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

Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 1 SC480704 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 is one of several children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six male young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 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

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2019 Full Good 20/12/2017 Full Outstanding 08/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/12/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 3

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(xii)(xiii)(b)) 28/12/2019

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Recommendations

 Children’s home staff should help looked-after children to understand the role of an independent advocate and how they can access one. Staff should regularly remind children of their right to access an independent advocate, concerning any matter relevant to the child’s status as looked-after. Independent advocates can support both the child and the home to seek redress of issues which affect them, such as lack of contact with their social worker, contact with family and leaving- care grants, in addition to issues about their care within the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.17)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 4 and resources to support their training needs (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11).

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Recommendations

Specifically, source and provide staff with training that will help them to better understand how to support young people who have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and those who have been affected by domestic violence.  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28). Specifically, staff should be provided with clear instructions to assist their response to missing episodes. These instructions should be individualised for each young person living at the home.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5). Specifically, individual risk assessments should detail the control measures and strategies in place to safeguard the young person. Risk assessments should inform the care provided for the young person through their care plan.  Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm, in all areas relevant to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people living in this home are making good progress. They receive care, support and encouragement from staff who know them well. Young people have good relationships with staff and as a result they are growing in confidence. One member of staff said, ‘The staff team have excellent relationship-building skills with the young people. The home is child focused and has a family environment.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were a number of changes to the staff team earlier this year and this was unsettling for some young people. However, the staff team is consistent now and young people who have recently arrived at the home have settled quickly. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘[Young person’s name] has settled well and I feel staff have taken the time to get to know him. Staff have a good understanding of his needs and manage his needs well.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are attending education and are making progress. Staff understand the importance of education in achieving positive outcomes for young people. When young people arrive at the home they have often had sporadic school attendance. Staff have Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 5 successfully supported young people to get back into the routine of going to school and engaging in education. As a result, some young people have aspirations to go to college and ultimately get a job.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from having a wide choice of activities both at home and in the local community. Staff actively encourage young people to pursue their hobbies and expand their interests. The young people particularly enjoy accessing the onsite facilities available at the home, such as the games room, gym and football pitch. During the summer, some of the young people had the opportunity to have a holiday abroad with staff. This was very successful and created special memories for the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are being effectively prepared for adulthood. One young person said, ‘The staff are very good and kind. They help me with everything and encourage me to do things for myself.’ A structured independence programme has been developed for staff to use to teach young people new skills in a staggered and safe way. The programme covers areas such as healthy eating, independent travel, sexual health, budgeting and paying bills. This type of preparation has supported one young person to successfully move to a semi-independence placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people have struggled to manage their relationships with each other and there have been incidents of bullying. Not all incidents have been recognised as such, or recorded properly. This means that there is not a consistent approach to dealing with incidents effectively. Where bullying has been identified, staff members have addressed the issue on an individual basis. However, there have been missed opportunities to support young people to manage their behaviour and relationships with others more positively. A requirement has been made to address this issue.

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

Young people feel safe and cared for by staff who know them well. The staff have the skills to build relationships with young people quickly. This means that young people have access to trusted adults who they can rely on for support. One young person said, ‘It’s good here, there’s always people I can talk to if I need to.’

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

All young people have care plans and risk assessments which are updated on a regular basis and after significant events. However, these documents do not always contain sufficient detail about how young people’s needs will be met and how risks are being managed. Furthermore, information in these documents is not always cross-referenced or consistent. This prevents staff from gaining a full understanding of the young people’s needs and vulnerabilities.

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

Staff have established clear boundaries and daily routines. Young people understand what is expected of them and are responding well to this. As a result, staff rarely have to use physical interventions to manage young people’s behaviours. One social worker said, ‘[Young person’s name] has made really good progress and is now in a proper routine; the structure is making a real difference to him.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 6 A recently introduced incentive scheme supports and reinforces positive behaviours. While this is at an early stage, staff have noticed that it has already had a positive effect on young people and has supported them to modify some of their behaviours. Alongside this, staff have adopted a restorative approach when young people exhibit negative or challenging behaviours. This is helping young people to better understand the consequences of their actions.

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

Young people benefit from having regular individual key-work sessions. Staff use these as an opportunity for young people to reflect on their behaviours and talk about their feelings. One social worker said, ‘[Young person’s name] is identifying that at times his behaviour has been difficult or inappropriate and he is making massive changes to the way he behaves.’ However, direct work does not always focus on the areas of risk and vulnerability outlined in the young person’s care plan. A recommendation has been made to improve practice in this area.

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

Most young people are engaging in fewer risk-taking behaviours. For example, the number of incidents in which young people have gone missing from home has reduced. One young person was struggling with living near to his family and he was putting himself at risk by going missing from home. Staff actively searched for him and liaised appropriately with other agencies to keep him safe. However, missing-from-care protocols are generic and lack some details that would make the staff team’s response more effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2019. When he arrived at the home, he had to manage a very unsettled period when several members of the staff team left at the same time. He responded to this quickly and effectively, ensuring that the impact on young people was minimised. He has subsequently successfully recruited a strong and cohesive staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager work well together and their effective partnership has been an important factor in stabilising the staff team. They are visible and accessible to staff and young people. Their practice is child centred and they are committed to delivering a good standard of care for young people. One member of staff said, ‘The manager is good with people and builds great relationships with the kids. He is a good role model for staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new staff team has benefited from receiving a thorough induction and training programme. The staff value this and feel it has equipped them to fulfil their roles effectively. The manager encourages staff to develop new initiatives for the benefit of young people. For example, one member of staff has introduced special evenings themed around celebrating other cultures. Staff feel supported by the management team and morale is high. One member of staff said, ‘The young people are happy and settled. It’s a nice place to come to work.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 7 The manager recognises and values the importance of a highly trained workforce. He is keen to promote continuous professional development and has delegated areas of responsibility for individual staff to lead on. All staff have a nationally recognised childcare qualification or are working towards one. However, additional specialised

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

training is required to support the staff team’s understanding of ADHD and knowledge of areas such as domestic violence. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have good relationships with external professionals. This ensures that a collaborative approach to care planning is adopted. Professionals say that they value the regular communication and updates that they receive from the staff. One support teacher said, ‘The communication between the home and school has been fantastic. If I ever needed support they would come in and meet with myself and the young person.’

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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: SC480704 8

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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

Sophie Thomson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC480704 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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