Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 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 run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were 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: 8 November 2023

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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: 2647514 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2023 Full Good 05/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in the home. One child said, ‘I like living here, they all care about me, they are brilliant.’ Both children said that they had good relationships with staff and had trusted adults they could speak to if they were worried or concerned. Both children have made positive progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. Their move into the home was well planned, and they enjoyed the visits to meet the staff and the child already living at the home before they moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education and feedback from one child’s school was overwhelmingly positive, describing the child as ‘thriving’. Staff are good advocates for children and have challenged education professionals when they feel decisions are not made in the best interests of children. One child who is not in education is being supported to apply for employment and courses of interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills. One child is preparing to move into supported accommodation. Their move is well planned, and staff are working directly with members of the new team to help them to understand the child’s individual needs and how best to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Both children are up to date with their medical appointments and are supported with their emotional well-being by the organisation’s therapeutic practitioner. The effective partnership between the practitioner and staff team has contributed to children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create memory books for children that provide them with a catalogue of photos to remind them of happy experiences and times enjoyed with staff, friends and their families. Children were excited to show the inspector their books and to recall these moments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to spend time with their family. Staff have worked with families and professionals to increase family time and to reduce restrictions safely. Family members spoke positively about their experiences of the staff, describing them as supportive and approachable. Families were eager to discuss the progress of their children since living in the home; one grandparent described this as ‘amazing’.

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

Allegations are responded to without delay. They are shared appropriately with professionals and are investigated thoroughly. Children are kept up to date with concerns they have raised and are supported to understand the outcome of investigations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 4 Behaviour management is positive, and children are supported to develop strategies to manage their feelings and emotions. There have been two occasions when it has been necessary to hold one of the children to keep them safe. After both holds, the child and staff have been supported to complete a debrief. This supports both children and staff to move forward, understand events and reflect on incidents.

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

Guidance in children’s risk plans regarding the supervision of them in the home is not clear. Leaders and managers have not ensured that the safety plans implemented following an incident between children are still in place and are known to staff new to working at the home. However, the safe practice and consistency demonstrated by the staff team have ensured that this has not impacted on children.

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

Children are helped to understand how to keep safe. Direct work sessions and informal chats are carried out with children regularly about important topics and after incidents.

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

Door alarms are routinely used on both children’s bedroom doors. The use of the door alarms is not kept under regular review to ensure that they are only used when required to keep children safe.

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

Children rarely go missing from this home. On the two occasions when children have gone missing, staff have followed the child’s plans, communicated with professionals and supported them to return home safely. The child is supported by someone independent of the home on their return to enable them to discuss why they went missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager and deputy manager. Leaders and managers want the best for children and have provided opportunities for children to enjoy a variety of experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are trained in a therapeutic model of care that is embedded in their day-to-day practice. They work closely with the organisation’s clinician and attend regular meetings to discuss the individual needs of both children. This support has contributed to staff development and the progress of both children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and attend monthly team meetings. These forums provide the staff with an opportunity to come together to discuss the children, reflect on their practice and share their ideas. Minutes of the meetings are well recorded but do not detail the author or who attended the meeting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have completed training specific to the individual needs of both children. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff have completed refresher training in a timely way to ensure that they remain up to date with any changes and are competent. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 5 Management oversight is not always effective. The manager had not identified that one child’s local authority plans were out of date. The manager took action to address this during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Families and professionals are positive about the support delivered by the team and the nurturing relationships between staff and children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 6

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow to keep children safe. 9 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d) (2))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all monitoring and surveillance measures are only used when required to keep children safe and that their use is kept under regular review. 9 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and 9 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 7 are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children have up-to-date plans and that all records contain details of the author.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are supported to attend refresher training without delay and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2647514 8

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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

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2647514 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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