Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Preston

Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 1 SC479650 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 privately operated and is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 October 2017.

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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

Date of last inspection: 9 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/02/2022 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Outstanding 12/12/2018 Full Outstanding 14/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Six children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. Some children have lived in the home for several years and have made exceptional progress during this time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are extremely well supported by a passionate and dedicated staff and therapy team. They work together to ensure that children are supported to develop their confidence, self-esteem and emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is well promoted. Children feel secure in their learning and have made significant progress in education while living at the home. There is a consistent level of support and communication between education providers and the home. Because of this, children continue to meet their educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills, such as budgeting, cooking and independent travel. The team has successfully supported one child to move into semi-independent living, and staff are now completing the transition with another child. This area could be strengthened further with a detailed record of the support that is delivered to children who are transitioning out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have clear aspirations for children. Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests and are supported with opportunities to socialise with their peers. Two children have been supported to access an equine service, where they now volunteer and enjoy horse riding. This level of aspiration for children enables them to grow in confidence and develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. The staff recognise the importance of children maintaining close links with parents and work hard to support the rebuilding of these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine appointments. Children are in good health, and their health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the assessment of children moving into the home is good. Careful consideration is given to the child’s history and behaviour and the needs of the existing children in the home. However, records do not reflect the detail of discussions that take place or consultation with other professionals. This additional detail would strengthen the plans in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well decorated. Photos of shared experiences are proudly displayed, and children have been supported in personalising their bedrooms. This enables children to develop a sense of belonging in the home. However, the home could be improved further by the replacement of fire doors. The doors in use look institutional and detract from the homely feel. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 4

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

Staff understand children’s needs and have developed positive relationships with the children in their care. As a result, staff know how to respond to children and use effective behaviour management techniques to support them to manage their frustrations and anxieties. Because of this, there have not been any incidents of staff needing to hold children to keep them safe.

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

Children are provided with a suitable level of supervision, and staff are alert to any signs of harm. The manager takes prompt and effective action in line with the guidance when there have been concerns about children’s safety, including when they have concerns about a staff member’s practice. On one occasion, a staff member did not follow supervision plans for children, resulting in a serious incident. The manager addressed the incident immediately and worked successfully with the local safeguarding team and social workers to ensure that the children were safeguarded effectively.

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

Staff understand children’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. However, not all plans for children are individualised, and as a result, some risk plans are not sufficiently robust. For example, there is no clear guidance on the action that staff should take if children fail to return home after time in the community. This lack of guidance has the potential to impact on children’s safety.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. When incidents have occurred, staff have taken appropriate action to locate children and report them as missing to the police. However, when children have returned to the home, they have not always had the opportunity to speak with an independent person. This is a missed opportunity to gather intelligence to safeguard children.

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

The staff support children to understand the risks they may face and how to stay safe, both online and in the community. Children are supported on a variety of topics, such as healthy relationships, sexual health and emotional well-being.

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

Positive consequences and reinforcement are a strength of the home. Negative consequences are rarely used in the home, and if required, they are appropriate and proportionate.

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

Safer recruitment practice is in place, and staff have received appropriate induction and training for their role. However, not all staff have completed training, such as training on children going missing from home and autism spectrum disorder, despite these subjects being care-plan specific. This means that not all staff have the necessary skills and experience to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a well-established, knowledgeable and experienced manager and deputy manager. Together, they are highly effective and have created Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 5 a positive and aspirational culture that is improving the lives of children with complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An effective therapeutic approach is thoroughly embedded in the running of the home. Staff are provided with good levels of support, guidance and encouragement. Staff use practice-related supervision, team meetings and consultations with the therapy team to reflect on children’s progress and identify ways to improve the support they provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been several changes to the staff team since the last inspection. The manager and team have worked hard to support the children with these changes, and they have celebrated the staff members’ time at the home with the children. This has ensured that the children have experienced positive endings and have not perceived this as further loss.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The arrangements to monitor the home are good. For example, the registered manager regularly reviews the service, and an independent person visits the home monthly. The reports of their visit are useful for the home’s development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that return home interviews are completed following all instances of children being missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that the actions for staff to take are individual to the children. Specifically, they should ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise. 28 April 2023

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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. 28 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that each child has a thorough transition plan that indicates what staff will do to support the transition before, during and after. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: SC479650 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: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC479650 9 and inspects 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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