Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted as a multi-building children’s home on 11 March 2025. The home can provide care across two separate houses for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

One child has moved in and out of the home since registration. There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to all three children about their experiences of 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living in the home. When they arrive at the home, they receive a warm and individualised welcome from staff. Staff apply the routines and activities that were in place previously for children to help them to settle. Children feel safe and secure with the staff who are caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals hold managers and staff in high regard. An education professional said that one child they have known for some time has ‘blossomed’ since living in the home. Staff help the children to feel physically and emotionally safe, which supports their progression in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s individual interests and celebrate their achievements. One child has joined a local football team since moving into the home. They talk about it with pride and enjoy showing off their team kit. Another child continues to pursue their love of horse riding. Children’s confidence grows as they develop their passions for activities outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand why it is important to go to school. Staff have formed strong links with education professionals to ensure that they have a consistent approach. One child attends a school some distance away from their home and staff support their journey each day. As a result, children look forward to learning and have strong ambitions for their future careers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to reflect on the important moments they create while living in the home. Staff arrange for them to have individualised memory boxes to collect memorabilia. One child’s box has artwork of their favourite football team on the front, and a collection of leaflets, photobooks and tickets they have collected from special occasions inside it. This enables children to acknowledge their achievements and recall happy memories they have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are proud of where they live. Managers and staff help them to personalise the home, including their bedrooms. Children have spaces in the home where they can enjoy time together as well as individually. However, leaders and managers have not thoroughly assessed the necessity and effectiveness of a bedroom door alarm for one child. This unnecessarily infringes on the child’s privacy when leaving and entering their bedroom.

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

Staff understand the importance of safeguarding the children in their care. They ensure that children are safely supervised without infringing on their freedom to explore. One child has been encouraged to develop their independence outside of the home with the Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 3 support of staff. This helps children to learn how to manage risks in a safe and well- planned way.

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

Leaders and managers are embedding a positive safeguarding culture in the home. When an incident of concern occurred, a member of staff felt confident in reporting it to managers, who responded quickly and effectively. This immediate action shows that children are cared for by people who prioritise their safety.

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

Staff are skilled at building positive connections with children. They respond sensitively to children when they are upset and understand what they need in that moment. Children say that staff know how to make them laugh but also know when they need to talk about things that are troubling them. Children are learning that it is safe to talk about the risks in their lives with the staff caring for them.

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

Managers focus on developing staff skills in de-escalating incidents for children. This means that the use of physical interventions with children is rare. When physical interventions are used, managers evaluate them and ensure that staff debriefs are carried out. However, staff are not always provided with the opportunity to debrief individually. This is a missed opportunity to identify any safeguarding concerns or areas for learning.

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

Staff ensure that they record information about incidents using language that cares. However, records relating to incidents are sometimes incomplete or lacking in the necessary detail. This limits the oversight and evaluation of staff practice by managers, as well as those providing external scrutiny.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced in managing children’s homes. She is supported by an experienced deputy manager and area manager. They provide staff with leadership rooted in therapeutic care, which is recognised by external professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by managers. They have regular supervisions and managers are easily available to them when they need additional guidance. The organisation also employs a psychologist who provides additional support for staff on a regular individual basis. This provides staff with a space to reflect on their practice and develop their skills in caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers hold regular and well-structured team meetings. Staff use this time to build relationships with each other and share good practice. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who model the importance of positive communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have established individual risk plans for children. This ensures that staff have clear guidance to follow so that children are kept safe. However, not all risk plans contain all the necessary steps for staff to follow to ensure children’s safety. Although there has not been a safeguarding concern, this limits the oversight by managers in ensuring that consistent risk management strategies are being practised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 4 Staff use opportunities provided by managers to attend training specific to the needs and risks of the children. Staff bring new ideas for training to managers, and these are responded to positively. However, managers’ evaluations of incidents do not always identify shortfalls in staff practice. Although this has not resulted in poor safeguarding practice by staff, it is a missed opportunity to ensure that staff are implementing any

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

new knowledge and developing their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 5

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that management oversight is robust and can identify and address any shortfalls in staff practice at the earliest opportunity.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s risk plans contain the necessary steps for staff to take to ensure that children are safeguarded in respect of their individual risks. 2 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (case records) for each child which— 2 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 6 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff record full accounts of incidents, including action taken by staff as well as external professionals.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that following incidents of restraint, staff are provided with an individual debrief to ensure that they have the opportunity to speak openly. The registered person should respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that they thoroughly evaluate the use of bedroom door alarms in relation to each child’s individual risks. They should assess their effectiveness and only use them when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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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: 2821255 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Inspector

Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2821255 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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