Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at the home since September 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at 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 outstanding

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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: 22 October 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: 2509365 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2024 Full Good 07/11/2023 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector saw and spoke with both children during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop strong and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. Staff know the children well. They provide a warm and nurturing environment that allows children to flourish and feel safe. Interactions between the staff and children are caring and playful. Children say that the staff are fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in most aspects of their lives. Managers and staff can access various training sessions and consultations with the provider’s therapeutic team to help them understand why children may not be making progress or are regressing. This helps them consider what needs to change in the way they help children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The deputy head of one child’s school said that the quality of communication between staff and the school promotes consistency for the child and has helped the child make progress with their reading and writing. Older children are enrolled in college. However, staff have struggled to help one child maintain their attendance and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and have their health needs met. Managers ensure that children have access to specialist services, including assessments of their individual needs and tailored therapeutic support. Older children are supported in managing their health issues, which promotes their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence planning is thorough and well documented. Staff have positive relationships with parents and professionals, which supports children in returning to their parents’ care in a safe way. When issues arise, staff talk to the children’s family and offer advice based on their knowledge of the child, helping parents to welcome their child home successfully. When children leave the home, they move on in a positive way. Celebratory meals are held at a venue chosen by the child, with the full care team present.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well decorated. Photos of children enrich the environment. The children’s books and games placed throughout the home contribute to a more vibrant atmosphere. Children decorate their bedrooms to reflect their likes and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in having family time, supervising it where necessary. They advocate on behalf of the children, ensuring that relevant others are aware of their wishes and feelings. As a result, one child now spends increased time with their sibling. This helps to ensure that children have a positive time with the people who are important to them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 4

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

Children have comprehensive, detailed and regularly reviewed risk assessments that guide staff on how to keep them safe. The risk assessments describe how staff proactively support children to prevent risks from increasing. As a result, children are safeguarded effectively, and they feel safe living at the home.

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

Children do not go missing from the home due to the positive relationships they have with staff. Staff understand the missing-from-home procedures, and all children have detailed individual protocols, ensuring that they know what to do if a child goes missing.

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

Staff use various de-escalation strategies to support children in managing their emotions. They understand what works for individual children and why. When children need to be held, this is done safely. Staff make detailed recordings of the incidents. The manager carries out debriefs with the staff involved and speaks with the child when they are ready. This helps the manager to identify areas for improvement to share with the whole staff team. As a result, the use of physical intervention is rare.

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

Managers ensure that children are helped to stay safe online. Appropriate restrictions on time and access to online content are built into the home’s Wi-Fi. Older children have age-appropriate access enabled on their mobile phones. Staff work with children to develop their understanding of online risks as part of independence planning.

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

Positive reinforcement is chosen over staff using consequences to support the children’s behavioural needs. When a consequence is used, it is relevant to the incident. This helps to prioritise building the children’s self-esteem and understanding that there are consequences when poor choices are made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is an inspirational leader who has high aspirations for the children. Staff recognise the manager as significantly important and one of the main strengths of the home. The manager holds a shared appreciation for staff. Many of the staff have worked at the home for a long time and have developed a strong team ethos. This positive team culture influences the quality of care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Ongoing professional development is highly valued. Leaders and managers invest in the training and personal development of the manager and staff. This includes specialist training identified to support the individual needs of the children. Their investment in the workforce has created a therapeutic environment for the children. The manager recruits ‘with caution’ to ensure that the right people join the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Strong and aspirational leadership ensures that the staff receive training, guidance and support to carry out their roles and duties to a high standard. Practice-related supervision for staff is regular and reflective. The manager promotes the use of theory to support discussions and reflections. Staff are encouraged to reflect at length on their Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 5 experiences to improve their understanding of the children. Staff are supported to explore issues that are pertinent to them and consider how best to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings are well structured and inclusive. Meetings start with feedback from the children, and there is a reflective team discussion about each child. Staff provide feedback about learning from training that they have attended. Newer members of staff feel supported in giving open feedback on their progress, knowing that they will receive the support they need from their manager and colleagues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Comprehensive monitoring and reviewing systems enable the manager to have oversight of all aspects of the home. Consultations with children, family members and relevant professionals further enable the manager to know the team’s strengths and areas for development. A recent move over to an online home management system is already making the process more streamlined and has strengthened the monitoring systems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that issues are escalated with local authorities when they do not fulfil their responsibilities for children. For example, one child’s education, health and care plan was out of date and needed to be reviewed. Concerns were raised with the child’s placing authority and the local authority where the child lives. This was supported by the child’s independent reviewing officer to highlight to the heads of service that action was required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff maintain detailed daily records that are written in language that children can easily understand. However, other documentation sometimes includes professional language that children may struggle to comprehend.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose clearly articulates the home’s ethos and model of care. However, the current version has several errors and has not been updated when new staff have joined the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is regularly reviewed to ensure that updates and amendments are made promptly and accurately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, ensure that professional or specialist language is avoided where possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2509365 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Ltd

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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

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509365 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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