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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. The inspector spoke to all the children during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2022 Full Good 21/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with stability and consistency of care. Two of the three children currently living in the home have lived here since the last inspection. This has allowed these children to build trusted relationships with the staff. The staff ensure that they know each child’s likes and dislikes. This helps new children to form positive relationships when they move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to attend education in line with their wishes and feelings. Two children’s attendance in education has improved while living in this home. One parent said, ‘The manager is the main person who has pushed for [name of child]’s education.’ However, when children struggle to attend education, the staff do not consistently provide the children with structured educational activities throughout the day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to understand what positive behaviour looks like. Children’s positive behaviours are celebrated and rewarded. Children are also supported to understand how some perceived negative behaviours may make other people feel. Children are supported to repair relationships through having restorative conversations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to feel a sense of belonging to the home. Photos of the staff and children are displayed around the home. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms. For example, children have pet gerbils, fish tanks, dressing areas for hair and make-up and a car-shaped bed. However, some of the children’s bedroom furniture is damaged. Essential repair work will help to ensure that the children continue to feel proud of their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals have confidence that their children are doing well. They say that the children make good progress. One parent said, ‘They (staff) are brilliant with her and I cannot thank them enough.’ One professional said, ‘I prefer to work with this home over all the others that I work with.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by care plans that generally promote their individual needs. They are encouraged to be involved in these plans. However, children’s education plans do not consider the difference in support that the children require at different stages of their education, such as primary and secondary school-age children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the value of providing the children with positive experiences. Children have opportunities to participate in a range of activities, such as going on holiday, bicycle rides, trampolining, horse riding, pamper days, trips to London and more. Children are helped to join clubs such as rugby. This helps to increase their social skills and confidence. Staff capture these moments in photos, which enables the children to look back on the things that they have achieved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 4

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

Staff help to keep the children as safe as possible. Children’s risk assessments are kept up to date and staff understand the different risks for each child. Children trust what staff say to them about risk. One professional said, ‘[Name of child] was very accepting of the risk because they (staff) work hard to keep her trust. It is because of this that the risk has reduced.’

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

Children are supported to recognise risks and how to reduce them. Older children are encouraged to carry out self-assessments, while younger children are supported to set small goals. Reduction in risk is measured by the home’s ‘outcome measuring tool’, which helps the staff to identify the best way to reduce the risks to children.

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

Staff are proactive in looking for children when they go missing from the home. There have only been three missing-from-home episodes since the last inspection. Local authority missing-from-home protocols are used to help find the children as quickly as possible. Children are welcomed home and the staff support them in one- to-one sessions to gain an understanding of why the missing-from-home episode occurred. The approach taken by the staff has led to a reduction in the number of missing-from-home episodes for the children living in this home.

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

Staff respond swifty to the risks associated with exploitation. They work closely with the local authority and the police to ensure that they have all the relevant information to keep the children safe. The staff have been successful in engaging the children in exploitation safety work and, for one child, this risk has reduced. Managers ensure that the staff remain vigilant to the potential of this risk increasing.

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

Parents and professionals say that the children are safe living in this home. One parent said, ‘[Name of child] is safe there and, if I am worried, the staff will speak to me and reassure me.’

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

Children’s wishes and feelings are actively sought. This is achieved through various forums, including children’s meetings, one-to-one sessions, monthly feedback questionnaires and general conversations. Children say that they have trusted staff members who they can speak to about any worries or concerns that they may have. One child struggled with a topic discussed during a children’s meeting and this was followed up by staff in separate one-to-one sessions. This gave the child the opportunity to talk further about their feelings on the topic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager and deputy manager complement each other well. The manager delegates tasks appropriately while maintaining appropriate oversight of the home. The staff speak positively about the management team. They feel supported by them with both personal and work issues. Equally, the manager feels supported by the senior leaders in the organisation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 5 Professionals say that the manager advocates for what is best for the children. One professional said, ‘[Name of manager] is not afraid to give the local authority pushback to ensure that the child receives the right support.’ For example, the manager has sourced additional funding for one child to attend the college course of their choice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported by a team of staff who enjoy their work. Staff speak positively about one another. One member of staff said, ‘We are like a family.’ Another staff member said, ‘We are consistent, and the children are at the heart of what we do.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are appropriately trained to support the children’s social, emotional and health needs. When required, individualised training is sourced so that the staff can meet the diverse needs of the children. A therapeutic parenting model continues to be embedded in the home. The staff say that they benefit from further clinical support offered by the organisation’s psychologist.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have good monitoring and review systems in place. These systems allow them to quickly identify any shortfalls so that they can put these right. The managers use monitoring tools to provide them with a clear understanding of the children’s progress. A chronology of concerns also allows the managers to analyse any trends and patterns in the children’s behaviours and where the support need is the greatest.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflective practice is a strength of this home. The managers encourage and support the staff to reflect on their day and after any incidents. This approach promotes the staff’s welfare and, in turn, benefits the children. One staff member said, ‘They (the managers) help me to understand how I am feeling. This helps me to start a new day when things have been difficult.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that care meets each child’s needs and takes into account their age, particularly when creating care plans for children who are in primary school education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. This specifically relates to ensuring that any damage in the home is repaired as quickly as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that when children are not taking part in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, they supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities in the interim. This specifically

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Recommendations

relates to ensuring that children are supported with structured educational activities during the school day. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: 2604035 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

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2604035 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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