Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation operates this home. It offers care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s statement of purpose states that the staff are trained to apply a specific therapeutic model of care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 3

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outstanding

The children’s care is meticulously thought through by a dedicated, empathetic and skilled staff team. These attributes have enabled staff to be objective and patient in their care of the children. The children say that staff have helped them to overcome some difficult and challenging situations in their lives. In doing so, both children have developed a strong sense of hope and self-belief.

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outstanding

The home environment instils a sense of calm, love and belonging that provides the children with a safe space. This is not accidental as staff are astutely aware that the home environment influences mood, feelings and behaviours. This has been a crucial element in supporting the children’s mental well-being.

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outstanding

The staff have the knowledge and skills to tailor their care to the children’s individual needs. Reassuring and personalised care has created substantive and loving bonds between the children and staff. Staff are role models to the children and use their life experiences to help guide the children. Cumulatively, this has enabled the children, in the context of their personal situations, to each make remarkable progress. Both children echoed this in conversation.

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outstanding

A school has used its experience of working with the staff team as a good practice example to support other care-experienced children. The manager and staff fervently advocated on behalf of a child so the school staff could better understand the child’s situation and support needs. In doing so, this paved the way for a child to pass and achieve high grades in their GCSE examinations.

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outstanding

The manager and deputy manager have become experts on the children and their families. The children’s respective family members gave poignant examples that illustrate their confidence around the children’s care. Additionally, the children’s respective families are informed and involved in their children’s lives. This has enabled relationships to be strengthened and progressed between children and significant family members.

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outstanding

Staff promote and encourage children to access a variety of experiences that challenge children to come out of their comfort zone. These excursions are planned to the finest detail so that children are more likely to participate. Underpinning this approach is a desire to give the children life-long memories and build up children’s confidence, independence and resilience. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 4

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outstanding

Staff are intuitive and have built up substantive knowledge of the children’s vulnerabilities. Crucially, staff are skilled at communicating their concerns with certain aspects of the children’s actions or behaviour to the children. This has been particularly significant in protecting children from the risk of being exploited online.

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outstanding

The input from the organisation’s psychologist is meaningful and supportive to the children and the staff. The manager uses her knowledge and experience to guide the psychologist and the children’s local authorities so they can best determine the appropriate level of intervention. This avoids overloading the child on issues where staff have already supported the child effectively.

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outstanding

The manager and staff access other professionals effectively to reinforce their duty of care to the children. For one child, this resulted in a dentist working alongside staff to support the child’s access to the dentist for urgent treatment. For another child, a police community support officer helped staff to educate a child on staying safer in the community. In both these instances, the valuable outcomes that the children experienced would not have been possible without staff’s perseverance and effective community networking.

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outstanding

When children challenge boundaries with staff and experience times of doubt and conflict, they quickly recover and maintain their positive relationships with staff. Over time, the children have learned to trust staff’s judgement and actions during times when staff have needed to reinforce boundaries. Because of this, incidents are quickly resolved in the home.

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outstanding

Staff have taught the children the importance of reflecting and learning to help them recover from issues that have challenged them. This has been achieved through skilled verbal interactions with the children. Additionally, staff use the children’s written records to reinforce the important conversations that they have held with the children. The children’s written records reflect the care and love that the staff have for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The stability that leaders and managers have given the home and the synergy between them have been crucial to the team’s success. The varied backgrounds and experiences of the manager and deputy manager have combined effectively to create a dynamic and resourceful staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has used her experience to instil a therapeutic approach to care. This has been done at a gradual pace and skilfully woven into the children’s day-to-day care. Staff have embraced their learning opportunities and, in doing so, make their own valid contribution to the home becoming a dynamic, child-focused learning environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 5 The manager ensures that staff supervision sessions and annual appraisals are meaningful. The manager uses these supportive processes to inspire and challenge staff to further develop their skills through delegating additional responsibilities and learning opportunities. This galvanises staff, who say that this approach has created a positive and vibrant forward-thinking team that they are proud to be part of.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Social workers and the independent reviewing officer value the support and challenge from the manager. This has resulted in amendments being made to the children’s statutory plans. Additionally, social workers speak positively about their confidence around the accuracy of the information that they receive about the children’s care. This has been instrumental in progressing the children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations have been made following this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 6

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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: 2699129 7

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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

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2699129 8 and 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 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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