Children's home run by Phoenix Child Care Limited in North Devon

Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 1 SC381652 Registered provider: Phoenix Child Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered for up to two children and young people. The home provides support for young people who may be experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 September 2017

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 Requires improvement

p.1

Good

Date of last inspection: 12 January 2017

p.1

Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 The quality of individualised care and support for young people is excellent. Young people’s needs are considered in depth. This enables staff to fully Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 2 support young people at times of emotional crisis.  The staff team has a good understanding of young people’s needs. Alongside a highly nurturing environment, this is resulting in positive outcomes for young people.  The registered manager strongly advocates on behalf of young people. She works closely with other professionals in order to provide holistic and well- planned care to young people. This includes challenging other professionals to ensure that the best interests of young people are met.  Young people have excellent relationships with staff, and these relationships help young people to feel safe, secure and happy.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Supervision systems lack structure and are not formally recorded. These do not provide clarity for accountability and structured professional development.  Young people are beginning to socialise with their peers within the home with appropriate oversight and support from staff. However, young people do not regularly have the opportunity to socialise with a wider group of young people outside of the home and school.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 within the given timescales.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the employment of staff standard the registered persons must ensure that;

p.3

Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

p.3

Requirement Due date

Specifically, supervision must be structured and purposeful in order to ensure that there is a clear process in place for managing and improving poor performance. Furthermore, appropriate records of supervision must be kept for staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.4 and 13.5) 25/10/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. Recruitment systems within the home are good overall. However, all actions are not clearly recorded and not all references are rigorously verified. Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give careful consideration to young people’s needs, and this is used to inform excellent care planning and to promote a highly nurturing environment. Importantly, young people are provided with clear and well-thought-through boundaries. This has helped to develop their emotional resilience and has led to a reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both of the young people who live at the home are making considerable progress. Young people are increasingly secure and settled. Conversations with young people during the inspection demonstrate their emerging confidence and developing emotional well-being.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager consistently seeks ways to develop and improve the care provided to young people. She ensures that she is well informed by research, continued training, and works closely with a psychologist who works for the company. This thorough approach to care planning has also further promoted the staff team’s knowledge of how to meet young people’s needs.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to engage in a variety of activities that are well informed by their individual needs and interests. Activities include playing cars, being read a story, playing with toy figures in the indoor sand pit, trips to the park, developing trust by lone visits to the local shop and, most importantly, being listened to.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both young people are in education. One young person is finding it hard to settle in class. This is closely monitored, and ways to support him are constantly being explored. They are both, overall, in good health, although promoting a more active lifestyle for one young person remains an ongoing area of need.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both young people told the inspector that they were happy in their home. This was confirmed by general observations of interactions between the young people and staff which were all very positive.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from young people, parents, and other professionals is highly complementary.

p.4

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

There have been a number of physical interventions since the last inspection. However, due to the considered approach of the registered manager and her staff team, these numbers are reducing. The staff team is consistent in providing young people with clear boundaries and expectations. Young people respond well, and negative behaviours are increasingly reducing in their severity as young people develop the skills and the insight to manage their own behaviour.

p.4

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

Staff address risk taking and sexualised behaviour in a consistent and rigorous way. For Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 5 example, any such incidents are used as learning opportunities for young people. This supports young people effectively to understand their feelings, and teaches them how to keep themselves both emotionally and physically safe.

p.4

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

On occasions, young people go missing from the home. However, with strong support networks in place and clear boundaries for young people, the number of incidents is declining. The staff team recognises that the most important aspects of behaviour management are consistency and unconditional positive regard for young people, and this is evident in staff members’ interactions with young people.

p.5

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

Importantly, the registered manager and her staff team analyse in depth and make effective plans to address the factors that impact negatively upon young people’s behaviours, emotional well-being and developmental progress overall. As a result, care is delivered in a well-thought-out, predefined manner. Young people respond well to this approach.

p.5

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

Safeguarding practice is of a high standard. For example, one young person demonstrated some risk-taking behaviour. The young person was supported to understand how this behaviour affected themselves and others and has not repeated the behaviour subsequently.

p.5

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

One young person’s health and nutrition is of ongoing concern. Their health is consistently monitored, and different approaches are used to support them to lead a healthier lifestyle.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager is effective in raising the standards of the care provided to young people. She has high aspirations for them and ensures that care planning and developmental targets are individualised and achievable for young people. This also includes consistently reviewing outcomes for young people and what further support is needed in order to help young people reach their developmental goals.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager ensures that care planning is proactive, and responsive to young people’s changing needs, including at times of crisis. For example, patterns in challenging behaviour and times of emotional difficulty are carefully analysed, and this enables staff to nurture and support young people more effectively.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager provides staff with regular informal supervision, although this is not structured or formally recorded, which does not provide adequate system for addressing any practice issues or areas of need. However, practice is considered and explored in a number of other ways, including during staff meetings and within reviews of critical incidents.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager has developed the skills of staff further by offering enhanced training opportunities. This has recently included a therapeutic training course which is Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 6 now put into practice within the home. This approach builds upon nurturing and unconditional acceptance of young people, and is now fully embedded into the practice at the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Recruitment systems within the home are well established. However, not all actions are clearly recorded and not all references are rigorously verified.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager strongly advocates for the needs of young people by working closely with other professionals in order to provide holistic and well-planned care to young people. This includes challenging other professionals in order to ensure that the best interests of young people are met.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The voices and rights of young people are fully explored and are explicit within care planning. This can be further seen within the very nurturing one-to-one sessions.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.6

Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC381652 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Child Care Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Phoenix Learning And Care Ltd, First Floor, Rolle Quay House, Rolle Quay, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1JE

p.7

Inspector(s)

Polly Soper, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC381652 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector(s)

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 http://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.8

Inspector(s)

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

p.8

Inspector(s)

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

p.8