Young people who are not attending an educational provision receive home tuition. They are involved in vocational skills at the home and activities that harness their creative talents. The staff are interested in the young people’s learning and celebrate their achievements. This is helping the young people to realise their potential and aim high.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the young people’s individual health needs and they engage in primary and specialist health appointments. The regular clinical support and therapeutic input is focused on the young people’s emotional well-being. The young people’s healthy balanced diet, coupled with opportunities to participate in physical activities, promotes a healthier lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people feel listened to but also know how to complain should they need to. Individual key-work sessions and daily discussions contribute to their individualised plans and the developments in the home. This makes them feel included.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s engagement in a range of fun activities offer positive social opportunities and involvement within the community. Pictures of the young people fishing and on day trips adorn the walls in the home and capture memories. Positive contact with family and friends is promoted by the staff team. They are invited to the home and facilitate contact away from the home. This supports the young people’s family ties and identity needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The rural location of the home provides the young people with a pleasant environment. Some young people personalise their rooms within the home. However, there is no clear plan showing how the staff consistently support a young person who is reluctant to personalise and maintain their room to a suitable standard.

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

The young people are safe and protected from harm and rate their safety highly. Young people who were previously involved in high-risk-taking behaviours and were subjected to exploitation are no longer at risk. The rural location acts as a deterrent to the harm Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 3 they were previously exposed to. In addition, the staff training, on matters such as country lines, child sexual and criminal exploitation, keeps them alert to the potential for such threats that could destabilise the young people’s lives.

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

Detailed risk management plans identify the young people’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff apply the strategies to minimise risk and keep them under review. Missing from home incidents are managed well by the staff. They follow the missing from home protocols to ensure that the young people return home safely. This includes the staff going out looking for the young people and contacting their known associates.

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

Individualised behaviour management strategies used by the staff defuse young people’s challenging and potentially risky and impulsive behaviours. The staff also use their positive relationships to challenge some young people’s discriminatory views and learned behaviours. Positive incentives and restorative practice promote socially acceptable mannerisms and respect for others, which is work in progress for some young people. Formal police intervention is kept to a minimum. Informal visits by the local police community support officers provide sound opportunities for the young people to engage with the police.

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

Good boundaries and routines provide structure to the young people’s day. The locking of internal doors as part of the night-time fire evacuation plan has been implemented. This follows two potentially risky incidents that resulted in the undertaking of additional protective measures. However, this practice has not been reviewed. The registered manager is currently addressing this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is strong, effective management at this home. The qualified and experienced registered manager is visible and approachable to the staff and young people. She possesses a coherent understanding of the young people’s progress and her relationships with the young people are strikingly good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s capacity to lead the home is enhanced further by the deputy manager who has a competent management grip in her absence. Combined, they lead a supportive environment where members of the relatively new staff team feel valued and supported and enjoy caring for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers promote a culture that is characterised by high aspiration, nurture, warmth and challenge that enables the young people to feel wanted and they thrive. A strong focus on staff supervision, professional development, training and communication keeps the team up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring systems support the manager to build on the strengths of the team and rectify weaknesses so that practice continues to improve. Team meetings provide a platform for reinforcing the expectations to the staff team members, such as improving their timeliness when recording and reporting information about safety and welfare issues. Lessons learned from practice and further training help to Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 4 develop staff awareness and improve expertise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback about the home from professionals and parents supports a well-run home. The quality of communication is complimented. A professional said that the communication is ‘excellent and no issues’. Collaborative working practices between the home and the clinical team enable information-sharing about the young people, including specific incidents that inform the individual therapy sessions.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(iii)) Specifically, review the practice of locking the lounge and kitchen doors. 31/10/19

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Recommendations

 Children should be provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items, including any personal information. Children should have separate bedrooms and should not share a bedroom with an adult. It may be appropriate for siblings of the same sex to share. Children should be given a choice about how their personal space is decorated in accordance with regulation 7(2)(a)(i). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19) Specifically, demonstrate how the staff team consistently supports young people who are reluctant to personalise and maintain their bedroom to a suitable standard.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 5 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: 2509365 6

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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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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2509365 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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