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

Inspection report for children's home: 2509366 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 7 June 2022.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2509366 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509366 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff and spend quality time with them during activities. This helps the children to form secure attachments and helps them to develop a sense of belonging within a homely and caring environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living in the home and like being in the company of staff. Children engage in weekly meetings with staff, where they explore what activities they want to do. One child said: ‘Staff are good here. What I pick I can do. The best thing I’ve done here is quad biking.’ Living at this home means that children enjoy positive experiences and this helps them to develop confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with education specialists and children’s social workers to address any barriers to learning that the children may face. Children are attending education and are making good progress, taking account of their starting points. With the encouragement of staff, children are able to recognise the importance of education and how this supports their future goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to attend their routine health appointments and are encouraged to eat a healthy diet. Staff support the children’s emotional well-being with reflective key-work sessions around how the children are feeling. Together, they look at different ways to manage these feelings. Children take part in weekly therapy sessions and are engaging well. Staff can also access psychological support services when they feel that they need additional advice regarding the children. This approach means that children receive the appropriate care that they need to support their mental health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to move towards adulthood and independence. Children learn skills such as cooking, budgeting, washing and cleaning. This prepares children for their future and provides them with skills to help them in their adult life.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and provide staff with clear actions to follow when children are at risk of harm. Staff review and update these risk assessments following incidents. This provides staff with up-to-date information which helps them to determine the severity of the risks to children’s safety, and how to manage and reduce these. Consequently, children become increasingly safe.

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

There is a multi-agency response to missing-from-home incidents. Staff are aware of the protocol in place and adhere to this process. Following incidents of a child going missing from the home, they receive a return home interview with an independent person. This is then supported by a key-work session with staff to determine any triggers to these incidents. This reinforces a safety message to the children and Inspection report for children’s home: 2509366 4 shows them that the staff around them care about them. This forms the basis of trusting relationships between children and staff.

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

Staff recognise how children’s backgrounds and experiences affect their behaviours and emotions. Staff know the children well and know how to mitigate incidents before the point of escalation. As a result, there have not been any physical restraints since the last inspection.

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

Children live in a well-maintained and welcoming home. All health and safety and fire safety checks are up to date, and the manager oversees these through internal audits. This ensures that the children live in a safe home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the home and has built positive relationships with children and staff. He is enthusiastic and has high aspirations for the children, and staff spoke highly of his commitment to his role and to the home. The manager and the staff have positive relationships with the children, and this helps to create a stable home for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager failed to notify Ofsted of serious incidents involving one child. This does not provide the regulator with information on how the manager deals with serious incidents, and what actions have been taken to reduce the risk of harm to the child and others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported in their role and benefit from regular and reflective supervision sessions and team meetings. The manager recognises the importance of developing a skilled staff team to deliver good care to children. He has sourced training that is relevant to the needs of the children. This means that children are provided with care from a skilled and knowledgeable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. From observation, he has made necessary changes to the team rota to ensure that staff skill bases are balanced and that staff learn from each other’s practice. This means that children receive consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has positive working relationships with other professionals from health, education and social care. He advocates for the children, and will professionally challenge others. This approach ensures that children’s needs, such as receiving extra educational support and additional family time, are met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509366 5

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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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 27 July 2022

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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: 2509366 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd

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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

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509366 7 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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