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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1221700 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

This home is owned and operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

It is registered to provide care for up to five children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children are currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has been registered with Ofsted since February 2016.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2023

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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 for 1221700 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2023 Full Good 23/02/2022 Full Good 09/10/2019 Full Outstanding 20/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff are actively involved in the children’s interests. The manager and staff encourage positive relationships between the children and promote joint activities where there are shared interests. Children get along well with each other and enjoy spending time as a group. They regularly enjoy playing football together in the back garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see their families and friends in line with their individual plans. Staff communicate well with parents and other important people and welcome them into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is spacious and well maintained. Staff have supported children to personalise their bedrooms according to their preferences and have changed furnishings to support their health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although not all children are attending school, the manager is advocating strongly on their behalf to identify a placement. Where children are not attending school, the staff provide educational activities within school hours. Where children are attending school, they are making good progress socially and academically. Staff transport the children to and from school. They also support school staff at the end of the day to ensure that children have a positive transition from education to home. Staff encourage good routines for all children in the home, whether they are attending school or not.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to learn skills for independence. The home has a separate area where children can practise practical skills, such as laundry and cooking. Staff have supported one child to apply for and maintain a part-time job in line with their wishes and plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager assesses the ability of the staff to meet the needs of the children before they move in to the home. This has ensured that children who are new to the home are well supported by the staff team, and they have settled quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and settled in the home. They are aware of their rights and how to complain. The children are confident that the manager would respond effectively if they raised any concerns.

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

Staff understand the risks to children. When children have needed more help to stay safe, staff have gained support from external agencies and extra staff have been provided. Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 4 Staff respond quickly and appropriately when children are missing from the home. Children’s missing-from-care plans are clear and the staff have good knowledge of them. Staff discuss any missing episodes with children so that they can reflect on their choices and learn about the risks. This has resulted in a reduction of missing episodes.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour through consistent boundaries and strong relationships with the children. This means that formal sanctions are rarely used. When staff implement formal sanctions, they are fair and proportionate to children’s behaviour.

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

Children are only held by staff when this is necessary to protect them from harm. School staff have asked for support from the staff when they have struggled to manage a child’s emotions and behaviour. The support provided has led to a reduction in physical interventions for that child.

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

Staff do not search children’s bedrooms often. When this does occur, it is in response to safeguarding concerns. However, staff do not consult with children before room searches, where possible. Staff also do not discuss the reasons for the room search with the children afterwards. This means that the children do not have their dignity and privacy protected. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to their role and has excellent relationships with the children. Children enjoy spending time with the manager and will seek them out to speak with them about their day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and other leaders have been part of the staff team for an extended period. They provide a supportive environment to the staff and, as a result, the staff team is stable and consistent. This enables the children to have consistency of care and build relationships of trust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide regular supervision to the staff team. Supervisions are reflective of the manager’s high expectations of the staff team. Staff reflect on their own practice in supervision and managers support them with their identified development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend training regularly. Leaders and managers provide training that enables the staff to meet the needs of the specific children who they care for. When practice issues are raised, the manager addresses these quickly and effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems and completes regular reviews of the quality of care. The manager uses their own monitoring and reports from the independent person to contribute to the development plan for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not have a copy of the local authority plan for a child. This child has a complex and evolving care plan. This means that the staff are unable to Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 5 ensure that they are meeting the expectations of the care plan. A requirement has been in relation to this. Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 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, 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 maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority. 30 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that room searches are carried out sensitively, and discussions with the child before and after the search are completed where possible. 30 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 7

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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 for 1221700 8

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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 PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home for 1221700 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 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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