Children's home run by Phoenix Care & Education Limited in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 1

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Phoenix Care and Education Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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This monitoring visit

On 17 January 2018, Ofsted completed an interim inspection where the home had declined in effectiveness. Ofsted issued a compliance notice in relation to regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. This monitoring visit has reviewed the progress made in respect of the compliance notice. In addition, seven of the 10 requirements issued at the interim inspection were also reviewed as part of this monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

The monitoring visit identified that, despite some progress being made with the supervision of care staff, the provider has not taken sufficient steps to fully meet the shortfalls in relation to the professional support and direction provided to the home’s manager.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, the manager has ensured that all staff receive supervision. This is providing staff with the opportunity to receive the guidance and support to understand how to meet young people’s needs. However, the manager, who is new in post, has yet to receive any formal supervision. Furthermore, the registered provider has not identified anyone with the necessary knowledge and experience to undertake the supervisory role. This means that the manager does not receive the leadership and direction that he needs. This impacts on his capacity to improve the quality of service provided to young people.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has undertaken a quality of service review to understand the impact of care provided to young people. However, this review did not use input from young people or relevant stakeholders. This was a missed opportunity for the manager to Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 2 develop a comprehensive understanding of what is working well and what could be improved. Furthermore, the manager has not used the learning from this review to develop a plan to improve the quality of care that young people receive.

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This monitoring visit

Over the last six weeks, agency staff have continued to work regular shifts because of staff shortages. The extent to which non-permanent staff have been needed is not fully understood. This is because staff rotas are inaccurate and the manager does not effectively monitor when agency staff have worked in the home. Positively, permanent staff have been recruited and are due to commence in post soon. This will provide young people with greater consistency and will support them to develop their relationships with staff.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, the manager has taken steps to review the skills and experience of staff. The audit identified widespread deficits in staff’s knowledge and training. Positively, the manager has commissioned new training for all staff. Key areas of training, such as safeguarding, around child sexual exploitation and going missing from care, are being prioritised for completion. However, this training has yet to commence and therefore staff have yet to benefit. Young people are looked after by staff team members who are inexperienced and have not received the training that they need to meet their needs.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, the quality of key case records, including risk assessments, has improved. This means that in most instances, staff receive better guidance on how to keep young people safe. However, quality remains variable. For example, risk management plans for one young person include conflicting timescales for when to report her missing. Staff do not always receive the direction that they need to manage known risks.

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This monitoring visit

Managers are not always robust in their challenge of partner agencies. For example, the manager has not utilised one local authority’s escalation procedures to raise concern about the safeguarding arrangements for a young person. In this instance, the manager has not been an effective advocate for the young person to ensure that her needs are being met.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has submitted an application to Ofsted to be the registered manager and is awaiting the outcome of this.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/04/2017 Full Inadequate 09/11/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 3

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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, 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

If the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, the registered person must challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; and help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2) (a) (i) (ii)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the privacy of children is appropriately protected and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home and is necessary and proportionate, is kept under review and, if necessary, revised and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a) (c) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home when full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the 18/04/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 4 matters in Schedule 2. The registered person may permit an individual to work at the home only if the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2, but enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete, full and satisfactory information has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2, the registered person considers the circumstances are exceptional and the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised

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Requirement Due date

carrying out their duties, pending receipt of the outstanding information. (Regulation 32 (1) (3) (d) (7) (a) (b) (c) (d)) *The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4) (b)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child and are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1) (a) (b)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must— maintain in the home records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2) (a) (Schedule 4)) Specifically, a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home and a record of the actual rosters worked. 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 18/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for 18/04/2018 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 5 children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review. The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the

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Requirement Due date

quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2) (a) (b) (c) (3) (4))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Care and Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 31, Merdian Business Village, Hansby Drive, Speke, Liverpool L20 4NZ

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Inspector

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1228091 7 to 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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