Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Preston

Inspection report children’s home: SC482569 1 SC482569 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 privately owned and provides accommodation for up to six children and 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 2010.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 February 2020

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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 good

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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: 5 February 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: SC482569 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2019 Full Outstanding 07/11/2017 Full Outstanding 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC482569 3

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

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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Recommendations

 The children’s home must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  Regulation 19 (2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to

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Recommendations

understand this and carry it out (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Children’s home staff should take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. Staff should discuss the decision with the child’s placing authority where appropriate. If a child makes a choice that would place them or another person at significant risk of harm, staff should assist them to understand the risks and manage their risk taking behaviour to keep themselves and others safe. This relates to the use of monitoring alarms on bedroom doors. Ensure that the use of the alarms is regularly reviewed, and young people are consulted. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

42, paragraph 9.7) Inspection report children’s home: SC482569 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff excel in providing consistent, nurturing care for young people. Since the previous inspection, there have been no changes to the leadership and management of the home. The stable environment provided by the registered manager and the staff team has a positive impact on the young people. As a result, the young people who live in the home receive highly individualised, tailored care that directly leads to consistently improved outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are particularly skilled in helping young people who are at extremely high risk of child exploitation to move confidently and securely towards independence. Since the previous inspection, several young people have moved on. These young people experienced a significantly long period of stability. As a direct result of this, trusting and warm relationships were formed. These relationships continue to exist and in doing so provide the young people with a sense of belonging. For example, the young people return for meals and social events. Their photographs continue to decorate the walls, they provide peer mentoring and they are referred to as ‘part of the Ferngate family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Consultation with the young people is exceptional. Their views are captured daily and are central to the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young people are very involved in all aspects of their care and planning for the future. This makes them feel valued and listened to, which has increased their self- confidence and self-worth. Because of the gentle and kind approaches by the staff, the young people are helped to make sense of their lives. The young people said that they are ‘loved’ and recognise that the staff keep them safe.

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

The assessment and management of risks for the young people when they are out in the community are of the highest quality. The registered manager and staff are extremely knowledgeable about child exploitation. They apply this knowledge when moving young people into the home. This enables the staff to pre-empt, plan, review and ultimately reduce the risks.

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

The staff do extremely well to achieve a balance of allowing the young people to take risks and learn from any mistakes while keeping them safe. Safeguarding procedures and protocols give the staff clear guidance and strategies to use to help keep children safe. That said, the staff’s knowledge and understanding of the young people, coupled with their in-depth knowledge of behaviour management and support by an integrated therapy team, have directly resulted in the young people becoming more emotionally resilient and less at risk of exploitation. Inspection report children’s home: SC482569 5 Collaborative and cohesive relationships exist between the home and all relevant safeguarding authorities, resulting in prompt and effective safeguarding action in the event of young people going missing. Since the previous inspection, instances of the young people going missing have significantly reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate, aspirational and committed to improving the outcomes of young people. Through the provision and implementation of learning from carefully selected training, the staff have gained the skills to meet the young people’s very complex needs. Young people and staff routinely learn alongside one another. Most recently, young people have been instrumental in presenting training in county lines to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive reflective supervision and work well with the two therapists who are integrated into the home. Staff spoke of the excellent support and kindness they receive from the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager consistently maintains good-quality relationships with all professionals involved with the young people. She produces reports and updates that are of a high quality and that reflect an in-depth knowledge of the young people’s progress and plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of the home takes place regularly and is of a high quality. Professionals spoken with confirmed that information is shared with them routinely and that their relationships with the staff and the registered manager are ‘excellent’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the staff team strive relentlessly to improve practice and the running of the home. Further work is necessary to improve the quality of the children’s guide, the use of restorative practice and the generic use of bedroom door alarms.

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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: SC482569 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: Unit 1 Tustin Court, Riversway, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Linda Bond, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482569 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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