Children's Home run by Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited in Plymouth

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children’s home provision is good because:

 The young person living at this home receives highly personalised and nurturing care. The registered manager and staff aim to provide as close to a family home experience as they can. The young person is benefiting from this placement as good attention is given to all aspects of her life, including education, safety and developing a healthy lifestyle.  The manager presents as a highly motivated and inspirational leader. His ethos is very child centred and he is proud of the nurturing and dedicated team he is developing. He is liked and respected by young people and staff alike.  The young person has lived in the home for nearly a year and throughout this time as the sole occupant. This has led to her developing really positive and trusting relationships from a consistent staff team. When difficulties have arisen, the manager and staff have sought creative solutions and have consistently reinforced their commitment to the young person. This has

p.3

The children’s home provision is good because:

been important in helping the young person to develop sustained and positive attachments.  The physical environment of the home provides a very homely and domestic setting, in which young people are able to ensure that it reflects their taste and interests.  The manager has a good insight into the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He welcomes visits by the independent visitor and Ofsted as a way of supporting further improvements. He responds positively to any weaknesses identified and is motivated to make improvements that support the staff to help the young person to achieve better outcomes.  Some weaknesses were identified during this inspection. These relate to the need to ensure that staff achieve their diploma qualification within two years of working in a care role in a children’s home, ensuring that quality processes fully meet regulatory expectations and that records fully evidence the good practices that have taken place.

p.3

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

32: Fitness of workers The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. In particular, records held within the home must include evidence of proof of identity, including a recent photograph and a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 32 (3)(d) Schedule 2) 31 July 2016

p.4

Requirement Due date

32: Fitness of workers The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualifications within two years from the date on which the individual started working in a care role. (Regulation 32(5)(a)) 28 February

p.4

Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must produce a report about a visit which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44(1)(4)(a)(b)) 31 July 2016

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  The review of quality of care should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The reports should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how these actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

p.4

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a regional private provider of education and social care for children and young people. It provides care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Young people can attend education within the company school or college or via an external provision. The home is situated in a residential location on the edge of a city and near to the coast.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

16 March 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.6

Recent inspection history

21 October 2015 Full Requires improvement

p.6

Recent inspection history

3 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.6

Good

Young people enjoy highly personalised care which has a positive influence and impact on their progress and experience. Young people are treated with dignity and respect and their well-being is placed at the centre of decision-making and practices. A good parenting approach is taken by staff, which means that young people in their care are treated fairly and compassionately. They learn to trust staff and feel that they can depend on them.

p.7

Good

The manager and staff listen to young people. They are sensitive and responsive and maintain an open dialogue. This means that even when a young person is not able to achieve what they want, they understand the reasons why and learn to compromise or work steadily towards their objectives. Staff provide clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries. They fully recognise vulnerabilities and work effectively with a range of other professionals to ensure that needs are fully assessed and addressed.

p.7

Good

Good attention is given to helping young people to develop a more positive self- view and to build emotional resilience. Regular one-to-one key working sessions have covered a wide range of issues. These sessions provide young people with opportunities to talk over things that concern them and to be supported to make careful and considered decisions.

p.7

Good

Young people benefit from the manager and staff thinking creatively. For example, in order to promote a healthy lifestyle, staff are participating with young people in a cycle ride across the country, on an exercise bike and all from the comfort of the young person’s lounge. A map of the route provides a useful visual reference that helps to motivate everyone.

p.7

Good

The manager and staff positively engage with the local authority and a range of specialist professionals. They recognise their contribution in supporting the young person and helping them to achieve good outcomes. Currently the manager is escalating the need for further assessment and therapeutic support in order to help young people to make further progress. One specialist worker described the home as ‘one of the best I have come across’. Other specific compliments were about the quality of relationships, effective communication and how well the manager and staff advocate on behalf of young people. Judgement grade

p.7

Good

Young people are cared for in a safe environment and are supported to become increasingly safe in the choices they make. Good attention is given to helping young people to develop a better understanding of dangers and how to keep themselves safe as they become young adults.

p.8

Good

The manager and staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. They are knowledgeable about known risks, have received appropriate training and are aware of the procedures to follow to keep young people safe. The open communication that exists between the staff and a range of external agencies, means that any concerns arising are discussed and an agreed approach taken. Young people are involved in these discussions and are supported to make progress and to achieve personal targets, such as accessing social media.

p.8

Good

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted and modelled by staff. This applies to a wide range of issues, from healthy eating habits to restorative practices such as apologising. Sanctions are not widely used, but where used these are monitored by the manager to ensure that the approach is consistent with the home’s overall ethos of managing any conflicts positively, as a good parent would.

p.8

Good

Two physical interventions have been used in the past year. They have been low level and were effective. The manager has provided appropriate oversight of these incidents and is committed to ensuring that, wherever possible, staff use effective de-escalation techniques to manage challenging behaviour safely. The company form used to record these events does not provide a specific prompt or space for a staff debrief, although this is undertaken in practice.

p.8

Good

Missing from care incidents are well responded to. Effective action is taken to search for a young person and staff follow a clear individual protocol. Staff are knowledgeable about young people’s habits and where to look for them. Staff give young people the opportunity to discuss the incident and an independent return home interview is also carried out. The company form used to record these incidents does not include evidence that an independent return home interview has taken place, although again, this is undertaken in practice. The manager is effective in ensuring that the young person’s allocated social worker and other professionals meet to discuss any risk-taking behaviour and agree a plan together.

p.8

Good

New staff are carefully selected and vetted by the manager or senior carer. Staff files are held at the company headquarters but the home also has a copy of some information, including staff training certificates. The ‘front sheet’ in staff files has changed several times over recent years and not all contain the same information. There is a need to review and improve it if it is to be used to evidence that, for example, gaps in employment have been fully explored and proof of identity, including a photograph, has been secured.

p.8

Requires improvement

The registered manager is highly motivated and committed to providing a good quality children’s home. His ethos places young people at the centre of decision- making and practice. He is currently undertaking his level 5 diploma and is aware that this needs to be completed within three years of starting to manage the home.

p.9

Requires improvement

The company is now making better progress to ensure that staff achieve their level 3 diplomas. The senior carer has this qualification and hopes to start level 5 soon. Four staff are currently undertaking their qualification and another is being registered. Two staff are likely to be outside of their two year timescale but are making good progress and hope to have completed it by February 2017. The manager is fully aware of the importance of staff achieving their professional qualifications in a timely way and is overseeing their progress. The timeliness of staff induction has improved considerably, and one newly appointed member of staff said she was impressed with the induction programme and other training she had received so far.

p.9

Requires improvement

Quality monitoring processes are robust and contribute to ongoing improvements. The manager welcomes discussion and suggestions of how to make further improvements. Ways to capture lessons learned from the six-monthly review of quality of care were discussed during the inspection. It was also identified that the independent visitor’s report needed to contain the opinion of the visitor consistently as to whether young people are effectively safeguarded and if the conduct of the home promotes their well-being.

p.9

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

p.10

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.10

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.10

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s

p.11

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.11

Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

p.12

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Information about this inspection

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

p.12

Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.12