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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 1 SC480847 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 privately owned. It provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection and all four children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2024 Full Good 24/03/2023 Full Good 09/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home where they are valued and respected by staff. They can explore and discover their identities in a safe environment. Staff are committed to the children and nurture them. The support and care offered by staff has helped children to build trusting relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to pursue their interests, and they follow a broad range of social activities. These reflect their individual interests. Children enjoy day trips, concerts and holidays which are further afield. One child has been creative in raising money to see their favourite artist. Children grow in confidence and skills through the opportunities they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of family and friends to the children. Visitors are welcome at the home, and staff include them in children’s plans where possible. Families recognise the recent positive changes in their children’s lives. Staff keep families up to date and use technology to offer additional family time for children. One family member said, ‘We couldn’t have picked a better place for them to live.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop positive relationships with each other at the home. This has helped the children to grow in understanding and show empathy towards each other. Staff listen to each child and help them to negotiate harmonious daily living at the home respectfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and are making good progress. Staff support children to learn informally through play and reading and help them prepare for exams. The staff ensure that there are books available around the home for enjoyment and to help develop children’s understanding.

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

Managers and staff have open and honest discussions with children and plan together how children can explore and take positive risks. Children respond well to this approach and respect the staff, working with them to understand that if things go wrong staff will support them. Children feel safe at the home.

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

Staff complete detailed risk assessments and these are kept up to date. Staff update them with their learning after any incident, and the plans provide clear instructions to help them achieve consistent support. Alongside the risk assessments, staff complete direct work with children to help them understand the risks identified.

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

Children do not often go missing from the home. When they do, staff are quick to follow protocols and go and search for them. Children are welcomed back to the home, and Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 4 staff support them with their reflection and debrief as well as requesting an independent return home interview for children.

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

The children are supported by experienced staff who know them well. When new staff are appointed, the manager follows safe recruitment practices to minimise risks to the children living at the home. Staff are confident in their safeguarding responsibilities towards the children.

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

Staff are skilled at using a variety of approaches to avoid conflict at the home. This means that physical interventions are rarely used and are reducing in frequency. The manager talks to staff and children if physical interventions do occur.

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

Some of the children have additional communication needs and do not have accessible communication tools to support them in expressing their feelings. Managers and staff are not skilled in using some communication tools and this limits opportunities for the staff to understand some children’s views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers care about the children and support them to succeed in all areas of their lives. They work closely with family and professionals to ensure they offer appropriate and consistent support to the children. Managers offer children positive and rewarding opportunities during their time at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers recognise the progress that children have made and seek to develop this. They support and guide staff in their planning and decision-making to build on the skills learned and identify the next steps to take. Children’s plans change frequently as they achieve previous goals and move on to new ones. Managers seek children’s views, which they use to shape their plans for the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers regularly reflect on practice at the home. This is mirrored through the staff, who reflect on their practice and how to improve it. Children benefit from this reflective approach, which seeks to understand their needs and avoids blame. This positive communication means that managers maintain good oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff through an open-door policy. Staff receive regular supervision sessions and performance reviews. Staff also increase their knowledge and skills through training and supportive sessions with the company’s therapy team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers recognise the strengths and areas for development at the home and have a plan to develop it further. They have worked closely with education professionals this year to improve communication between the settings and to ensure a joined-up approach to children’s support and care. This has been achieved through daily communication and weekly meetings of all involved professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 5 Managers have introduced a new online recording system. Managers and staff are now seeing benefits from this. Recording is clearer and managers guide staff in completing records which are written to the children. This is positive for children who may wish to view their records in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings after the incident, taking into account their communication needs and any communication tools required to do this. Staff should be skilled in supporting the child to do this via their preferred communication method. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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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: SC480847 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: 1 Tustin Court, Port Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YQ

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480847 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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