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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 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. It provides care for up to one child or young person with social and emotional difficulties. The home aims to provide a crisis-intervention service on a short-term basis and accepts children in an emergency or in a planned way.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered in November 2021. The home has supported one child since registration.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home is cared for by two staff, in line with the statement of purpose. The staff are an experienced, stable team. They have built good relationships with the child and provide clear, consistent boundaries and routines. This helps the child to feel safe and supports stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers promote education, and the child has made progress. Staff provide an environment where the child can learn and engage in alternative education. Staff communicate with education providers to promote the child’s best interests. The manager has advocated for a better introduction to the child’s new school. When a plan was not in place, the manager escalated this and resolved the issue. This helped to reduce uncertainty and provided support for the child during a period of change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are prioritised. Staff listen to and respond to the child’s views about their healthcare and treatment and advocate for support to improve their outcomes. There has been a significant improvement in the child’s health. As a result, this has also increased the child’s confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child takes part in a wide range of activities and benefits from new experiences. Staff provide opportunities that maximise the child’s engagement with staff. This helps to promote relationships through the time staff spend with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to spend time with the people who are important to them and provide transport to ensure family relationships are maintained through face-to-face meetings. Good communication with family members means that staff keep them up to date on the progress of the child. Staff continue to support the child during their planned overnight time with family if any incidents occur. One family member said, ‘The home is supportive, [Child’s name] is settled and thriving.’

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

The child feels safe in the home. Missing episodes are rare, showing the child is making good progress. When the child went missing from school, staff responded quickly and worked in partnership with other agencies to safeguard the child. When information-sharing from school was delayed, staff appropriately challenged this and made clear their expectations. This ensures that practice is consistent and children are safeguarded.

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

The child is encouraged to contribute to decisions about their day-to-day care. Staff have regular discussions with the child and seek their views. Staff advocate on behalf of the child and support them to advocate for themselves. When the child’s requests cannot be met, they are supported to understand the reasons why and are Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 4 given a consistent message from staff. This supports the child to feel listened to and helps to develop relationships and trust with adults.

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

Physical intervention has not been required. Staff build relationships with the child and communicate well; this enables staff to de-escalate and effectively manage the child’s behaviour.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and clear. Staff understand their role and how to respond to the child. Staff support the child to understand risks, choices and consequences. This encourages the child to make informed decisions and develop knowledge of keeping themselves safe. Staff provide a high level of praise and incentives, which contributes to the child making progress.

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

Staff check the child’s phone routinely to consider any risks of exploitation. When concerns were identified by staff, they responded appropriately, and information was shared with the child’s social worker. However, there was a delay in the manager reviewing the concerns and notifying the police. This led to a delay in the investigation, which could have been avoided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent manager and a small, experienced staff team. The manager is reflective of practice and talks about the progress of the child with pride. The manager has a good understanding of the child’s needs, and the team strengths and areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s impact risk assessment shows that detailed consideration is given to the needs of the child when making decisions for them to live in the home. This also includes the staff skills and experience, and whether the location of the home is suited to the needs of the child. The child is well matched to the home, and this has supported stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the manager and colleagues. The manager and deputy manager encourage staff to reflect on and develop their practice through regular supervisions and team meetings. Learning from audits are shared with the team and help to improve practice. When staff raise issues in supervision, managers respond to this and check that staff are satisfied with the outcome. This supports effective communication and ensures that issues are resolved quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home environment is maintained to a good standard and is suitable to meet the needs of the child. Any repairs identified are acted upon quickly. Outdoor space is well maintained, including the back garden where the child and staff grows herbs and salad products. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 5

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that when there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, includes details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. While risk assessments are robust and practice ensures that children are safeguarded, on one occasion, there was delay in responding to a concern raised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2653835 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

Sadie Mulkeen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 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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