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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 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 by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have complex needs because of childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 3

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improvement to be good

The child living at the home was present during the inspection and briefly spoke with the inspector.

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, one child has moved into the home and two children have moved out. The child currently living in the home has done so for over a year.

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improvement to be good

Leaders did not carefully consider the presenting risks of a child before they moved into the home. Consequently, there was an increase in incidents, including children going missing from the home and children setting fires. The manager made the decision that they were unable to meet the needs of this child. They decided that the child needed to move to a home better equipped to meet their needs. This decision meant that engagement and attendance in education were disrupted for the child who currently lives in the home.

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improvement to be good

The child’s engagement in education has decreased due to a high number of incidents in the home and disruption to their routine. Staff encourage the child to attend school by providing transport. When decisions regarding the child’s education plans have been made that are not in the child’s best interests, the manager has challenged this and liaised with professionals well.

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improvement to be good

The physical condition of the home requires attention. There are marks on the walls and doors throughout the home. The child’s bedroom is personalised. However, there are makeup stains on the carpet and bed. A staff’s bathroom also requires attention to bring it up to standard. The lack of attention to the home’s maintenance detracts from some warm and welcoming areas, such as the living room.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and staff have positive relationships with the child. Staff encourage the child to embrace who they are and have supported the child to walk in a Pride parade. Staff took this child on holiday in the summer and were led by the child in decorating the home for Halloween.

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improvement to be good

The child’s health needs are well supported. They receive regular therapeutic consultations with the organisation’s internal psychologist. Staff are supported through regular team meetings to develop their knowledge of the home’s therapeutic model. As a result, the care provided has been more therapeutically led and in line with the child’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their family. For example, they supported the child to spend time with their sibling following an operation. There are clear plans in place for family time, which have been agreed by the local authority. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 4

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always respond appropriately when children display risky behaviour. There have been two incidents of children setting fires in the home. These incidents may have been prevented if staff had shown sufficient curiosity and responded appropriately.

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improvement to be good

During another incident, a child told staff that they planned to climb on the roof. Despite knowing the child’s intentions, staff did not act to prevent the child from getting on the roof and placing themselves at risk.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to incidents of children going missing from home appropriately. They immediately follow children and search the surrounding areas. Staff maintain regular communication with relevant professionals, including the police, the local authority and families. When children return to the home, they receive a warm welcome and are provided with opportunities to talk about their time away from the home. There are some gaps in the staff’s recordings of missing-from-home incidents. The managers are working to address this issue.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is used when necessary to protect children. Children and staff are provided with an opportunity to talk about incidents involving the use of physical intervention, which has enabled the manager to review if staff practice has been appropriate.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child in the home to understand different risks. Regular discussions take place between staff and the child regarding online safety, stranger danger, missing from care and the risks of drugs misuse. The child creates posters with staff around key topic areas to show what they have learned.

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improvement to be good

Allegations are managed well in the home. The manager promptly responds to any concerns which have been raised. Relevant professionals are notified in a timely manner, and children are regularly consulted. As a result, children feel that their voices are heard.

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improvement to be good

Leaders have ensured that children’s risk assessments contain relevant information. Information is detailed and clear for staff to follow. The manager routinely updates the risk assessments following incidents or changes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are gaps in the manager’s monitoring of the care provided to children. The manager has not always completed their monitoring reports within the appropriate time frame. The manager said that this is due to the high number of incidents that have taken place in the home. The responsible individual is taking steps to support the manager with this and is carrying out her own audits in the home alongside the manager’s reports. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 5 The home has recently been short staffed due to staff leaving or being unable to work. The manager has worked 244 hours in the past month to support the staff team. The manager is in the process of recruiting new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024. Feedback obtained during this inspection is complimentary about her support to the staff team and professionals. The manager has been supported by the responsible individual to identify areas of development in the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision frequency has improved since the previous inspection. The manager has ensured that staff receive regular and quality supervision. Staff say that they can meet with the manager on a one-to-one basis more than once a month, if required. This enables the manager to review staff’s development and well-being more consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are positive about coming to work and they speak highly of their support by management. one staff shared “Massively supported by the management, they have been very helpful both before and after incidents which has helped me to reflect on anything”.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff now receive training in line children’s needs. They have completed group training in therapeutic parenting, ligature training, LGBTQ+ and exploitation. This has supported staff to be more knowledgeable when working with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 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 (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff show curiosity with children when they make comments or display behaviours which could put them at risk. 12 December 2024

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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

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Requirement Due date

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 (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to— 12 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 7 ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s needs and the staff’s ability to meet their needs are fully considered before children are admitted to the home.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(i)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the environment in the home is clean, well maintained and homely. 12 December 2024

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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

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 12 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that rigorous monitoring systems are implemented to help bring about continued improvements to the quality of children’s records and plans and in the care that children receive.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they recruit enough staff to meet children’s needs and demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)

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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: 2728549 9

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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

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728549 10 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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