Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 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 by a private provider. It provides care for up to 3 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were 3 children being cared for at the home. The inspector spoke to all children during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2026.

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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: 5 November 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: 2697142 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2025 Full Good 21/01/2025 Full Outstanding 03/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 3

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Summary of findings

Three children live at the home and enjoy positive experiences and are making good progress. They have trusting relationships with staff. Staff understand each child’s needs and respond appropriately to changing risks, which helps to ensure that children are protected from harm. The home is led by a newly registered manager who is suitably experienced.

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Summary of findings

However, shortfalls were identified. For example, children’s activities and opportunities for informal learning when they are not in education are not well structured or planned. In addition, notifications of significant events have been delayed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy, settled and making good progress from their individual starting points. They enjoy positive experiences and have warm, trusting relationships with staff, who treat them with dignity and respect. Children are encouraged to express their views, and feel confident that staff listen to them and take action on matters that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with their families. When children ask for support during new contact arrangements, staff travel with them and remain nearby to ensure contact takes place safely. As a result, children enjoy increasingly positive and meaningful time with the important people in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identity, culture and individual preferences are respected and clearly reflected in their care plans. Staff promote inclusion, and support children to understand and respond to any experiences of discrimination in a positive and constructive way, helping them to develop confidence, resilience and self-awareness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. When children are reluctant to engage with health services, staff provide patient encouragement and help them understand the importance of attending appointments, including treatment for a fracture and dental pain. One child’s statutory medical assessment is overdue due to a service backlog, but staff are actively pursuing an appointment. Children’s emotional health is well supported by an in- house psychologist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education needs are generally well met. Most children attend school regularly, and one child has successfully completed their GCSEs with staff support. Where children face barriers to attendance, staff encourage engagement and advocate for them in meetings. However, opportunities for informal learning and meaningful structure when children are not in education are not consistently planned or recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 4 Children take part in activities that promote their social and emotional development. They enjoy trips and holidays that are planned in line with their preferences. Age- appropriate independence work is undertaken with all children. However, this is not consistently reflected in their plans, limiting oversight of their progress and preparedness for future moves from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has been decorated to a high standard. It is warm and welcoming. Areas of wear and tear are promptly repaired. Children have their own personal space, which is personalised to reflect their individuality.

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

Children say they are safe and risks for children are reducing over time. When children go missing, staff follow individualised missing-from-home procedures, work closely with the police, and actively search for them. When children return home, staff are curious about their experiences and assess any ongoing risks, with support from safeguarding professionals where required.

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

Staff respond promptly to disclosures made by children, including concerns relating to substance misuse, self-harm and abuse. Staff seek medical attention when required. The quality of key work with children is good. Key-work sessions are detailed, reflective and help children explore underlying triggers and develop coping strategies.

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

Staff demonstrate consistent incident management through welfare checks, room searches, key-work sessions and effective communication with social workers and other professionals following incidents. Children are informed and their consent is sought wherever possible. Room searches are carried out sensitively and in a way that respects children’s dignity and individual needs.

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

Staff talk to children about online safety and apply proportionate safety measures, including device checks. However, risk assessments do not consistently provide the most up-to-date strategies for staff to follow, which has led to some confusion about the frequency of checks. When the manager recognised that staff had not taken the necessary steps in response to an online safety concern, this was robustly addressed to improve practice and appropriately shared with external agencies.

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

Staff treat children with respect and regular praise. There is a positive and therapeutic approach to their care. Children also have incentives put in place when it is deemed to be effective, such as additional pocket money, new pets or preferred activities. This means physical intervention has not been required.

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

The use of consequences is rare. Where these have been applied, the manager provides oversight to ensure that these are restorative and children understand the consequences of their behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is newly registered manager in post who is well supported by an experienced leadership team. She is a strong advocate for improving children’s experiences and speaks proudly of their progress. She has a clear vision for the children and the development of the staff team. Development plans are detailed, but do not consistently contain specific and measurable actions to demonstrate progress towards set goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home. She uses these systems effectively to highlight positive practice and to address any shortfalls and drive improvements. Leaders and managers have successfully challenged the independent visitor to improve the quality of their reports and consultation with key people. However, there have been delays to notifications of significant events to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team that works well together. Children are cared for by staff who know them well and provide consistent support that promotes children’s safety, emotional wellbeing and stability. Staff complete a wide range of training to meet children’s needs and is regularly refreshed. New staff benefit from a structured induction process, helping them to settle quickly into their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff through regular, practice ‑ related supervision and appraisal. Staff value the manager’s support for their development and well ‑ being. Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended, providing opportunities to share information about children as well as their views about their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 6

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)(v)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children not attending education have a regular routine and education timetable, and are supported to complete educational activities while not in school. 11 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

sexual exploitation; 11 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 7 an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that significant incidents are notified to Ofsted without delay.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s risk management plans reflect the current level of assessed risk and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should make best use of information from internal monitoring, including the quality of care review. Development plans should contain all necessary information to support continuous improvement. Actions should be specific and measurable. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should help each child to prepare for any moves from the home. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal

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Recommendations

self-care. Progress towards their move should be recorded in a transition plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 8 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: 2697142 9

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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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Inspector

Samantha Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2697142 10 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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Inspector

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