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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 1 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. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in November 2022. This is the first full inspection.

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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: 2697142 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they enjoy living at the home and that they have good relationships with the staff. These relationships have been built by staff putting the children at the centre of what they do and always including them in decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities with the staff team both in the home and the community. Individual photo books capture these memories nicely. This means that children can look back on their time living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have good relationships with one another and enjoy time together. However, potential conflict is not always recognised or addressed by the staff team to ensure that children’s relationships remain positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. The staff encourage and support children’s education in line with their individual needs. Staff ensured that there was a structure in place for a child prior to them starting at a new school. This enabled the child to remain engaged in their education. Appropriate visits to the school meant that the child felt prepared to attend. One child attends a school that is a distance from the home. Arrangements have been made for the child to sit their exams in a local school so that they are more rested and prepared for their exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is supported. The staff have worked with the children and their families to help to repair their relationships. The staff advocate for children to ensure that plans reflect their best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health. They are supported to attend appointments as necessary. However, one child has specific exercises to complete but the staff are not encouraging the child to do them, which could affect his future mobility.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home employs a therapist who visits the home twice weekly. The therapist supports all of the children, and the children engage well in the sessions. Good communication between the therapist and the staff team means that they always have the most up-to-date information and are aware of what is happening with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a high standard and is appropriately resourced. There are photos of the children in communal areas. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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

Children are very settled living in the home. Many of their previous risks have reduced. Children’s individual risks are well managed and understood by the staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 4 team. However, there are gaps in staff’s knowledge around child protection policies, including what to do when managing an allegation or if children are missing from home.

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

Staff use de-escalation strategies successfully. 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

Positive rewards outweigh the use of negative consequences in the home. Where consequences are used, children are consulted for their opinion and to reflect afterwards. This means that children are supported to reflect on and learn from mistakes.

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

There has been one room search conducted, which was managed appropriately. The child was consulted to ensure that they understood why the room search was taking place. This minimises the impact of having to breach the children’s right to privacy and ensures that relationships remain positive.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment processes. This reduces the opportunity for unsuitable people to work in the home. When issues around staff suitability arise, the manager responds appropriately to minimise the risk to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced. She has managed the home since it opened in November 2022. The manager is supported by a deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has carefully considered whether they can meet the needs of all three children who live in the home. They have worked closely with other professionals to gain further information, where necessary, to make informed decisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for the children and the staff team. There are clear development plans in place, which the children are a part of. The manager is confident to escalate issues and advocates for children. However, a specialist referral was not chased in a timely manner, which meant that the child was not receiving an appropriate service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are robust monitoring systems used that ensure that the manager has good oversight of the progress that children make. The manager actively requests feedback from stakeholders in order to continually develop practice in the home and make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported. They receive regular supervision. Team meetings are child focused and provide opportunities for staff to review the progress that children make and identify any actions. Staff have the appropriate training to meet the needs of the children in their care. They are encouraged to reflect on what they have learnt and how they will put this into practice for the benefit of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff understanding the home’s child protection policies and the children’s individual risk management plans. 19 June 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home challenges them to meet the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home’s staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well- being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these, subject to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children and address any conflicts between them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.16) Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 6

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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: 2697142 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: Unit 1 Tustin Court, Riversway, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch-Mahoney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 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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