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

Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home which provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2025. An interim manager supported the operation of the home for a few weeks. The home’s deputy manager has taken over the role of manager. She has worked in the home for eight years and has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to all the children about their experiences of living at the home.

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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2025 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Outstanding 10/01/2023 Full Outstanding 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are well cared for and happy living in their home. They have positive relationships with staff, enjoy spending time with them and can talk to them. They make positive memories by going on holidays abroad together and having fun with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s social workers and families reported positively about children’s experiences of living in the home and the care provided to them. Most children have benefited from long and stable placements in the home. For one child, leaders and managers worked with their placing authority to find a smaller home for them in line with their needs. The transition was planned, and the child spoke positively about their time at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in many areas of their lives while living at the home. All children have improved their education attendance and engagement. They access training and education associated with their desired future careers. Out of school, all children enjoy a range of activities with staff and their friends. Youth clubs, Scouts and climbing clubs are just a few of the social activities that children enjoy. Children also spend time with their families, which is carefully planned, risk assessed and in line with children’s wishes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children are encouraged to attend health appointments, including with health professionals to support them with additional health needs and emotional well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions with children are a strength of the staff team. They are meaningful and focused on areas of need or concern for the child. Staff have created support boxes that include information and guidance to use as resources when working with children and planning key-work sessions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

House meetings support children to share their views, wishes and feelings. The manager provides children with feedback on decisions that have been made in response to their requests. Children are supported to access advocates, to provide them with other ways of having their views listened to. The manager also recently introduced three-monthly consultations with children, to capture their experiences of living at the home.

p.3

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

Children feel safe and secure in their home. Children’s risk assessments provide staff with up-to-date information and strategies to help mitigate risks. Staff use direct work to support children to understand their emotions and how to keep themselves safe in the community. Children learn about the risks of substance misuse and knife crime. For one child, staff are yet to undertake work on criminal exploitation. The manager has made this a priority in line with the objectives set out in the child’s placement plan. Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 4 As managers overseeing the home have changed, boundaries and expectations of children’s behaviour have also changed. This has caused confusion for children and, at times, some resistance. However, under the new management team, staff are implementing clearer boundaries and routines for children, who are responding positively. Consequently, children’s risks and the number of incidents have reduced and

p.3

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

Children’s relationships with each other are monitored by the staff team. Staff intervene when there are any altercations between children. This ensures that any concerns are dealt with promptly and there is not a bullying culture in the home. Staff understand triggers to children’s behaviour. They use consequences that are restorative and that directly link to children’s behaviour.

p.4

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. Overall, staff take prompt action to try and locate children. However, on one occasion when staff were not as proactive as they could have been, the manager made her expectations clear to staff at a team meeting, to improve future safeguarding practice.

p.4

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

All serious incidents are overseen by the manager. They are evaluated effectively to identify new patterns in children’s behaviour and strategies to be used. Staff use restraint as a last resort to keep children safe. Debriefs with staff are thorough and promote reflective practice. The staff team works with safeguarding professionals to develop individualised safety plans for children to reduce risks. This work includes local police officers, substance misuse agencies and the fire service.

p.4

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

Leaders and managers take a transparent approach to managing allegations and complaints made by children. They take prompt action to keep children safe and to notify the relevant professionals. Children are kept up to date on the investigation process and, when required, restorative discussions are held between children and staff to repair relationships.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager, with the support of an interim manager, has provided stability to children and staff. Staff reported that guidance and direction from managers has significantly improved, and this has helped children to feel settled in their home once again.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager, who previously worked in the home for several years, knows the children well. She is organised and understands children’s progress and areas to be developed. She is a positive role model and promotes consistent care and support for children. There is a relatively new full staff team in place. The manager is focused on developing the team, upskilling them and embedding the home’s model of care. Consequently, the staff team is beginning to stabilise. Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 5 During the transition between managers, there was a delay in managers implementing effective risk reduction strategies following an incident of cannabis use in the home. Specifically, there were delays in waking night support being implemented to monitor children’s whereabouts at night and a referral for the child being made to a substance misuse agency. This leadership and management shortfall was rectified by the new

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

management team without delay when they took over.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses team meetings to address any learning from incidents and to promote consistent communication with staff and external professionals. Training is monitored well by the manager. She has identified some gaps in training. Staff are scheduled to attend identified courses to ensure that they have the knowledge to support children effectively and to meet their needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff, including bank staff, are provided with regular practice-related supervision. Staff find the sessions supportive in developing and reflecting on their practice. However, the manager has not had an annual appraisal. As a new manager, regular review of her practice is important, to enable senior managers to monitor the management of the home effectively and to identify any support the manager requires .

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced regular consultations with external professionals and children’s families. This has been helpful in obtaining feedback about the quality of care provided to children and to identify opportunities to improve the service. Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 6

p.5

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.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)) (2)(a)(f)) 30 October 2025

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. Specifically, direct work should be carried out with children in relation to criminal exploitation when this is a potential risk for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Specifically, all staff should attend training in global development delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 7

p.6

Recommendations

and substance misuse. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. Specifically, the home’s manager should have their practice annually appraised. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

p.7

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: 1223501 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1223501 9 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 who are looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9