Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 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 run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector about their experience of living in the home.

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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: 2647514 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home said that they are happy. They benefit from nurturing, consistent care delivered by a stable staff team that cares about them and wants them to do well. The child is helped to develop positive, trusting relationships with staff. These relationships underpin the progress the child is making in all areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that each child has positive experiences of moving into and out of the home. Moves are planned, and each child receives individualised support to help them to settle. Parents and professionals are complimentary about the care provided by the team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is well supported. Staff regularly communicate with school staff to address any issues and support the child to achieve their academic potential. On occasions when a child does not attend school, staff are proactive in enabling the child to access tutoring at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child can talk to staff about issues that are affecting them and knows that staff will respond to any concerns they raise. This ensures that the child feels listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is helped to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Staff are proactive in developing relationships with the child’s family. Parents say that staff are supportive and care about them as well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and personalised. The child’s photos and mementoes are on display throughout. This helps the child to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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

The child’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood by the team. The team is supported by the organisation’s therapist to review the child’s risks and behaviours and identify strategies to keep the child safe. The child has recently started to work with the therapist to enable them to better understand their life experiences and emotions. Planned direct-work sessions between staff and the child have also enabled the child to develop skills to regulate their emotions. This has led to a reduction in the staffing levels needed to care for the child.

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

Staff implement clear and consistent boundaries in the home. They regularly identify and praise positive behaviours and celebrate the child’s achievements. There is a focus on rewards rather than consequences. This helps the child to recognise their successes and develop their self-esteem. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 4 The child has not been missing from the home. When children have gone missing in the past, staff knew how to respond and ensure that relevant professionals and family members were informed.

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

Online safety is well understood. Parental controls are in place on the child’s devices to ensure that they can only access age-appropriate websites. Through key conversations with staff, the child is supported to understand online risks and is helped to make safer choices.

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

Occasions when staff have held the child to keep them safe have reduced significantly. When incidents do occur, they are managed well. However, on one occasion, a staff member involved in the hold participated in the reflection with the child afterwards. This limited opportunities for independent oversight of the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced. He is supported by a senior manager and together they are committed to improving outcomes for children. The manager has high aspirations for the child and has high expectations of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the strengths and areas for development in the home. He has taken effective action to address the requirements from the last inspection. The manager regularly undertakes audits and has developed a clear action plan to develop practice in the home. The senior manager also provides healthy challenge to the manager to ensure continuous development in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they are happy working in the home and enjoy learning from the manager. They have access to a range of training opportunities to meet the needs of the child in their care. Staff attend regular team meetings. They have the opportunity to test out scenarios in team meetings that help them to better understand their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, staff do not always benefit from supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice or their relationships with children. This is a missed opportunity to support staff to reflect and to identify any learning needed to improve the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are generally well maintained. However, the records of children in the home did not include the statutory provision or order that they were accommodated under. This is something that the manager took swift action to address during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained has the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint with someone who was not involved in the restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61 paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that the record of children living in the home includes the statutory provision or order that they were accommodated under. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

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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: 2647514 6

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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: Hexagon Care, 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton- on-ribble, Preston, PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 7 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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