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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 1 SC480671 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

This home is owned by a private company. The provider’s statement of purpose states that the home provides care for up to three girls.

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Information about this children’s home

A school, operated by the same provider, operates on the same site. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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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: SC480671 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/11/2019 Full Good 09/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. The children are settled and making progress from their starting points. Since the last inspection, there have been several changes in the staff team. This has brought about some positive changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been improvements to the home environment. The home is maintained to a good standard. This is evident in the new decoration of the dining room and conservatory area. New soft furnishings have been added to the environment which create a warm and relaxed home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully evaluates the risks of children living together through good- quality matching assessments. This ensures that each child’s welfare is prioritised. Furthermore, there are detailed plans in place for children moving into the home. Consequently, children have settled well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The service provides therapeutic support to children. Children have access to individual support through one-to-one sessions with a therapist. Staff have also sourced support for children from other services such as speech and language therapy and guidance from the smoking cessation service. This helps children receive the specialist support they need to support their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good-quality direct-work sessions take place with children. This helps them to manage their emotions and reflect on their behaviours. As a result, there are few incidents in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted by all staff and the children are making good progress from their starting points. Feedback from an education professional was positive. She said, ‘Communication is excellent and professional working relationships are much improved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built good relationships with staff and are enjoying lots of new experiences. Their hobbies and interests are promoted. There are opportunities for the children to interact with others outside the home at local clubs, and in community venues and local parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make efforts to promote children’s equality and diversity. Recently, the staff have made some subtle adaptations in the home to help support a child’s additional needs. Children and staff regularly enjoy cooking dishes from children’s individual cultures. Staff have daily conversations that strongly promote children’s individuality and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that all children’s health needs are met. Staff support children to attend all health appointments. Children’s plans are detailed and are Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 4 regularly reviewed. However, not all children had an up-to-date local authority care plan or healthcare plan readily available.

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

Children say they are happy living in the home and feel safe. Staff understand the importance of minimising risks and demonstrate a sound knowledge of safeguarding. Risk assessments are clear and identify all known risks. These plans are regularly updated and provide the staff with effective strategies to manage behaviours and risks.

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

There have been no complaints made by children in the home. Children told the inspector they knew how to make a complaint and could identify various staff members that they trust and confide in. Any investigations into allegations have been appropriately managed and thoroughly documented.

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

Safer recruitment processes are robust. The manager ensures that all necessary checks are completed before staff start work in the home. This helps reduce the risk of harm to children.

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

There are clear boundaries in place for children. The staff make good use of rewards and incentives through creative ideas. Consequently, this reduces the use of negative consequences and physical intervention is not required to manage the children’s behaviour.

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

Staff are all suitably trained in administration of medication. There are robust checks in place for the safe storage and recording of children’s medicines.

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

Staff know what to do when children go missing from care. Incidents of children going missing from home are infrequent. When this has occurred, staff have been proactive in searching the local area to ensure that children are located quickly. Staff are also aware of their responsibilities if they become aware of a child protection concern, including reporting matters without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She registered with Ofsted in February 2022. The manager is supported by a deputy manager. Staff say the manager and deputy are approachable and very supportive. They work well together and are passionate in making improvements in the home. They both have high expectations of the staff team and show enthusiasm in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a dedicated staff team in place. It has a strong ethos of teamwork and provides good-quality care and consistency. Staff are ambitious for the children and want them to achieve good outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Daily handovers and regular team meetings take place to ensure consistent communication. These meetings include detailed discussions about each child, their Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 5 plans and their progress. New staff benefit from a thorough induction programme and regular probationary meetings. Supervision for all staff is regular and records are of good quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a wide range of training and all staff have completed mandatory training. However, not all staff have received specific training in response to some of the children’s identified needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that there are suitable levels of staffing in the home. However, the working hours, including those of the registered manager and deputy, are not shown on the roster. This is not safe practice for children as there is no clear record of who was working with the children at any given time. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff are trained to provide them with the skills and knowledge to support children with known risks such as self-harm and substance misuse. 5 August 2022

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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; and

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that she has a copy of all children’s local authority care plans and health assessments. 5 August 2022

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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. 5 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 7 The registered person must—

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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 ensuring that all managers and staff have their actual hours logged on the rota.

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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: SC480671 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, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480671 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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