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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 19 June 2023. He is also the registered manager at another children’s home. The registered manager was not present during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home aims to provide a crisis-intervention service for children. Therefore, most children arrive in an emergency or with little notice. Children usually stay for around three months but can stay longer if needed. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, and the inspector spoke with them alone.

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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: 20 September 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: 2653835 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2023 Full Good 04/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children start making progress soon after they arrive. This continues and is built on the longer that they stay. Children recognise their own progress and so do others around them. For example, a parent spoke proudly about how their child’s life has improved because of living in the home. A professional described how the home has been a ‘perfect stepping stone’ and said, ‘Staff have done an amazing job with [name of child].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a warm welcome when they move in and are prepared as much as possible. Children’s parents are involved in supporting the child and are welcomed to the home, where appropriate. Children’s feedback about the home is positive. They say that they feel safe and happy. One child told the inspector that they would recommend the home to other children in care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s self-esteem improves because their days are structured, meaningful and filled with positive activities. The manager and staff use their links in the local community to create child-focused activities, which includes volunteering opportunities. As a result, children learn new skills and build positive relationships. This promotes their sense of achievement and motivates them to make the most of their day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff because care is provided by a small staff team. Therefore, the children see staff often and know them well. Staff model positive behaviour to children and give them advice and constant messages that they care about them. Staff listen to children and pay attention to their likes, dislikes and the things which matter most to them. This leads to children wanting to spend time with the staff, including children who have left and return for visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff fully support children’s family time. They often provide transport out of the area so that children can visit the people who are important to them. Staff stay with children when this is necessary for the child’s safety or to help everyone to get along. Staff have positive relationships with children’s family members and provide them with information about how the child is doing. Parents say that they value staff’s friendly attitude, and they appreciate the regular updates they receive as these help them to feel more involved in their child’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves out of the home are usually well organised, child centred and part of the child’s care plan. Discussions around next steps take place as early as possible so that children are supported practically and emotionally. Staff engage well with new carers and support the child to visit their new home and settle in. Good communication and information-sharing mean that new carers know more about the child’s needs and vulnerabilities. This helps to reduce the unsettling impact of children’s moves. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 4 Children live in a home that is comfortable, well organised, tidy, and well maintained overall. Rooms are well furnished, personalised and homely. While some areas of paintwork look tired, redecoration is scheduled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some written records are not detailed enough, and some documents, such as meeting minutes, are missing from the child’s file. Therefore, this important information is not available to children should they wish to read this in the future. The provider has plans in place to implement a new information technology system aimed at improving the quality of children’s records.

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

Risks to most children have reduced. For some children, this has had a significant positive impact. Staff recognise the dangers that the children face outside of the home and follow agreed strategies to promote the child’s safety. Staff are vigilant and curious. They notice when a child’s behaviours change and take effective action. This has contributed to children becoming increasingly safer, particularly those who are at high risk of exploitation.

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

Children are rarely held by staff. Staff try to diffuse and de-escalate the situation first and hold the child only as a last resort. Incidents involving the child and the manager are comprehensively analysed by the responsible individual, who carries out a thorough debrief and explores learning for the future. Holds have not been used in the home for at least three months.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff take effective action to try to locate the child, inform relevant agencies and write detailed records of the actions taken. Missing-from-home incidents are analysed by the management team. When concerns increase, or themes emerge, the management team consults with other professionals to identify additional strategies to reduce the risk of missing-from-home incidents.

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

Children are supported to access specialist services, such as drug reduction and youth justice services. Children are encouraged to attend these appointments and participate. Professionals are welcomed into the home, and children are provided with time and space to have private conversations with them. This helps children to engage in this support and improve their situation.

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

When children do not make the desired progress and concerns about their welfare increase, the management team takes effective action. Concerns about the child are promptly identified, and relevant agencies are informed. In some situations, staff accompany the child on an overnight short break to distract and disrupt concerning behaviour. This is effective and helps the child to be safer.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment practices to ensure that staff who work in the home meet the company recruitment standards and receive the appropriate checks. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 5 helps to ensure that appropriate vetting is carried out so that the right people are employed to work with vulnerable children.

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

Staff understand the whistle-blowing procedure. Therefore, on the rare occasion that there is a concern regarding staff conduct, this is promptly reported. The management team prioritises the child, and investigations are focused on the child’s experience. Staff are appropriately supported. Where necessary, they receive additional training and advice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team provides consistent leadership in the home. The team knows the home’s key strengths and areas to improve and places children’s care at the centre of practice. The management team is well supported by the home’s responsible individual, who complements the team and provides additional scrutiny that strengthens the quality of management oversight. Together, they have a clear vision for the home’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, some staff have left, which has resulted in disruption for some children. The staffing pressures have also affected how well the model of practice is embedded. The manager has tried to promote consistency for children by existing staff, including managers, covering shifts. The management team is committed to achieving stability in the staff team and has revised working hours based on staff feedback. A recruitment drive is also underway.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported in their roles and have the necessary information and training for their work with children. Staff say that the management team is approachable and provides helpful support, including opportunities to progress staff’s career pathway when it is right for them. This has led to some staff developing further in their role and taking on additional responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision, which includes discussions about the child’s needs, vulnerabilities and outcomes, in addition to conversations about staff’s training and well-being. Each session identifies actions and targets for the member of staff, which are subsequently reviewed. This helps to promote staff development and monitor children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the management team advocate strongly for children to receive the services that they need. They appropriately challenge other agencies when services are not provided. This includes raising concerns around care planning decisions for children. This supports the child to receive the help that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there are challenges in caring for a child and their stay is cut short, the manager does not carry out in-depth analysis of the child’s experience. Therefore, lessons learned are not well evaluated or comprehensively considered. This is a missed opportunity to further improve services for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 6 The manager regularly reviews the home’s statement of purpose to ensure that information about staff is accurate. The document provides a general overview of the home, but it is not comprehensive enough to reflect the uniqueness of the service and what this means for the child living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is developed and regularly reviewed to indicate how the home provides individualised care to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that they review all incidents, including when children move out the home suddenly, so that shortfalls in practice are promptly identified and lessons are learned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s records are kept up to date. This specifically relates to the home’s register that details children’s addresses immediately before moving into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on

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Recommendations

record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2653835 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, Lancashire PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Catherine Heron, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2653835 9 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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