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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 1 SC479654 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 one of a number of homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care for up to six children of the same gender. Children living in the home also have access to the organisation’s school and therapy departments. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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Information about this children’s home

There were six children living in the home at the time of the inspection. They all spoke with the inspectors about their experiences of living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager has recently been appointed. She has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. The care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 7 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Outstanding 25/02/2020 Full Outstanding 11/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 4

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inadequate

Children’s experiences of living in the home are varied. Some children say that they like living in the home and have been made to feel welcome. However, some children have had poor experiences that have affected their relationships with each other and with staff. One parent described their child’s recent unhappiness in the home as having a negative impact on their child’s emotional well-being.

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inadequate

Issues regarding children’s welfare are not always addressed in a timely way. On one occasion, there was a delay in staff seeking medical advice for a child who had become injured. Staff administered basic first aid, but they did not make prompt contact with medical professionals to seek advice. This meant that medical care was not obtained until the following day, when the child attended the hospital. Since the incident, the manager has spoken to the staff team so that they understand the action they need to take if this were to occur in the future.

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inadequate

Children’s medication has not always been administered by staff in line with medical guidance. Inspectors found that there were gaps in medication records where the medication had either not been given or it had been refused by the child. Leaders and managers have failed to identify this in their monitoring.

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inadequate

Children’s views are not consistently captured, and it is unclear how staff use what children say to improve children’s experiences. Children are not provided with feedback in relation to their requests. This does not help children to feel listened to or valued.

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inadequate

Children’s placing authority social workers say staff understand children’s needs and communicate well with them about any changes. Children spoke positively about the in-house therapist, who they all meet with regularly in the home. Children are engaging positively with new monthly key-work sessions, covering a wide range of topics. These sessions are still being embedded, and their impact is currently limited.

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inadequate

Progress in education is evident for all children. Staff also help children to be active, to try new activities and to engage with each other. This supports children’s well-being and inclusion.

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inadequate

Children receive support to help them develop their life skills. They engage in a programme that promotes independence and social skills in incremental stages. Children said that the programme has helped them to feel more confident, including when they are in the community.

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

Safeguarding practices are not robust. Leaders and managers have failed to provide staff with clear guidance to follow to keep children safe. Furthermore, management Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 5 oversight of the impact of inconsistent practice on children’s welfare and safety has been limited.

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

Despite known risks and vulnerabilities for children, safeguarding procedures relating to the monitoring of children’s mobile phones are not robust. Consequently, staff have failed to consistently monitor children’s use of mobile phones to ensure that they are protected from harm.

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

Children rarely go missing from this home. However, on occasions, opportunities to reduce the risk of a child going missing have been missed. Room searches have not been completed, despite this having the potential to reduce the risk of harm to a child.

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

The oversight of recruitment records by leaders and managers is ineffective. Safer recruitment procedures are not always followed. This reduces opportunities to ensure that children are cared for by appropriately vetted and safe staff. Required checks had not been undertaken for one member of staff before their employment at the home.

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

There has only been one incident of staff holding a child to keep them safe. However, management oversight and evaluation of the incident are poor. Additionally, it is unclear if discussions have taken place with those involved in the incident. A lessons-learned exercise has been conducted by the responsible individual to address these shortfalls. However, the recommendations, including staff accessing additional training and revisiting key policies, have not been actioned. This is a missed opportunity for staff to develop their understanding of how to keep children safe.

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

Leaders and managers have taken appropriate action to respond to allegations. Information has been shared with relevant safeguarding professionals in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant shortfalls were identified in relation to management oversight of practice in the home. These shortfalls have negatively impacted on children’s experiences and the quality of the care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of staff conduct and practice is not robust and is not monitored effectively. On occasions, leaders and managers have delegated key safeguarding responsibilities to other members of the team and have failed to adequately address concerns in relation to staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Internal monitoring systems are not robust. There is no clear oversight of training records by leaders and managers. This means that leaders and managers are not aware of whether staff have completed relevant training to enable them to effectively safeguard children and to meet their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 6 Staff say they feel supported. However, supervision records do not demonstrate key issues being addressed. Team meetings are held regularly but lack clear structure. Opportunities to use team meetings to share children’s views and develop practice in the home have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been delays in leaders and managers notifying Ofsted of serious incidents, as required by regulation. This limits the regulator’s oversight of safeguarding practices in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s review of the quality-of-care report does not provide a robust evaluation of the impact of the care provided to children. It fails to include feedback from children and staff in relation to their experiences of the home and the support that is available for them. The report does not include actions to be taken to improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Shortfalls in the quality of the independent visitor reports have not been addressed by the management team. This limits the effectiveness of the independent scrutiny of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 7

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff be provided with clear and consistent guidance to reduce risks for children and promote their safety, for example in relation to the frequency of children’s mobile phone checks and when room searches must be undertaken. 5 September 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— 17 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 8 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that overseas checks are undertaken for staff when they have worked overseas. 5 September 2023

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that poor or concerning staff practice is always addressed or overseen by the manager or someone from the senior leadership team. 5 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 5 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 9 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii) (b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 5 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 5 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 5 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 10 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 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 views being listened to and acted on. Specifically, children should be provided with feedback about their requests shared in house meetings, even if they cannot be actioned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have sufficient understanding of relevant health services. They should support children to navigate these services, advocating on their behalf when necessary and appropriate. Specifically, staff should access appropriate healthcare services to seek advice when children sustain injuries following unforeseen events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 34, paragraph 7.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, including occasions when prescribed medication is refused. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: SC479654 11

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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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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC479654 12 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 who are looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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