Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Preston

Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 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 by a private provider and offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Outstanding 25/01/2023 Full Outstanding 08/03/2022 Full Good 21/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All three children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children receive exceptional care from staff who truly want them to reach their full potential. Staff take their responsibility for caring for the children seriously and want what is best for them. Their nurturing approach creates a sense of belonging and security for the children. Children say they are happy living at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children live in a homely and loving environment. The home is full of photos of the children, staff and memorable times. This helps the children to develop a strong sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience exceptionally well-planned moves into and out of the home. When children move out of the home, they are encouraged to remain in contact and welcomed back for festivities or when they may require support and advice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Practice in the home is underpinned by a therapeutic parenting approach that is integrated into all aspects of care. This promotes positive outcomes and leads to excellent progress for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children with their education. They work closely with education providers and strongly advocate for children to receive education that meets their needs. One child, who did not previously attend education, has significantly improved their engagement and attendance since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are registered with relevant health services. Access to in-house therapeutic support enables children to explore their past experiences. The therapist also provides support and guidance to staff, which enables them to reflect on, and understand, the children’s current and emerging needs. Staff support children to manage their health, and they advocate strongly when further assessments are needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work closely with children’s families. They develop a strong partnership to achieve shared goals for the children. Children’s families and friends are welcomed into the home. This helps children to maintain vital connections and supports parents and carers to build relationships with their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children benefit from access to a variety of new opportunities and activities. Their interests are nurtured inside and outside of the home and children are encouraged to try new things. This supports the children’s social development and helps them to improve their confidence and self-esteem. Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 4 Direct work with the children is of consistently high quality and responsive to the children’s needs. Staff use research-informed practice to ensure that children receive the best possible advice and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Promoting equality and diversity is a strength of the team. Staff creatively ensure that children have opportunities to celebrate their own and others’ cultures and identities.

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

An exceptionally strong safeguarding culture underpins practice in the home. The children say that they feel safe and are supported to make progress in all areas of their lives.

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

All children have very detailed risk and behaviour management plans that are updated on a regular basis. These set out children’s known behaviours and provide staff with the knowledge to keep children safe.

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

Staff demonstrate a proactive approach to safeguarding. They actively seek advice and support from external agencies whenever it can benefit the children, facilitating a more thorough exploration and resolution of issues. Children are helped to understand the risks they may be exposed to in the home, community and online.

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

Safeguarding incidents in the home are dealt with effectively by managers. Managers share information appropriately with others. When there are concerns about practice, managers ask for a review of their safeguarding practices by the local authority designated officer. This transparency means that there is independent oversight of an already well-organised safeguarding process to keep children safe.

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

Staff know how to respond if children go missing from the home. They work successfully to support children to return home safely. Meaningful discussions take place with children, and the manager analyses the factors relating to incidents to ensure that staff are proactive in preventing future incidents. Consequently, incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced.

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

Managers ensure that children are listened to. When a child made a complaint, swift action was taken to ensure that the child’s voice was heard. The child’s thoughts were respected and appropriate action was taken to resolve the complaint.

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

Safer recruitment checks have been carried out, which ensures that staff recruited are safe to work alongside children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a caring, ambitious and inspirational leader. She is fully involved in the children’s lives and is a highly effective and strong advocate for them. Children, their family members, the team and other professionals hold the manager in high regard. Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 5 The manager receives support from a deputy manager, forming an effective and highly capable leadership team. Together, they have a seamless approach to how the home is run. Their oversight and proactive approach to work ensure that the home remains effective and efficient in the way that care is delivered each day. They are driven by their own vision whereby children are provided with every opportunity to be happy and make progress in all areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers support the team to develop their knowledge through relevant training sessions and regular workshops. Staff value the training provided, which includes specific topics that are relevant to the children in their care. However, managers do not always ensure that new staff receive training in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have excellent relationships with external professionals, parents, carers and partner agencies. Staff work positively and proactively together to provide children with consistently high levels of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers lead by example and model positive practice. Staff find team meetings and supervision sessions useful spaces for reflection and learning. These learning opportunities enable the team to better understand different needs and how to support children and to further develop their skills to manage risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have a strong sense of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. They make effective use of internal and external monitoring systems to make sure that high standards of care practices are maintained. Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. This specifically relates to a child being at risk of exploitation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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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: 1212094 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: Hexagon Care, 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on- Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1212094 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 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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