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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home. Three children spoke to the inspector about their experiences 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: 1221357 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/07/2023 Full Good 12/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/11/2021 Full Good 05/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they like living in this home and that they are happy. They are helped to develop positive, trusting relationships with staff. Staff are committed to providing children with good-quality care and support and have helped children to build their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff promote children’s education. Children have achieved GCSEs in key subjects and enrolled on college courses. Creative plans include tutoring and promote engagement, which build children’s confidence to enable their transition to local schools as part of their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities with the staff. Weekly activities are planned around children’s interests and these provide opportunities to create meaningful childhood experiences. Staff ensure that achievements and milestones are celebrated, for example, some children attended a prom in the home after finishing their GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop life skills appropriate to their age. There are clear plans in place to support children in preparation for becoming more independent. Children are encouraged to develop skills such as budgeting, cooking and doing household chores. The staff have created a ‘job station’ where children can apply for jobs in the home. This gives children opportunities to learn and develop employment skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good transition plans in place for children moving into or out of the home. Steps are taken to provide children with information and make them feel at ease. When children are moving out, staff ensure that their time in the home is celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The outdoor area of the home is well kept, with planting boxes for plants and flowers. There is a vegetable patch and children help grow herbs and vegetables. The home is warm and welcoming, however, the dining room has limited seating to enable children and staff to enjoy meals together. There is an ongoing drainage issue in the staff bathroom which remains unresolved. This causes inconvenience and dissatisfaction among staff as permeates into the staff office and bedroom.

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

Children feel safe, cared for and understood by staff in the home. Through these positive relationships, staff can tackle sensitive subjects such as relationships, self-harm, domestic violence, identity and racism. Children are learning to understand issues that affect their daily lives and to recognise dangers.

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

Children’s risks are documented in safety plans that direct and support staff to safely manage these risks. The manager works closely with external professionals to manage and reduce children’s risks. Discussions with staff following incidents ensure that children’s risks are understood and responded to appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 4 When children go missing from the home, staff follow detailed missing-from-home plans. Staff make every effort to locate children, and they keep in contact with children when they are missing to encourage their safe return. This shows children that staff care about them and their welfare. On their return, children are welcomed and provided with opportunities to help them understand the risks.

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

Allegations and complaints are investigated fully. Managers speak with children, relevant agencies and professionals. Outcomes of concerns raised are documented and those who are involved are made aware of outcomes. This reassures those who have raised concerns that they are listened to.

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

The manager uses specialist services to support children and their individual needs. Agencies work with children and staff to develop their awareness around identified concerns, including radicalisation, mental health, learning disabilities and exploitation.

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

Leaders and managers ensure they follow safer recruitment procedures. This ensures staff are fully checked before being able to provide care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a new manager. He knows the children well and is enthusiastic for them to excel. There were some initial challenges when he first took over the registered manager role due to staff turnover. These were managed appropriately, and the leadership team supported the manager to ensure that there was minimal disruption to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel valued and supported by the manager. Regular reflective supervision and team meetings help staff to understand their roles well. Staff are also supported with a comprehensive ongoing training package which is aligned to their annual appraisals. This enables staff to develop skills to support children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his deputy have effective monitoring and review systems in place to ensure that they understand how the children are making progress. Senior managers undertake comprehensive audits to identify any shortfalls. These are carried out by the management team to ensure that the children are receiving good-quality care and live in a homely environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers demonstrate a proactive approach to following up and escalating concerns when children are not receiving the help they need from external agencies. This tenacity resulted in a child receiving home tuition, which will help them reintegrate into education as part of their long-term plan after being out of education for a long time. This oversight ensures that appropriate support and services are in place to meet the individual needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has begun to ensure that children’s records are child-centred and that they capture each child's voice. The manager ensures that children’s views about the home Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 5 are listened to and acted on. There have been a number of positive improvements through the home’s ‘you said we did’ initiative, such as setting up a home gym and changes to the dining room.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff speak with children about child-focused plans. This enables children to understand their personal circumstances, reflect on difficulties and discuss what support they need. The outcome for one child was that they were able to spend family time with a family member they had not seen for a long time. Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is sufficient space for children and staff to sit together to enjoy meals. ('Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.8)  The registered person should ensure that the drainage issues in the home are addressed and resolved in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1221357 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: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspectors

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1221357 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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