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

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC482517 1 SC482517

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Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to four children aged between 11 and 17 years old with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2022

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

At the time of this inspection, there were four children living at the home.

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The care of children

Managers and children know the children they care for well. They understand the children’s needs and recognise what is necessary to meet those needs successfully. As a result, two children are settled in the home. However, the manager has made the difficult decision to end one child’s time living at the home. This is because the home does not have the resources to meet the child’s needs, in particular their educational needs. The managers and staff are clear on their ability to care for children well and, when they are unable to, will prioritise the welfare of the children and escalate their concerns with the relevant professionals. This ensures that children’s care is reviewed and, when necessary, a more suitable provision is found.

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The care of children

Managers and staff value children’s feelings and work with children to try to find resolutions when they are not happy. Staff work closely with children to understand their wishes and feelings. The manager and staff are strong advocates for the children. For example, they told one placing authority of a child’s wish to live with a family member. However, due to delays in the child’s placing authority acting on the child’s wishes, this child is currently staying with the family member without this having been authorised. The staff continue to make contact with the child and visit them to check on their welfare. They also try and persuade the child to return to the home. These attempts have not been successful. However, the managers and staff are committed to working with the child and their placing authority to bring about a successful and safe outcome for the child.

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The care of children

Three out of the four children are not in formal education. The registered manager has a good understanding of children’s entitlement to education and has acted to escalate concerns when children are not receiving their entitlement. This has included raising formal complaints when responses by other agencies have not been good enough. In addition, staff support children’s learning through activities inside and outside the home while appropriate education provision is sought.

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The care of children

Children now benefit from a warm and welcoming environment. Since the last inspection, areas of the home have been repainted and new furniture has been bought.

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The safety of children

Since the last inspection, significant incidents have reduced and there have been no complaints or allegations against staff. There have been improvements in the Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 3 recording and oversight of incidents. As a result, managers and leaders have been able to review practice and act on shortfalls in practice more effectively to improve the safety of children.

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The safety of children

Staff successfully use strategies to prevent the majority of incidents escalating. When they have needed to, staff have used physical intervention to safeguard children and others. These interventions have been necessary, proportionate and recorded in detail.

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The safety of children

Staff carry out regular checks on children’s phones, in line with children’s risk management strategies. They update the child’s social worker on any concerns they find. However, on one occasion, staff did not report to the police a serious concern that a child may be being exploited. This concern resulted from staff finding evidence of an inappropriate conversation between a child and an adult during a phone check. Although staff acted quickly to remove the phone from the child and report the concerns to their social worker, their failure to inform the police prevented the police from carrying out their responsibilities in investigating a potential crime.

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The safety of children

The quality of direct work with children around risks varies. On occasions, staff have proactively and creatively discussed with children their risks and how to keep themselves safe, such as positive relationships and safe sex. However, staff have not routinely discussed internet safety with children. When discussions have taken place, they have usually been in response to an incident. As a result, staff are not always proactively helping children to understand risks and how to have a safe online experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since the last inspection, the manager has reflected on the findings of the previous inspection. They have put new systems in place to identify areas for improvement as well as to develop and upskill the staff team. As a result, the manager has better oversight of the quality of care provided to children and staff practice. In addition, the staff now have a better understanding of the home’s model of care and how they implement this to achieve better outcomes for children. As a result, two out of the three requirements and all the recommendations issued at the previous inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Children are cared for by a consistent staff team who receive regular support and supervision from the manager. The quality of supervision sessions has improved. These sessions now support staff to reflect on their own practice and how this can be developed to improve the quality of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The quality of children’s records has improved. Children’s documents, including risk assessments, are now up to date and contain all the necessary information relevant to each individual child. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/12/2021 Full Good 11/03/2020 Full Good 27/02/2019 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that they share promptly any pertinent information with relevant professionals such as the police. 15 June 2023 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 6

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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

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2679041 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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