Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Preston

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 1 SC480161 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 operated by a private company to provide care for up to six male children. The statement of purpose states that care is provided for children with sexually harmful behaviours who require a medium- to long-term placement with therapeutic input to address those behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 14 December 2021

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2021 Full Outstanding 18/12/2019 Full Outstanding 15/01/2019 Full Outstanding 28/06/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 3

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outstanding

Since the last inspection, three children have moved into the home and one child has moved to a smaller setting in line with their wishes and emerging needs. The planning of the transition for this child was robustly assessed and successful. Staff from the child’s new home worked alongside staff in the home to enable them to have a good understanding of the child’s needs and to begin to form positive relationships with the child. As a result, the move to the new home enabled the child to move in a planned and seamless way.

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outstanding

Clear consideration is given to the needs of all children prior to any child moving in. This contributes to making sure the group dynamics of the home are positive, and children have very positive relationships with each other. Children who have moved into the home have also been supported exceptionally well. A child said: ‘I was initially nervous about coming here but I can honestly say, I felt so welcomed, safe and happy from the moment I arrived. I could not have had any better help. I feel settled here and want to continue living here.’

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outstanding

All children living at the home are making exceptional progress, which is sustained. This is a view held by placing social workers and other professionals involved in the care and support of the children. This is reflected in comprehensive support and monitoring plans for each child. Children are actively encouraged to contribute to their own care plans and reviews, which enables them to reflect on the progress they have made.

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outstanding

All children attend education. Four of the children attend the organisation’s school, which is situated next door to the home. The older two children attend college or an alternative further education provision. Educational progress is in line with their agreed goals. The school’s headteacher attends weekly management meetings with the registered manager and in-house therapists to ensure that effective communication and support are provided for the children. Daily education and care handovers also further contribute to all staff supporting children’s education effectively.

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outstanding

Healthcare is successfully promoted. This includes physical, emotional and mental health. Children attend planned, weekly and individual therapy meetings with the in- house psychologist and are also able to access additional support as required. The therapists are based at the home four days each week and children can access them outside of their planned sessions for additional support. Health is further promoted through strong links with the designated children’s nurse and recent involvement with the healthy eating programme, which all children are taking part in. As a result, children’s health contributes to their overall exceptional progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 4 The home provides children with a warm, welcoming and comfortable large family home. They contribute their wishes and views to the decor of the home and have all recently contributed to the refurbishment of the activity room. Each child’s bedroom

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outstanding

is decorated to reflect their own interests and personality and all children demonstrate great pride in their home.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their role and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. All staff have completed safeguarding training and it is a regular topic of discussion in the weekly team meetings. However, there has been a recent incident when a child was able to access the home’s Wi-Fi code, which he should not have been able to do. The manager took immediate action and refresher training has been provided to staff in relation to this area of safeguarding children.

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

Staff recognise the known and potential risks for each child and follow agreed risk management plans. They also support children to take age-appropriate risks and help them to understand the importance of keeping themselves safe. As a result of the support they receive, risks have decreased for children and they are taking accountability for their safety and actions.

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

Children are supported to develop appropriate behaviours. Each child has an individualised behaviour management plan which outlines clear expectations of behaviours and appropriate boundaries. As a result of this, negative behaviours are rare and consequences for these are appropriate and support children to understand and take accountability for their actions. In addition, the staff support positive behaviour through incentives and positive praise for each child. Children themselves are encouraged to be kind and respectful to their peers and this has been a theme embraced by them all. As a result, as a group of children, they are respectful of one another and disagreements are rare.

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

Health and safety requirements are met and all staff are aware of their role in maintaining and supporting a safe environment. Most maintenance repairs are completed in a timely manner. However, there is one bathroom which requires an effective extractor fan to help remove any damp and smells associated with this. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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

Recruitment and selection of staff procedures are robust and all information is verified. This helps to make sure that only people suitable to work with children are appointed. All visitors to the home are properly vetted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is qualified and experienced. She, along with an experienced deputy manager, makes sure the home is managed effectively and children benefit from consistently high levels of care and support from a dedicated staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 5 All staff have high aspirations for children and work alongside other professionals to make sure that all children are given every opportunity to succeed and enhance their life chances. All external professionals spoken with during the inspection, and who provided a survey response, spoke highly of the management and staff team in supporting children to make excellent progress. A social worker said: ‘It is evident the manager and staff want the very best possible outcomes for the children. They know the children’s needs and care plans, and risk assessments are shared and updated to reflect this. I have been very impressed with how well they understand

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

the needs of [name of child] and meet them really well.’ Another social worker said: ‘The manager, along with key staff, attends all meetings and provides detailed reports which enable effective longer-term planning for children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff complete mandatory training as well as informal training as part of the weekly team meetings. They feel exceptionally well supported in their role by the manager and deputy manager as well as the support they receive from their peers. Regular supervision, as well as support and training via the in-house therapists, enables staff to reflect on their practice and understand the ongoing and emerging needs of children and the progress they are making. This means that the manager and staff have a very good understanding of the needs and desired outcomes for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has excellent links with other professionals to give additional support to children. This includes placing social workers, the organisation’s school staff, as well as external education providers and healthcare professionals. As a result, the wide- ranging needs of the children are supported well. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home provides a nurturing, supportive and homely environment that meets the needs of the children. This is in particular reference to making sure the extractor fan in the bathroom is effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children feel safe and be safe. This should include ensuring that the home’s Wi-Fi code is kept secure. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside of the home to the extent any good parent would. Staff should be aware of the home’s procedures for ensuring that access to their personal phones or laptops is secure. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: SC480161 7

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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: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Sarah Oldham, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 8 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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