Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Preston

Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 1 SC480161 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

The home is registered to provide care for up to six young people who may have emotional, behavioural and/or learning difficulties. The home is owned and managed by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a registered manager who was approved with Ofsted in September 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 December 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2019 Full Outstanding 28/06/2017 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people make significant progress in relation to their individual starting points. They benefit from exceptionally well-planned, highly personalised care that promotes their specific needs effectively and contributes to sustainable change and improvement in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A parent reported, ‘Staff are meeting his needs in every way. Can’t praise them enough.’ Another parent said, ‘It is a home from home that has experienced staff to offer my son support. I am 100% happy with the care my child gets. I really couldn’t have asked for him to be in a better place.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff demonstrate an excellent awareness of child-centred practice that takes account of young people’s adverse childhood experiences. They provide young people with a supportive, therapeutically informed, caring and nurturing environment. Young people enjoy warm relationships with staff, teachers and therapists and they sustain their positive attachments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A social worker reported, ‘Very positive in all areas. [Child’s name] has made significant progress and is working towards realistic goals. Staff are very good at promoting his views and advocating.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people. They maintain highly effective partnerships with the providers of education to promote each individual’s education achievement and learning. Young people attend school or other alternative education provision, and attendance and engagement in education are excellent. Staff work proactively and enthusiastically with social workers, teachers and therapists to ensure that young people benefit from the best possible help and wrap-around support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A social worker reported, ‘The bringing in of in-house therapeutic support appears to have made the therapeutic approach more aligned.’ They went on to say, ‘I always describe [the home] to my colleagues as warm and nurturing and one of the nicest placements I have ever been to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff actively promote and facilitate family time to enable young people to sustain their close relationships with the people that are most important to them. They provide young people with positive activities to promote their social skills and improve their self-esteem and self-confidence. Young people benefit from the opportunities staff provide for them to pursue their specific interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people benefit from exceptional support from staff, teachers and therapists to promote their physical, social, emotional and psychological well-being. Medical consent is obtained so staff are familiar with the types of health decisions and responsibilities that are charged and delegated to them. A young person reported, ‘It’s fun because we get to go on activities and staff talk to us about our problems. When I’m struggling, the staff Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 4 are there for me. Staff are kind and they’re nice to talk to when you’re feeling low.’

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

The safety of young people and others is consistently at the centre of staff’s practice, irrespective of the challenges this presents. Staff have an excellent awareness of young people’s specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities and take appropriate action to address them. The use of robust risk assessments and highly effective safe working practices promote the safety and well-being of young people and others.

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

Young people are protected from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. Staff are vigilant to the risk of harm and they supervise the young people diligently to help, support and protect them. Staff are trained in child protection and have a very clear understanding of their safeguarding duties, roles and responsibilities. Young people rarely go missing, and if they do staff promptly follow the home’s procedures to secure their safe and quick return.

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

Significant incidents are always shared promptly with the appropriate authorities to ensure that action is taken by the right professional agencies to support and protect young people. The home maintains highly effective partnerships with the police, social workers and other safeguarding agencies to promote the well-being and safety of young people.

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

A social worker reported, ‘The staff are friendly and accommodating. They have a good awareness and understanding regarding the children they are caring for and supporting. This helps them fine tune the care that they provide and tailor this to individual children to ensure that every child is responded to effectively and accordingly.’

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

Staff have very high expectations of behaviour. They implement the home’s rules and boundaries extremely effectively and maintain good order, safety and discipline within the home. A restorative approach is used to address incidents and negative behaviours effectively. Young people are supported to resolve their conflicts and disagreements positively. As a result, they learn to put right any wrongdoings and take responsibility and ownership for their behaviour. The use of restraint is rare and, if used at all, this is only ever as a last resort to protect young people from harm. Young people know how to make a complaint, and their rights are promoted effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is highly qualified and is an approved practitioner in the RAID training programme. RAID stands for ‘Reinforce appropriate, implode disruptive’, which is an extremely positive approach to working with very challenging behaviour. She holds the diploma in social work and national vocational qualification (NVQ) level 7 in leadership and management. The registered manager demonstrates strong and effective leadership of the operation of the home. She ensures that the home is managed efficiently and that staff are well managed, professionally supervised, supported and led. Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 5 Staff consistently deliver a high-quality service for young people that makes a real difference to their lives. Staff have sufficient skills, qualifications, training and relevant experience to meet the specific needs of the young people at the home. Staff comprehensively meet the aims and objectives as described in the home’s statement of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

purpose. They implement and share the home’s ethos, approach and philosophy in caring for young people. The statement of purpose includes the therapeutic models of working with young people and describes the types of therapy and specialist services that the home provides.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is visited by an independent professional who scrutinises the performance of the home each month to review the quality of young people’s care and the arrangements to safeguard them and promote their well-being. Regulation 44 reports are sent to Ofsted in keeping with regulation, and the reports are also accessible to placing authorities on request. The registered manager makes effective use of the home’s external and internal monitoring activities to secure the home’s continuing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home provides young people with a physically safe, appropriately secure, warm, comfortable and homely living environment. The home is suitably furnished and decorated. However, given the age of the property, there are aspects of the home that are now beginning to look tired and worn. The registered manager is addressing this with the home’s maintenance department, and the kitchen and bathrooms will be renovated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has addressed and met the only recommendation from the last inspection. There are no breaches in regulation. Therefore, there are no requirements or recommendations made following this inspection.

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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: SC480161 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

Anthony Kyem, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 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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