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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 1 SC482517 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It is registered for five children. The home provides care for children aged between 11 and 17 who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager is appropriately qualified and is 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

Date of last inspection: 27 February 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: SC482517 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2019 Full Good 09/10/2017 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/09/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector that they are happy and safe and that they have developed positive relationships with staff. Children enjoy a range of leisure activities, such as going to the cinema, going shopping, visits to the sea life centre and horse riding. Staff work with children to understand their interests and hobbies. Recently, one child attended a dog show with staff, which she enjoyed. Staff also encourage children to take part in charity events. As a result, children have positive experiences, which help to build their self-esteem and enables them to feel part of the community. Staff ensure that children feel involved in making decisions about the home and day- to-day decisions about their care. Children are offered a range of opportunities to talk to staff to share their views through key working and children’s meetings. Staff listen to and act on what children say which helps them to feel valued and listened

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

to. Staff also use the children’s meetings to talk about important issues such as bullying, the dangers of knife crime and exploitation. Such opportunities provide children with increased knowledge and information. Children move into the home in a planned way. Staff take the time to read children’s background information to get an understanding of children’s needs before they move in. Planned visits take place allowing children to get to know staff and other children in the home. This helps children feel less anxious about moving to their new home and helps them settle in. One child, who moved in during the inspection, told the inspector that visiting the home and having the opportunity to have dinner with staff and the other children helped her feel less nervous. Children attend school and are making some excellent progress given their starting points. Children have increased their attendance and are more invested in their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

learning. Two children are working towards their GCSEs and have identified what they would like to do in college once they leave school. They are also very much looking forward to their end of year prom. When there are any issues for children within school, staff work closely with teachers to address any issues promptly. This ensures that children are supported to continue to make progress and improve their prospects for the future. Staff work closely with children to ensure that they attend routine health appointments. In addition, the registered manager and staff seek out support from external agencies to support children’s emotional well-being. For example, one child has started ‘horse therapy’. Her love of horses combined with therapy is enabling her to manage her anxieties. Supporting children to manage their feelings helps them find positive alternatives to manage their frustrations and anxieties.

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

Children told the inspector that they can talk to staff about their worries and that the staff listen to them and take action. This promotes trusting relationships and contributes to children feeling safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 4 Children’s risk assessments are sufficiently detailed and updated by the registered manager and staff. Staff implement the strategies outlined in these documents. This helps staff to understand how to reduce and manage risks and keep children safe. Staff understand and address the risks that relate to children harming themselves effectively. For some children, this has led to fewer self-harming incidents. Staff work with children to help them to understand potential triggers and to explore alternative ways of dealing with their feelings. When children go missing from home, staff follow the protocols in place. The registered manager and staff work closely with relevant agencies such as the police

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

and social workers to understand why children go missing from home. This helps to keep children safe. Staff use praise and reward and restorative practice well. Effective behaviour management means that staff rarely use physical intervention to keep children safe and only as a last resort. There is good management oversight of these incidents with follow-up work with children and staff to ensure that there are opportunities to learn from such incidents, and that these incidents are handled fairly and proportionately. Staff who are recruited to work at the home are subject to thorough recruitment checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is strong and experienced leadership in the home. The registered manager and the deputy manager have extensive experience and knowledge and have worked at the home for several years. Together, they create a culture of high expectations for children and staff and provide them with stability. The manager’s monitoring and reviewing of the service is good. She has a sound understanding of the strengths of the service and clear ideas about how she would like to develop the home. Recently, in agreement with senior management, operationally the home will now provide care for four children and not five. This will help the manager run the home more efficiently. Staff are child centred in their practice, they work well as a team and are supportive of each other. This means that children receive consistent care and boundaries. Staff receive regular supervision which is reflective. The staff have an annual

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

appraisal and new staff receive a good induction. As a result, staff said that they feel supported and valued. Staff are keen to learn and proactively search for training opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge to meet children’s needs as they evolve. This is in addition to the good range of courses that they already undertake, which includes training on self-harm, restorative practice, county lines, childhood trauma, counselling and on- line safety. As a result, staff keep abreast of new developments and respond effectively to children’s needs and behaviours. Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 5 The registered manager is keen to develop the home’s therapeutic approach further. She is liaising with the organisation’s psychologist about how to progress this and build on the foundations already laid. Professionals who work with staff at the home talk positively about staff and the registered manager. They state that staff and the registered manager have a good

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

understanding of children’s needs and work with them to achieve good outcomes for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC482517 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 PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482517 8 to 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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