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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 1 SC480704 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 owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who are unable to live at home due to social and emotional difficulties.

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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: SC480704 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/11/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved in or out of the home. At the time of this inspection, five children were living in the home. Children were involved in the inspection process and happily shared their views and experiences of living in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived at the home for a long time and have a real sense of permanence and belonging. Children said they were happy living in the home. Inspectors observed the children having a meal together and they appeared relaxed and were enjoying the company of the staff caring for them. They talked excitedly about the day’s events as well as the activities they had planned for the evening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children in the home are attending full-time education and making good progress. One child is attending a local college and has a part-time job. For the children not in full-time education, managers and staff challenge local authorities, but they are not consistent in following this up. Consequently, there are delays for some children in accessing full-time education. Furthermore, managers are not aware of the local area offer in regard to children with education and healthcare plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. There are many photographs throughout the home which display positive images of children having fun. This gives children a sense of belonging and ownership. Children’s bedrooms are individualised, and children take pride in their personal space. However, areas of the home and garden appear tired and worn. This detracts from the positive environment that managers and staff work hard to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The needs of children moving into the home alongside the needs of the children already living at the home are fully considered as part of the transition process. However, the actions taken to support children to settle into the home are not recorded in the children’s plans, and pre-assessments for children are dated after their arrival. This is a recording issue and has not directly impacted on the quality of care for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home feel happy and supported. Children have established positive relationships with staff, and relationships with children are a key strength of the home. The inspectors observed warm, caring and nurturing interactions between staff and the children, with laughter evident throughout the two-day visit. Children describe the home as their second family home and talk positively about the nurturing relationships that they have with staff. Consequently, children are enjoying a positive experience and they make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare plans are detailed, and children are supported to attend health appointments in line with their individual needs. However, medication is recorded in Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 4 several different records, which creates confusion as the time of administration is different in each record. Furthermore, when controlled drugs are returned to the pharmacy, this is not recorded or accounted for on medication sheets. This does not demonstrate that appropriate action has been taken to dispense of medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children explore equality and diversity issues with staff. This raises their awareness of different cultures and beliefs. Key-worker sessions are detailed and support children’s learning and development into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with support in line with their care plans to maintain relationships with important people in their lives. Professionals supporting the children commented on the positive progress that children continue to make due to the support and care that they receive. Parents shared positive feedback with the inspector regarding how well staff support them to spend time with their children. This included staff helping children to celebrate important cultural and religious traditions with their families.

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

Children say that they are happy and safe living in the home, and they talk about the support that they receive to take age-appropriate risks both at home and in the community. Children understand how to make a complaint. However, they are clear that they do not need to use this process and said that staff will always help and support them if they are concerned or worried.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of the potential safeguarding risks to children in the context of known vulnerabilities of children. Staff receive appropriate training, which equips the staff to be confident in understanding their roles in safeguarding children.

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

Safe systems ensure that all visitors to the home are asked to produce their identification and sign in. Thorough recruitment checks are completed on new or existing staff to ensure that those providing the care to the children are suitable to do so.

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

The staff are trained in safeguarding. They know what they need to do when they have concerns about children and take decisive action to safeguard all children in their care. Missing from home episodes are extremely rare. However, staff are aware of the protocols in place to ensure that the safety of each child is paramount.

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

Staff ensure that risk assessments and safety plans are in place for all children. However, records are not consistently updated, and information is often out of date. Managers do not have sufficient oversight of documentation to ensure that it clearly reflects the needs and risks of children. Further confusion is created by the different recording systems in place, including several different paper recording systems and online documents. This can lead to confusion about which is the latest version of documents. This has not impacted on children as the staff are consistent and understand the needs of children. However, should new staff be required to access Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 5 the current recording systems, this would not provide them with clear information or guidance.

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

Staff are good at balancing the need to protect children while enabling them to take reasonable risks in line with their age and development. When staff suspect children are under the influence of alcohol or substances, appropriate action is taken at the time of the event to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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

Although accidents and restraints are rare in the home, the recording of incidents is confusing, due to the number of recording systems in place. This means that there is not one clear document outlining how accidental injuries have occurred or the debriefs conducted with individuals following physical intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who is supported by a strong deputy manager. The managers knows each of the children well and they have created a warm and nurturing environment and positive ethos among the team. All staff feel supported and speak positively about the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team works well together and shares ideas. This continuity of staffing has promoted children’s attachments. However, whenever possible, staff in day-to-day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. This promotes children’s experiences of positive role models. The managers are actively trying to recruit female members to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff routinely attend regular team meetings to review practices in the home and the progress and experiences of children. Staff benefit from regular supervision. They say that this helps them to reflect on their performance and ensures that they improve the quality of care they provide. This helps staff to be confident in the way they support children and work with other professionals to achieve progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the managers having a good understanding of the needs of the children, the current reporting and recording systems could be strengthened to capture information consistently. Managers do not have sufficient oversight of documentation in the home, and the current monitoring and review systems do not identify any gaps in records and practice to enhance performance and allow for reflection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 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 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring there is robust oversight and monitoring of record-keeping. Records must be accurate, accessible and demonstrate that the processes and practice of the home are followed. 1 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1) (a)) 1 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

Within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the child; 1 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 7 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children placed in the home are not participating in education because they have been excluded, or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 28, paragraph 5:15)  The registered person should ensure that managers and staff are aware of the local offer setting out the support available for children with special educational Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 8 needs or disabilities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)  The registered person should ensure they provide a safe and stimulating environment in high-quality buildings, with spaces that support nurture and allow

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Recommendations

privacy as well as common spaces and spaces to be active. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 6, paragraph 8)  The registered person should, whenever possible, ensure that staff in day-to-day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22)

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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: SC480704 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

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspection Manager Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 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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