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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 1 SC480704 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2024 Full Good 10/05/2023 Full Good 18/05/2022 Full Good 15/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have experienced a planned move into semi- independent living, and one child has moved into the home. The manager undertook a comprehensive assessment to understand the individual needs of the child. The child received information about the home, visited and met the other children before moving in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children all spoke to the inspector during this inspection. They said they are happy. They have been helped to develop positive relationships with the staff team and can identify trusted adults to help them if they are unhappy about anything.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for all children. They recognise and promote educational attendance and attainment. Three children are in full-time education and meeting their academic targets, while one child is on a part-time timetable. Education providers spoke positively about the communication and support for children from the staff team, attributing this to the sustainability of education placements.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthy living is promoted well through encouragement to eat a healthy and varied diet and take part in regular physical activities. Children with life-long medical needs are supported and educated to understand and manage their condition, and training has been delivered to all of the children living in the home to support their understanding.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have a say about their care and the home they live in. Regular meetings are held with the children to capture their views and wishes. Children said that they are fully consulted about their care and have also contributed their views about the overall decor of the home, including the decoration of their bedrooms.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children’s family members and support children to see their family and friends. This ensures that children can maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

p.3

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

A consistent staff team has looked after children since the last inspection. Staff provide a supportive and nurturing environment for children and act as positive role models. There are clear and consistent boundaries in place and staff acknowledge, praise and reward positive behaviours. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the mutual respect that children and staff have for each other. Consequently, there has only been one occasion when physical intervention has been required. The incident was managed appropriately, and the child was supported.

p.3

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

Staff know what action to take in relation to an allegation being made. There has been one allegation made, which was fully investigated and appropriate action Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 4 taken.

p.3

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

Children’s plans are detailed and comprehensive. They contain clear strategies to reduce risks to children and are regularly reviewed to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrences. Staff understand these plans and use them in their daily practice. Staff have taken suitable action when children have been missing from the home, searching for them and working with external professionals such as the missing-from-home team and the police. Records of incidents of children going missing from care are detailed and the manager has oversight of these reports.

p.4

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

Staff use a variety of resources to carry out direct work with children on topics that are specific to their individual needs and what is going on in their lives. There is a focus on the importance of staff talking to children and giving them an opportunity to express their views and wishes to help inform their care and support.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced manager and deputy manager work well together to provide support and guidance to the staff team. Both have a good understanding of the strengths and areas of further development in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers carry out regular internal monitoring to support improvements. However, shortfalls in this process were identified during the inspection that not all children had up-to-date local authority care and education plans in place. The manager took action to address this during the inspection, and this had not impacted on the care of children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke positively of the support from leaders, and professionals were complimentary regarding the care and support delivered to children and the progress they have made living at the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained and qualified and receive regular supervision, which contributes to their overall development and practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and are a further development opportunity to support staff and share information. Children are discussed at every team meeting, and staff are given the opportunity to reflect on their practice as a group and share strategies which have been effective when supporting children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 16 July 2025

p.5

Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC480704 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480704 7 regulates and inspects 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7