Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 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

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with social and emotional difficulties. The home is registered for single-gender occupancy only (female). A new manager has been appointed who is not yet 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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000 in relation to regulation 12, the help and protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. This was following a full inspection on 22 to 23 August 2019 and 24 September 2019, when the home was judged to be inadequate. A monitoring visit took place on 6 November 2019, where the provider was deemed to have taken sufficient steps to meet the two compliance notices. Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2019 Full Inadequate 06/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, if a child expresses a desire to be supported by a trusted member of staff at an important appointment, then arrangements should be made to facilitate this. 25/02/2020

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two young people living in the home are settled and making good progress. They have good relationships with staff, especially those who have been caring for them for a long time. New staff have been recruited and the home is no longer using any agency staff to care for the girls. This provides better continuity of care and enables trust to develop. There have been no admissions to the home since the last inspection and this has allowed a period of time for reflection and calm. Following the last full inspection, managers have worked hard to develop the staff team. This has helped them to provide Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 4 a good level of care for the young people in line with the outcomes set out in the home’s statement of purpose. The quality of direct work undertaken with the young people is high. Records show that meaningful conversations frequently take place about issues which are important to the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

young people or impact on their lives. This helps them better understand their choices and behaviours and helps them to express their feelings in more positive ways. Both young people are in full-time education, where they are flourishing. Their attendance is good and their efforts to achieve and progress are also very good. They have developed in confidence, won awards and taken leading roles in the Christmas pantomime. One young person is on track to take GCSE exams this year. The school is making every effort to get a much-needed EHC plan in place for the other young person. Young people are supported to lead healthy lifestyles. Staff have attended a supporting carers and young people together (SCAYT) consultation. SCAYT workers are planning to train staff to help them meet the young people’s more specific support needs. One young person was not supported by their choice of staff member to attend a child and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) assessment. This had an impact on her engagement. A requirement will be made to reflect this. Young people are engaging with a ‘kindness chart’ which acknowledges and rewards them for acts of kindness. This promotes positive behaviour and consideration of others. There have been no complaints made since the previous inspection. This indicates that the girls feel happy about the way they are cared for. The complaints procedure has been discussed and reviewed in staff team meetings. This helps to ensure that staff understand the procedure should a young person make a complaint. One young person rated the home at nine out of ten currently. This is a significant improvement and shows she is enjoying and benefiting from her time at the home.

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

Young people’s risks are understood and are recorded in their risk assessments. Strategies identified to manage and reduce risks are clearly recorded. Risk assessments have been reviewed and simplified so it is easy to identify young people’s high, medium and low risks. One young person has continued to place herself at risk by going missing from home. The incidents have been managed effectively. Managers are involved in strategy and care planning meetings to continuously assess her safety and the suitability of the placement. The young person’s social worker reported that staff follow her risk management plan and do everything they can to keep her safe. Direct work with this young person shows that staff have frequent conversations with her about the risk she places herself at and the reason why she does this. Other than missing from home, there are few safeguarding concerns for young people. Their behaviour in the home is well managed and they do not put themselves at risk of

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

drugs, gangs, criminal exploitation or violence. They are well educated about risks. There have been no incidents of restrictive physical intervention. This suggests that behaviour is well managed and that relationships are positive. Consequences for poor Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 5 behaviour are minimal. The one consequence implemented was appropriate, restorative and well recorded. No allegations against staff have been made. All previous allegations have been investigated and concluded. Managers have communicated with the local area designated officer about the allegation investigations. Medication is stored and administered correctly. There have been no administration or recording errors. Staff are clear on the medication administration procedure. Staff have been trained in safeguarding procedures. They have worked through safeguarding scenarios to improve their understanding of how to respond to, and how to

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

record, any safeguarding incidents. Records of safeguarding incidents have improved as a result of this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has benefited from focused senior management support to address the issues raised at the previous inspection. An action plan has been implemented and has improved the quality of care. A new manager has been appointed. She is currently supported by an experienced deputy manager, the responsible individual and another manager from within the service. This level of support and attention has resulted in significant improvements in the management of the home. Monitoring systems have improved. A managers’ fortnightly checklist has been devised, which thoroughly covers aspects of the service that need regular monitoring. Managers report that the independent visitor is both thorough and helpful when he visits the home. Monitoring activity is effective and identified that a regulation 40 notification had been missed, which was subsequently rectified. Managers have responded to the requirements and recommendations made at the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

previous inspection. All requirements were met at this inspection and only one new requirement is made. Staff have been recruited and the home is now fully staffed. New care staff have made a positive start and are developing good relationships with the young people. The standard of recording has improved. Records reviewed during this inspection were clear, relevant and up to date, and were correctly cross-referenced. Daily diaries and the log book contained good levels of detail. Management oversight and evaluation are evident in records. This reflects the improved monitoring systems described above. Staff have received further training and development in areas where shortfalls were identified, such as the management of complaints. Although there have been no new complaints, staff now have knowledge of the procedure to follow should a young person make a complaint.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 6 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: 1269215 7

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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

Charlie Bamber, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1269215 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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