Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 1 SC479649 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 is registered to provide care for six children who have emotional, social and mental health needs. One child lives at the registered children’s home address, and five other children receive outreach services in houses across the county. Each property has its own team, but the whole service is managed by one registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

The service offers short-term, emergency care for children from around the UK. The home forms part of a large social care company. The home has had a permanent and qualified registered manager since February 2021.

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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. We last visited this setting on 14 October 2020 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/11/2019 Full Good 28/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in six individual homes under one registration. Each home has a core team of adults who work together with the registered manager to stabilise and support each child. As part of this inspection, an inspector visited each home to speak to all the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting, loving relationships with the adults who care for them. One child said he feels respected, that the home does not feel like a residential, and it is a home to him. Another child said that it is the best home that he has ever lived in, and because of his experiences he wants to work as a carer when he is older. This practice has given children aspirations for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are prioritised. The adults are aware of children’s health needs, including significant allergies, diagnosed health conditions and emotional health needs. There are clear plans in place to support children’s emotional and physical health and they are thriving in these areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in education. However, not all children are receiving their entitlement of full-time education and there has been no challenge to other agencies about this. The adults caring for children do not always know children’s education, health and care outcomes. The special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) local offer is also not utilised to support children’s care and plans. These shortfalls reduce the opportunity for children to make progress with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop new life skills. One child can now swim, and other children have developed life skills such as managing emotions, developing assertiveness skills and learning how to cook. These skills help children to be prepared for challenges that they may face now and in adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. The adults recognise how important family is to children and distance is not a barrier for children seeing their loved ones. The adults travel over 80 miles numerous times per week to ensure that a child can spend time with a terminally ill relative. This practice helps children to have a sense of belonging and promotes their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans are very detailed. However, plans do not always include the findings and recommendations from important specialist assessments. They also do not include specific goals that children are working towards achieving. Children do not always have copies of their plans and they contain language that is not always accessible to children. These shortfalls disempower children from being central to their care and plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 4

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

The adults caring for children have a good understanding of the risks in their lives. There are clear strategies in place to keep children safe. Children receive bespoke learning about complex safeguarding risks that may be affecting them or children in society. This practice is underpinned by consistent care and has resulted in risks reducing in children’s lives.

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

Safety measures in place to support children are not always proportionate to the level of risk. Some children are supported with a high level of supervision, and this is not always reviewed in line with children’s progress. This lack of review limits children being able to develop more independence and safely managing risks in their own lives.

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

Children rarely go missing from their home. When they do, the adults follow clear plans to get them home safely. Multi-agency safety plans are put together that are bespoke to each individual child. This practice demonstrates individualised care to children, and shows them that the adults care and that they are concerned about their safety.

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

Children are supported to develop healthy coping strategies to support their emotional health. They have experienced a significant amount of trauma before they have moved into the home, as their move is often an emergency measure to keep them safe. The adults soothe children when they are distressed which helps children regulate their emotions. This nurture prevents situations escalating and evidences the skill base of the adults caring for children.

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

There has been one occasion when the provider has not followed their allegations procedure. This is not common practice, and the provider has reflected about this to address the shortfall. These procedures are in place to ensure that children are listened to, and matters are investigated in line with child protection procedures.

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

Medication practice is good. There are no medication errors and children receive their prescribed medication in line with health advice. The adults caring for children have received bespoke training for one child’s specific health needs and there is a very clear safety plan in place. This has a direct and positive impact on children’s daily lives and ensures that they are safely receiving the correct medication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The homes are managed by a suitably qualified, experienced and knowledgeable manager. He is supported by an experienced and knowledgeable deputy manager. They both demonstrate a good understanding of all the children in their care, past and present. The team of adults caring for children praise their management team and feel that they are well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children benefit from a team of adults who are consistent, experienced and passionate. The team members benefit from regular supervision sessions, team Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 5 meetings and comprehensive training to meet children’s needs. These opportunities ensure that children receive care from adults who are skilled, knowledgeable and well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not always utilise escalation procedures and/or independent advocacy when the support for children from external agencies is not good enough. This shortfall has a negative impact on children’s plans and does not show children that someone is championing their rights and entitlements like a good parent would.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The adults caring for children and the management team share information appropriately with relevant professionals and children’s families. Feedback is collated from a variety of agencies, as well as children and families. This practice enables the provider to reflect on how they can continuously improve the quality of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a good understanding of events in children’s lives. However, managers do not always evaluate practice and outline their decision- making clearly. This shortfall stems from gaps in monitoring systems. It has the potential to leave poor practice unaddressed and decisions not being underpinned by analysis and reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are shortfalls in the rota system that ensure there are enough adults caring for children. It is unclear what hours the managers are in the homes, and it is unclear who is providing management direction in the homes. This results in children’s day-to-day care being unclear. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 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.

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers.

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children’s educational needs and targets being contained in their plans and the adults caring for them having a good understanding of these needs.

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Requirement Due date

It relates to the adults caring for children having a knowledge of their education, health and care plans. It also relates to utilising the resources available to them through the SEND local offer.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to challenging other agencies when children are not receiving their entitlement of full-time education. 30 April 2022

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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 staff— 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and take effective action to notify external safeguarding agencies immediately if concerns are identified. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the provider’s allegations procedures are followed.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to risk management strategies being reviewed regularly to ensure that they are not oppressive.

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of monitoring and review systems to make improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that evaluation of practice and decision-making is consistently clear. 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to there being a clear and accurate account of who is providing management oversight in the homes on a day-to-day basis. 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulations 5(c)). The provider should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. The registered person should consider the use of an independent advocate (see paragraph 4.16) if the child’s needs are not being met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that children’s records are ‘living documents’. The documents should be accessible to children using language that they understand and that is not stigmatising. The adults caring for children should encourage them to own their records and empower them to be central to their

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Recommendations

care and plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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 for children’s home: SC479649 9

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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

Carly Quinn, Social Care Inspector Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC479649 10 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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