Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Preston

Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 1 SC480161 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

The home provides care for up to six male children who have displayed sexually harmful behaviours. The home is owned and managed by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has recently left her post. A new manager has started in the role and is in the process of applying to be registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 outstanding

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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: 18 December 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: SC480161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2019 Full Outstanding 15/01/2019 Full Outstanding 28/06/2017 Full Outstanding 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 3

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outstanding

Children are making exceptional progress in all aspects of their social, physical, emotional and behavioural development from their initial starting points. They benefit from positive and secure relationships with staff who provide high levels of care and support. This contributes to children feeling safe, gives them a clear sense of belonging and enables them to achieve positive change and outcomes.

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outstanding

Children benefit from highly effective planning from the start of their move into the home. Whenever possible, before moving into the home, they visit the house and meet staff and the other children. They are provided with lots of information about the home, including a children’s guide which helps them to understand more about the home.

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outstanding

Staff have high aspirations for the children and work in partnership with other professionals so that children receive the high-quality support in all areas of their care and development. Social workers report that the care children receive is exceptional. One social worker said, ‘Staff advocate on behalf of [name of child] to ensure that he receives appropriate support which has enabled him to make exceptional progress during his time at the home. I cannot think of anything they could do better to support him. He really has received the best possible care.’

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outstanding

Children are supported to keep in touch with their parents and those people significant to them. One parent said, ‘I am always kept fully informed of how [name of child] is doing. I think he has settled in well, and it is evident staff are giving him the support he needs. I visit him, and we go out with staff which is nice. He tells me that he feels happy and safe. I have no concerns about the care he receives.’

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outstanding

All children attend the organisation’s school, which is based next to the home. They benefit from consistency across education and care, due to the close-working practice between the home and the school. Attendance levels are excellent, which enables children to make progress, including those children who have only been living at the home for a short period of time. Post 16, children are supported to attend further education to enhance their learning and development in preparation for adulthood.

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outstanding

Children are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians and have access to these services when required. In addition, they have access to regular therapy. This helps them to understand their past life experiences and provide them with strategies to manage feelings, emotions and behaviours. Staff work closely with the therapist and help children to understand their own individual emotions. Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 4 A wide range of activities is available, both within the home and in the community, for the children to take part in. Individual hobbies are encouraged and supported, giving children the opportunity to develop their skills and increase their confidence.

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outstanding

Children moving on from the home, are supported to do so in a planned and supportive way. Staff help to prepare children for this by ensuring that they learn appropriate skills, such as budgeting, planning and preparing meals. Staff also provide them with support to develop emotional resilience to manage independently. One child who has recently moved said, ‘The care I received at the home was invaluable. Staff helped me to believe in myself by encouraging me to try new things and develop skills I didn’t think I would be able to. They helped me to move, and I still ring them for advice when I need it.’

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outstanding

The children’s safety and well-being are central to the staff’s practice. Comprehensive individual risk management plans are in place for each child. Managers and staff recognise and understand each child’s individual risk and vulnerabilities and ensure that risk assessments are up-to-date and followed by the staff team. These measures support children to feel and remain safe. There have been no incidents of children missing from the home. However, staff are aware of the procedures to follow in the event of this happening. This is underpinned by detailed individual missing-from-home risk assessments.

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outstanding

Staff provide a nurturing and supportive environment for children to grow and develop in. Detailed care planning underpins staff practice, and staff recognise and understand each child’s vulnerabilities. As a result of the comprehensive care children receive, including specialist therapy, risk-taking behaviour is significantly reduced. Staff have high behavioural expectations of children. There are clear and consistent boundaries in place which children are aware of. This, along with the additional therapeutic support they receive, helps them to regulate and manage their own behaviours. The staff use restorative practice to help children reflect and learn from any inappropriate behaviours. Individual one-to-one work further helps them to discuss and focus on positives rather than negatives. This implementation of rewarding positive behaviour, and understanding triggers for negative behaviours, is highly effective in supporting children’s behaviours to improve.

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outstanding

Physical intervention is rarely used. There has only been one incident since the last inspection. This was a minimal intervention to safeguard a child. Detailed recording is in place and demonstrates the strategies used to de-escalate the incident and follow up support provided to the child and staff.

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outstanding

Children report they feel safe and happy living at the home. One child said, ‘I can speak with staff at any time. I feel they do everything they can to make sure I am safe and happy.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 5 Managers follow safer recruitment and selection procedures, and people employed at the home are suitable to work with children. Visitors to the home are also checked and these measures further safeguard children.

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outstanding

Health and safety checks are completed to make sure that the home provides a safe environment. All children are aware of the procedure to follow in the event of a fire. The home is large but is comfortable and, in the main, homely. There are some signs of wear and tear within the home which the manager is aware of and has plans to address this soon. Redecoration of the landing and refurbishment of bedroom doors is planned. A new kitchen is due to be fitted in the new year. Since the last inspection, bathrooms have been refurbished and ongoing general maintenance is completed when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager for the home has recently left and a new manager has started in post. She is suitably qualified and experienced, having worked as a deputy manager at another home within the organisation. This enabled her to have a detailed handover period, to provide a consistency of care and management for children and staff. She is in the process of submitting her application to commence the registration process with Ofsted. The manager is supported within her role by an experienced and qualified deputy manager, who has worked at the home for a significant period of time. This further contributes to consistency and stability for children and staff. Both the manager and deputy manager have high aspirations for the children, and this is reflected within their inspirational management style.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There have been some changes within the staff team. However, this has not had an impact on the children as these changes happened before most of the children currently living at the home moved in. Staff feel exceptionally well supported by the managers. They demonstrate a clear understanding of their role and responsibility in supporting the children, through highly effective child-centred practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive comprehensive and regular supervision. This enables them to reflect on their practice and understand the child’s progress and ongoing care needs. They work with other professionals so that the care provided is consistent and of a high standard. One social worker said, ‘Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the child’s needs. They are passionate about making sure he is safe, and his life chances are improved and sustained. I think the progress he has made is excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff undertake regular training to support their continual development. Accredited training in relation to therapeutic parenting has commenced, to further enhance their practice. All mandatory training is up to date and also contributes to staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is robust oversight of the home, which is undertaken monthly by an independent visitor who provides detailed reports to the manager and Ofsted. Regular and effective monitoring by the management team ensures that the home is working in accordance with its aims and objectives, as identified in the homes Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 6 statement of purpose. The management team continually reflects on practice and works in partnership with the school and therapist to provide children with consistently high levels of care and support. Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 7

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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: SC480161 8

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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 PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Sarah Oldham, Ofsted Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC480161 9 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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