Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 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

The home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, one child was 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

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

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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: 2613677 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child who had lived in the home for several years has moved out. The child made significant progress in all areas of their life. Another child has recently moved into the home. Children are helped to move into and on from the home in a planned way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. When a child is not attending school, the manager escalates concerns and new school provisions are explored. When children are not in school, their day is structured and plans are in place to create a routine that reflects a regular school day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s interests are nurtured, and they are involved in activities of their choice, including going to animal sanctuaries and army cadets. Photos of these experiences are kept for the child to look back on and cherish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s healthcare needs and encourage them to take part in activities that they enjoy, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The child living at the home is registered with relevant health services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children are positive. Staff talk about children with warmth and enthusiasm. Staff regularly encourage children to express their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff support children to have relationships with people who are important to them. Staff have developed positive relationships with children’s family members. This supports children to maintain relationships and understand their family identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop skills that they will need to support themselves in the future, such as cooking and budgeting. This helps the children to prepare for future independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a comfortable, clean, tidy and physically safe living environment. However, internal locks on communal doors detract from the homely environment. The home also has door sensors on the internal and external doors, but their use is not clearly reflected in plans.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. Staff invest quality time in building positive relationships and developing a sense of security and trust.

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

Staff prioritise the safety of the child. Staff are developing their understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities and needs. However, managers have not ensured that all actions to Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 4 be undertaken are detailed in the child’s risk management and care plans. This does not give clear guidance to staff to enable them to manage risks if they occur. This is something that the manager has taken action to address.

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

One child has been physically restrained. Managers have oversight of physical interventions and try to find out the reasons for the child’s behaviours. The child is offered the opportunity to speak to someone after any incident, and staff are always offered a debrief. Staff provide children with consistent responses, which encourage positive behaviour.

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

Staff hold important conversations with children about key issues, including substance misuse, emotional well-being and the importance of education. This helps children to understand risks and helps them to talk to staff about issues that are affecting them.

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

Management oversight of individual incidents and other records are evaluative. However, following a medication error, opportunities to demonstrate reflection and learning for the team were missed.

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

Staff undertake bedroom searches when there are concerns. However, staff have not followed the organisation’s policy when recording the bedroom search. This reduces management oversight of practice in the home.

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

Safer recruitment processes are not always in place. On one occasion, the manager did not ensure that checks were carried out in line with regulation before staff started working in the home. This does not ensure that adults working with children are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced registered manager. She is supported by a deputy manager. They also manage another home in close proximity to this home. Managers are child centred and provide effective leadership to the team. The managers have high aspirations for the child and staff. Staff feel supported. Both managers and staff ensure that the child receives the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable staff team provides consistency for the child. Staff are committed, work well together and are committed to improving outcomes for children. Staff work positively and proactively together to provide high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff can access a wide range of training courses. There is a culture of learning and development in the home and a desire to improve practice for the benefit of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly. The staff say that they feel supported by the managers. This improves consistency in staff’s practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports the team to foster good working relationships with external professionals and the child’s family. The manager is a strong advocate for the children Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 5 and appropriately challenges other professionals to ensure that the child’s needs are being met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders continually strive to improve the quality of care provided to children. Internal and external monitoring systems are effective and enable ways to develop the home to be identified at the earliest opportunity. This ensures that there is continuous improvement in the care that the team provides. Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 6

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Statutory requirement

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standard Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to Children’s Home 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child (Regulation 12 (2) (a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that the child's risk assessment and care plan provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce any identified risks. This also includes the location of the home’s ligature cutter. 2 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children's home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 2 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 7 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review and risk assess the presence and function of locks on internal communal doors. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16 paragraph 3.16)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to respond to the health needs of children. ('Guide to Children's Home Regulations, including quality standards', page 34 paragraph 7.12)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child's bedroom search is conducted in line with the home's policy and procedure. (Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality care standards', page 16 paragraph 3.20) Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 8

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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: 2613677 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: Hexagon Care, 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on- Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspectors

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Caroline Bertram, Social Care Manager Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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