Children's home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 1 Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The inspectors spoke to the child 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: 4 February 2025

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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: 2613677 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out to foster care, and one child has moved in. Moves in and out of the home are carefully planned and positive for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home says that they are happy, feel supported and trust the staff. Staff are nurturing in their approach to caring for the child, and their strong and positive relationships create a sense of belonging for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is effective partnership working with social workers and education professionals. Staff provide the child with educational activities and advocate for the child to be in full- time education. Staff are creative with informal learning opportunities for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child engages in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle and are also fun. Staff provide the child with opportunities to attend drama classes, horse-riding lessons and holidays with the team. These activities help the child to develop their social skills and provide them with opportunities to create meaningful childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to prepare them for their futures. They are supported to develop their independence according to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of supporting the child to maintain relationships with their family in line with their care plans. This helps the child to maintain important relationships and make positive memories with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. There are photos of the child displayed in the home, and this helps the child to develop a strong sense of connection and belonging.

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

Incidents in the home are rare. When they do occur, staff demonstrate a proactive approach to safeguarding. The child’s risk management and behaviour support plans consider previous and current risks. Strategies to reduce risks help staff to keep the child safe. However, on one occasion, staff have not followed a child’s risk assessment. This had no impact on the child.

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

The child is only held when necessary to keep them safe. There has been one physical intervention during this inspection period. The child and staff have had the opportunity to speak to an independent person, and there is reflective management oversight.

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

Direct work with the child is of good quality and responsive to the child’s individual needs. Discussions take place with the child on relevant issues such as online safety, exploitation and healthy routines. Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 4 Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques and creative alternative strategies that are specific to the needs of the child. Staff receive training in a therapeutic model, which they apply in their day-to-day practice.

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

Multi-agency working is a key strength of the home. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child]’s risks have significantly decreased.’ This approach ensures that all professionals are kept informed about the child and that appropriate support is provided when concerns arise.

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

Safer recruitment practices have been implemented. This ensures that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a suitably experienced and qualified manager, who is supported by a deputy manager. Together, they have good oversight of the home and are child centred in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and consistent staff team in place. The staff feel supported by the managers and work collaboratively as a team to achieve the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which provides them with formal opportunities for reflection on their practice and the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from team meetings that are child focused. These are well attended and have input from the therapist to reflect and discuss therapeutic approaches to caring for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training to meet the needs of the child. However, the home’s workforce development plan is not clear on timescales, and some refresher training has not been undertaken by staff and managers. The deputy manager has also not received an annual appraisal. This does not ensure that staff have up-to-date knowledge and respond to children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do have external and monitoring systems in place. All serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted as required by regulation. However, audits have failed to identify shortfalls after one significant incident in the home and do not reflect that a notification was sent to Ofsted. This limits oversight of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has completed the quality of care review report. However, the reports do not include feedback from the child, staff, professionals and family. This limits opportunities to monitor and fully evaluate the care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff always follow the children’s plans. 25 April 2026

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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— 25 April 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 6 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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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; and

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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)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have robust oversight of the care provided and have effective internal monitoring systems in place.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(c)) 25 April 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the opinions of children, professionals, family and staff are considered in the quality of care review. (‘Guide to Children Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 7

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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: 2613677 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hexagon Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, Harbour House, Portway, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2DW

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Inspectors

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Joy Viles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2613677 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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