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

Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 1 SC480240 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 to provide care for up to six children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2019 Full Good 29/11/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 3

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improvement to be good

Four children live at this home. They all talked positively to inspectors about their relationships with staff and the support that they receive from the adults caring for them. Although there had been several changes in the staff team children said that they always had someone in the home that they could talk to if they have any worries or concerns.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans are individualised, although some plans are not clear about what staff need to do to help children. For example, risk assessments do not include clear strategies for staff to use to support children who smoke or continue to misuse unknown substances.

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improvement to be good

The approach for promoting children’s independence is not consistent. One child, who moved to a supported living home, successfully completed an independence programme. This involved learning life skills, such as cooking, cleaning and ironing. However, the plans to help other children to reach similar milestones are not consistently followed through. This limits the progress they make.

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improvement to be good

Children are regularly consulted and given opportunities to voice their views and opinions. However, children’s requests are not followed up promptly, such as decorating their bedrooms and addressing a poor Wi-Fi connection.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend education. Most children regularly attend school and have made progress since living at the home. Managers and staff work proactively with education providers to support the children’s learning and continued attendance, including those at school leaving age.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with lots of opportunities to try new and fun activities. Children talked about trips to local theme parks, fishing trips and going on bicycle rides with staff. This engagement in hobbies and activities supports children’s learning and development and also builds their social skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children spend quality time with family members and friends who are important in their lives. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, this is working well and aiding children’s sense of belonging and self-identity. However, staff are not providing enough support for children who do not have family so that they can identify an appropriate adult figure outside the home to forge relationships with.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 4 Risks associated with children offending, misusing drugs or alcohol, going missing from home or being exploited are known by the staff team. However, individual risk assessments are not updated in a timely way and do not consistently address all known vulnerabilities for each child. Assessments do not clearly set out the actions that staff should take to address all known the risks. Due to the number of changes to the staff team, including agency staff, ineffective risk assessments do not ensure that all staff are aware of current risk factors and how to minimise them .

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improvement to be good

For some time, some children have continued to smoke illegal substances and pose a risk to themselves and others by smoking in their rooms. Neither the risks nor strategies have been captured on children’s risk management plans. This practice demonstrates that the risks are not being managed effectively.

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improvement to be good

Room checks, which are carried out on a regular basis by staff, are not effective. Insufficient support is being given to help children take pride in their bedrooms and keep them in a reasonable state. Bedroom areas were found to be unkempt and contain drug paraphernalia. Staff have not been proactive in dealing with this.

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improvement to be good

Children do not have the freedom of movement and access to all areas of the home. For example, the dining area, games room and laundry room were locked.

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improvement to be good

In some areas, the home is in a poor state of cleanliness and maintenance. There is a strong, unpleasant smell in the home. There is mould on the ceiling in a child’s bedroom and damage to bedroom walls. The stair carpet has scorch marks that have not been attended to. The registered manager has a plan to decorate the home and has arranged an emergency appointment with pest control. However, this does not provide children with a clean and nurturing environment to live in.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk to children about the dangers associated with going missing from care, and liaise closely with outside agencies, which are leading to a reduction in incidents. Staff know what to do when children go missing from care. Incidents of this nature are well documented, including the actions taken by staff to prompt children’s safe return. Following an incident of missing from care, a social worker thanked the manager and staff for their efforts in going above and beyond in searching for the child and keeping the agencies informed.

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improvement to be good

Staff use incentives and rewards to promote positive behaviour. This is mostly working well. However, the consequences used to respond to behavioural incidents are often disproportionate in the absence of stringent management oversight of their effectiveness and use.

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good

The home is managed by a permanent manager. He registered with Ofsted in December 2020. This is his first experience as a registered manager. He is passionate and child-centred in his approach and shares positive, nurturing relationships with the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 5 The manager and deputy manager demonstrate a good understanding of children’s individual needs. However, they are unable to clearly demonstrate the progress children are making from their starting points, due to the poor recording systems in place.

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good

Management oversight of staff training is ineffective. As a result, there are significant gaps in staff knowledge in areas, such as substance misuse, trauma and attachment. Therefore, staff do not have the broad knowledge and skills to support children’s needs effectively.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. There are regular team meetings for staff to highlight and discuss any issues. However, the tasks allocated to staff at the meetings do not have clear timescales in place, therefore they are not completed in a timely manner.

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good

The daily handover process is not effective. For example, information about a child smoking cannabis in their bedroom was not shared between staff.

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good

The manager has not had consistent oversight of key incidents and events. Records lack robust evaluation and scrutiny of staff practice. For example, the record of room checks relating to a child’s substance misuse contradicts the incident report. Poor oversight of records reduces the opportunity for learning and does not ensure that the quality of care provided to children continually improves.

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good

The impact risk assessment documentation for children being placed in the home does not identify how children’s needs will be met or consider the skills, knowledge and experience of the staff team. This potentially hinders the progress that children make. However, the manager does show good initiative in making sure that meetings are arranged with placing authorities so that children’s plans are reviewed when they become unsettled. This is achieved through effective consultation with the placing authorities.

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good

Rotas do not clearly identify the staff members on shift in the home and the hours that they work. This prevents managers having an accurate record of adults who work with the children and compromises safeguarding arrangements. Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 6

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children receive all necessary support, including outside help, to combat smoking and cannabis misuse. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to capturing the risks of smoking and drug misuse on the risk assessments and devising clear strategies that are understood and followed by staff. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 27 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 7 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the living environment is made more homely and that any repairs and decoration needs, including in children’s bedrooms, are acted on in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff receive relevant training to support them in meeting children’s needs, including trauma and attachment, substance misuse and mental health, and that new learning is embedded in their practice where applicable. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 27 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 8 This specifically relates to ensuring that there is strong management oversight and monitoring of: staff training needs; follow up of actions arising from children’s meetings; daily handovers; children’s independence plans; and advocacy support.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all known risks about children’s background are captured on the impact risk assessment and how these risks are to be safely managed while considering the needs of the other children and staff team from a knowledge and skill base. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to locks in communal areas that prevent children accessing areas such as the dining room. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that documents used to verify recruitment checks are signed and dated by the author and that placement plans are accurate and reflect the current 27 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 9 care arrangements for each child, including any other associated records.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager’s and staff’s working hours being clearly recorded on the rota. 27 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the report captures the progress children are making from their starting points, to inform the quality of care and improvement that includes the views, opinions of the children and other stakeholders. 27 August 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are 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. This specifically relates to ensuring that consequences applied are achievable, realistic, and kept under review for their effectiveness. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 10

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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: SC480240 11

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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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Inspectors

Mike Charnley, Social Care Inspector Michelle Edge, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC480240 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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