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

Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 1 SC479647 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 the home, which provides care for up to six children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with EBD (social and emotional difficulties).

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 17 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2019 Full Good 25/07/2018 Full Good 09/04/2018 Full Inadequate 02/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children live at this home. They have built good relationships with the staff. The children say they are happy and speak positively about staff at the home. There is a good rapport between the children and staff that helps create a relaxed and homely atmosphere.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The culture in the home is one of high aspirations for everybody. The stable and committed staff team provides activities such as go-karting, going to the cinema and going fishing, and the staff are making plans for a trip to a competitive team shooting game. As a result, children build strong relationships with staff and enjoy a range of positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to develop their independence skills. For example, a child is learning how to travel on public transport by himself, which gives him confidence and builds his self-discipline.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain. For example, when a child was unhappy with the conduct of an external professional, staff supported him to make a complaint. This level of support means that children have opportunities to champion their rights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a skilled staff team. Recent staff training to understand and reduce incidents of self-harm and substance misuse means that children are helped through difficult times and to keep themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are encouraged to attend education. The majority of children are making progress. However, the registered manager must provide effective challenge to the education provider so that a child can access full-time education to support their learning and attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Achievements are celebrated in the home. These achievements are linked to positive engagement with services, such as outreach and the ‘We are with you’ project. Because this is so effective, children are better equipped to manage their emotions and keep themselves safe from harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have contact with family and friends. The support ensures that children have a good understanding of their identity.

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

The inspector observed staff demonstrating good role modelling and encouragement to help children with their routine and to have a good structure to their day. The staff provide each child with clear and consistent boundaries. This is a key strength of the team. Consequently, children are learning about acceptable behaviour in a family environment. Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 4 Feedback from social workers is positive. They say that communication is excellent and that they are kept informed about the children and their progress. One social worker said, ‘I like the fact the staff make a point of telling me the positive things that happen as well as the concerns.’

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

The home has been through an unsettled period. There have been occasions when children have been missing from home. The registered manager responded by increasing staffing levels at night. As a result, children feel more secure and are no longer going missing from home.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted prior to starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Staff understand the children’s risk assessments and there are good-quality plans in place which are regularly updated. However, staff are not always alert to risk when children are out in the community, as those friends who children are socialising with have not been checked by staff to ensure they are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and suitably qualified manager who has been registered since May 2020. She is supported by a deputy. They demonstrate a child- centred approach and are passionate in their roles. Staff say the manager or deputy are always available and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the strengths and areas for development, through effective monitoring. There have been some effective changes in the organisation of children’s records and good management oversight of all plans since the last monitoring visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children moving into the home have good experiences. The registered manager recognises the issues that can arise from emergency or poorly planned introductions and spoke about her learning from such incidents. Since the last monitoring visit, children are now experiencing well-planned moves. As a result of robust matching, the home is more settled. Children told the inspector that they enjoyed living at this home. One child said, ‘I rate the home nine and a half out of 10.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good communication systems in the home. Effective daily handovers take place, where essential information is shared and staff provide a thorough update on the children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from monthly supervision which is focused on children’s plans and safeguarding matters. These discussions provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on and improve their practice. Team meetings are regular and well attended by the staff team. The content covers a range of topics and is relevant to the children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 5 All requirements from the last monitoring visit have been addressed. Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 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, the 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(x)) In particular, the manager must ensure that she challenges education providers so that children have access to full-time education. 13 August 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them, particularly when a child is out spending time with friends in the community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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) Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’.

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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

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC479647 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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