Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 1 SC481152 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 company. The provider’s statement of purpose states that it is registered to provide care for up to six boys who have emotional and social difficulties and who require medium-term therapeutic care.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home. The children spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The home shares the site with a school run by the provider. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/03/2022 Full Good 21/08/2019 Full Outstanding 03/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 3

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improvement to be good

Children say that they are happy at this home and feel safe. They are supported to develop positive relationships with staff, who care about them.

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improvement to be good

Children have been helped to develop interests outside of the home. Two children maintain their interest in campanology and staff support this by supervising them at various bellringing events. The children also have access to a range of recreational activities suited to their interests. One child has been allowed to buy a small pet which they care for independently. This gives the child a sense of responsibility. These experiences help to create memories for children and increase their confidence.

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improvement to be good

Staff support family time and help children to maintain positive relationships with their families. The staff have good communication with families and parents generally felt this was helpful. However, some parents were unclear of the therapy plans for their children. They said that although progress had been made, this was slow and had not helped repair their relationships with their children.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have had a positive and well-planned experience of moving into the home. One child was unable to visit before they moved in. However, the staff were proactive in helping them to settle and integrate into the home well.

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improvement to be good

The home is a suitable environment for children. The manager has an ongoing maintenance plan for the building and the main bathroom was being refurbished during the inspection. However, some children’s bedrooms were untidy, with dirty dishes and utensils lying around and clothes overflowing from wash baskets. Incentives are in place support the boys to keep their bedrooms tidy, but staff have missed opportunities to support them with this. This does not help children to feel cared for.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to maintain positive relationships with each other. Staff have encouraged shared interests between the children, which has helped each child to develop positive peer relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff advocate for children. Children know how to make a complaint and are supported by staff to raise their concerns. However, they do not always feel listened to. One child who has been in the home for over six months has asked to paint their bedroom in the colour of their choice, but this has not yet been actioned. This does not help children to feel valued or to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children engage well with the in-house therapy and education teams. Children attend school regularly, whereas before moving to this home they did not or could Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 4 not because of specific risks. The manager and staff ensure that children can speak with other health and education professionals outside the home when required and this results in a holistic approach to their care.

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

Staff know the children in their care well. Children’s risks are well understood. Changes to risk management plans mean that plans are comprehensive and detail children’s risks alongside strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. Plans are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect children’s current risks and vulnerabilities.

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

Staff help children to make safer choices. They appropriately use de-escalation strategies and consequences to enable children to self-regulate and to develop their emotional resilience. Consequently, there have not been any incidents of children going missing or needing to be held to keep them safe.

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

The team has developed useful links with local agencies to strengthen safeguarding practices in the home. Safeguarding incidents and allegations against staff are well managed and shared with appropriate agencies, in accordance with statutory guidance.

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

When appointing new staff, managers follow safer recruitment practice guidelines. This means that only staff who are suitable to work with children can work in the home.

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

Children’s bedroom doors are fitted with alarms. These are used to alert staff when children enter and leave their bedrooms at night or when there are more than two children upstairs during the evening. However, the manager has not regularly reviewed this form of surveillance in relation to children’s specific risks. As a result, children’s privacy is not always respected or promoted.

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good

The manager is enthusiastic about the service and is child-focused. She has made a number of changes to improve outcomes for children and to strengthen practice in the home. The manager is being supported by the responsible individual to improve management oversight in the home.

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good

There have been a number of recent staffing changes. To provide consistency for children, core staff and managers have covered shifts alongside a small number of casual staff. This means that there is always someone on shift who know the children well. Staff say they are happy and love coming to work at the home. Recruitment is ongoing. New staff have been identified and are in the process of being recruited.

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good

Staff receive training to better meet children’s needs and provide a consistent Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 5 approach to children’s care. However, when issues have been identified around some staff members’ understanding of procedures, further training has not been completed in a timely manner. However, not all staff have received supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. This limits opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice.

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good

The monitoring systems that have been introduced since the last inspection are not yet fully embedded and their effectiveness is currently limited. This is something that the manager is continuing to develop. The home’s statement of purpose and location risk assessment do not contain the most up-to-date information.

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good

The manager has introduced ‘team around the child’ meetings which bring together the care, education and therapy teams, to ensure that they all work together to meet children’s needs. These meetings are not regular and the impact on how well children are progressing is not yet evidenced. In addition, when parents were spoken to, some said they were unclear of their child’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 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, The 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are supervised in line with the organisation’s policy. 1 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the statement of purpose should include the arrangements for the professional supervision of staff, including staff who provide education or healthcare. 1 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). 1 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 7 When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a clean environment for children. In particular, routines should be established to allow rooms to be cleaned, and children should have the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that any limits to children’s privacy and access in the home, such as the use of bedroom door alarms, are for safeguarding purposes only. Any limits should be subject to a rigorous assessment of each child’s needs and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their

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Recommendations

views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: SC481152 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd

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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

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481152 9 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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