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

Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 1 SC482683 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 owned and run by a private company. The home provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 17 March 2023 and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 6 December 2022

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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: SC482683 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2022 Full Good 10/07/2019 Full Good 16/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 3

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improvement to be good

Three children live in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has left. This child moved out of the home in an unplanned way following an incident of self-harm and going missing. The needs and risks for this child were not thoroughly explored before they moved into the home. As a result, staff did not have the skills or experience to care for this child. In addition, staff do not always follow the guidance put in place by managers to keep the children safe. This has the potential to compromise children’s safety and for children to receive inconsistent care.

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improvement to be good

Children do not make progress in all aspects of their lives. One child continues to use illegal substances and on occasion has done this in the home. These concerns have been ongoing since the last inspection. Support from staff and external agencies has been ineffective. The manager is liaising with the child’s placing authority to review their placement. In addition, concerns around another child’s substance use have increased. These concerns arose after the child moved into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always respect children’s privacy. Children are able to access sensitive information about other children. The inspector observed that one child had access to another child’s personal paperwork, with documents being left in another child’s bedroom. Staff said this was because the child had left the paperwork there when visiting the other child. In addition, during one incident, two children had access to confidential information because staff had left it unattended in a communal area in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff form positive relationships with the children. They know children well and spend good-quality time with them. Children enjoy fun activities such as movie nights and celebrating cultural events. Staff encourage children to develop positive relationships with people outside the home. As a result, children enjoy spending time with their friends. They invite their friends for tea and have sleepovers. These relationships help children to develop their identity and positive self-worth.

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improvement to be good

Two children regularly attend school. One child is not attending any form of education. The manager has been tenacious in escalating their concern about this with professionals. They also made a formal complaint to the child’s education provider. Following this, the child’s attendance initially improved for a short period of time. However, this has since declined.

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improvement to be good

There have been several improvements made in the home. The home is cosy and there is a warm atmosphere. Action has been taken to address the repairs needed at the last inspection. However, these repairs have not been carried out to a high standard. This detracts from an otherwise homely environment. Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 4

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improvement to be good

Overall, most staff respond well to safeguarding concerns. They have a good understanding of the risks to children and the action they need to take to safeguard them. However, there are aspects of safeguarding practice that require improvement.

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improvement to be good

During one incident when they were away from the home, a child told staff they had sustained an injury. The child was out with friends and did not know where they were and neither did staff. When staff eventually located the child, they refused to seek medical attention. The staff member left the child and returned to the home. They did not seek any advice from a manager or the on-call manager and did not reassure themselves about the well-being of the child. The child was later taken to hospital by staff and required medical treatment.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments include information about children’s needs and risks. However, the manager does not always update them following incidents. During one incident, concerns arose about two children being together in a bedroom. The concerns were around substance use in the home. Strategies to monitor children’s movements and monitor their time together were not included in their risk assessments. This hindered staff’s response in disrupting this risky behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff take appropriate action when children go missing from the home. They follow missing-from-care plans and at times go above and beyond to locate children, such as searching for them overnight. However, managers and staff have not reviewed the support offered to children who go out into the community following incidents when they have become distressed. They have not considered whether additional strategies, such as welfare checks or phone calls, were needed to ensure that the child was safe. This caused a delay to staff responding to one child who went missing.

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improvement to be good

The manager has good relationships with children’s social workers and the police. Children form positive relationships with local police and trust them. Police visit the home regularly to talk to children about keeping safe and say that children engage well. Children are able to share any worries or concerns they may have. This helps police to better understand children’s needs and reduces the risk of criminalisation.

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improvement to be good

Record-keeping practice in the home varies. The manager has introduced some new guidance about the importance of recording. The effectiveness of this is not yet known. Some records are inaccurate and lack detail. As a result, it is not always clear what action staff have taken after a significant incident. Consequently, the manager’s review of these incidents may not always be effective.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to develop their independence skills. Children complete their own assessment of their independence skills. Staff then help them to develop their skills, such as how to budget and carry out household tasks. These experiences raise children’s self-esteem and prepare them for adult life. Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 5 Staff have important discussions with children to help them become more self- aware. However, sometimes these discussions are not pertinent to children’s needs and risks, in particular, teaching children how to keep themselves safe in the community. For example, staff do not talk to children about the risks in the local area and being mindful of any areas which may have a high level of crime and where they may be at risk of child criminal exploitation. As a result, not all children have the knowledge to keep themselves safe when spending time outside the home.

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good

Children receive inconsistent care. This is because not all staff have the skills and experience to meet their needs. Staff are not always provided with training pertinent to children’s needs, in particular, training around children’s mental health, self-harm and substance use. In addition, some external professionals said some staff do not always know about children’s plans of care. They felt that some information is not always shared effectively. As a result, staff may not understand and respond to children’s needs effectively.

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good

The new manager shows commitment to improving the care children receive. They are ambitious and set high standards of care. They have taken significant steps to improve the quality of care children receive. Children and staff speak highly of the manager.

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good

There are new staff who are beginning to come together to work as a team. This has been a work in progress. The manager has a good understanding of the team’s strengths and areas for development. They are implementing development plans for each staff member to develop their skills, in particular, to be more intuitive, curious and supportive.

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good

The manager has good systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care children receive. They have a good understanding of the areas that need to be developed. They show commitment and determination to continue driving forward improvements.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, which the manager ensures include a teaching element. This helps staff to reflect on and improve their practice. Staff say supervision sessions are a valuable learning experience. This will help to improve the care children receive. Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 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 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that managers review and update children’s risk assessments to ensure that they contain all pertinent information about known risks to children. In addition, that staff help children to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

Managers should ensure that staff understand children’s risk assessments, in particular, the strategies they should implement to help keep children safe. This includes knowing 8 November 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 7 when to contact the emergency services and the on-call manager when serious incidents occur.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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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)(c)(e)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff receive the appropriate training to ensure they have the skills and abilities to meet the needs of the children they care for, especially training in relation to substance use, children’s mental health and self-harm.

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Requirement Due date

Managers should ensure that their monitoring systems are effective. In particular, that they identify when strategies to help children progress are ineffective. Managers should take action sooner and ensure that this is done so in the best interests of all children. 8 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to ensure— 8 November 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 8 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that managers review children’s placements when it is clear that staff do not have the necessary skills to meet children’s complex needs. Decisions about children’s placements should be made in their best interests and without delay.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21 (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that managers and staff develop systems to ensure that sensitive and confidential information about children is stored safely. 8 November 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that improvements are made to provide children with a more homely environment. In particular, ensure that any repairs made are of good quality. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that managers and staff record information about children clearly, concisely and with context. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 9

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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: SC482683 10

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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 Inspection report for children's home: SC482683 11 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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