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

Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 1 SC458811 Registered provider: Phoenix Learning And Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider of education and social care for children and young people. Care and accommodation is provided for up to two young people who are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 requires improvement

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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: 20 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2017 Full Good 16/06/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/10/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 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

Ensure that by the relevant date, the registered manager has attained the level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England); or a qualification which the registered provider considers to be the equivalent to the level 5 Diploma. (Regulation 28 (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 31/12/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when the medication is refused. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people living at the home make very good progress from their starting points. The young people are settled and happy because of the individualised and nurturing care provided to them by the manager and the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff know the young people very well and are very well informed about their care needs and what progress they are making. They are clear about what the aims and objectives for the young person are while they are living at the home. The staff support the young people effectively to maintain relationships with their families through supporting visits and helping the young people to remember their family members’ birthdays and celebrate special occasions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people now have excellent attendance at school. Before they came to live at the home they refused to attend. One young person has recently been awarded the star pupil award at their school. The manager and the staff advocate strongly for the young people if there are any issues at school. They support the young people by taking them Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 4 to school every day and maintaining clear and consistent communication with teachers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers a child-friendly environment. One young person is proud of their vegetable garden, where they have planted and grown a variety of vegetables. The staff encourage the young people to positively channel their energies. This is achieved by involving the young people in projects, such as the vegetable garden, and through a number of activities, such as horse-riding, biking and visits to the beach. The staff encourage and support the young people to gain confidence and develop their social skills, so that they are able to make friends and join youth and football clubs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and homely. Certificates of achievement that the young people have earned at school are proudly displayed. The young people are consulted by the staff about colour schemes and any changes in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The healthcare needs of the young people are fully met. Healthcare plans document their care needs and how these will be met. The staff ensure that the young people attend healthcare appointments and actively chase any overdue appointments for treatment that the young people need. Medication is generally well managed and safely administered, in line with the home’s medication procedures. On one occasion, medication was administered and the member of staff failed to complete the medication records to confirm that the young person had taken the medication. If medication records are not completed, this may lead to confusion about whether the young person has taken their medication that day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthy eating is encouraged at the home. The young people are learning to eat a balanced and nutritious diet. They are encouraged to try new food if they insist on only eating sweets and crisps when they arrive. The young people learn social skills by eating meals at a table with the staff. They are encouraged to take a full part in preparing and cooking the meal, and cleaning up after the meal.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves of young people in and out of the home are well planned and managed. Young people who have left the home value keeping in contact with the manager and the staff and still visit the home. Feedback from professionals about the home is positive. One placing social worker said: ‘I am very happy with the home, it is a nurturing environment and (my young person) sees it as home and where he wants to be. I can’t think of anything they could do better.’

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

The young people living at the home say that they feel very safe living there and are confident that the staff will keep them safe. The staff know, understand and say that they are confident in how to use the home’s safeguarding policy and procedure effectively. The staff are knowledgeable about the action they would take if there was a safeguarding incident or disclosure from a young person.

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

Risk assessment of identified risks is comprehensive and results in effective control measures being put in place for the staff to use in order to minimise risks. The staff Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 5 succeed in ensuring that young people are able to take age-appropriate risks so that they can learn, while keeping them safe. One young person is learning to spend free time outside of the home on their own. This is being gradually increased as the young person’s confidence increases and as they arrive back at the home safely at the agreed return time.

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

The young people benefit from clear rules and boundaries consistently implemented by the staff. Daily routines in the home run smoothly. The staff team is clear about its expectations of the young person. If the young person makes a mistake, the staff team helps them learn from it, rather than punishing them.

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

The young people are no longer engaging in risk-taking behaviours and there are no incidents of young people being missing from the home. The staff encourage the young people to speak to them about things that are making them angry or upset. Effective coping strategies are put in place for the young people to use if they feel angry. These strategies are developed in consultation with the company psychologist. The young people are now managing their anger in appropriate ways, such as playing their drum kit or talking their feelings through with the staff.

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

The manager and the staff team are fully trained in an accredited physical intervention technique. Incidents of the young people needing to be held have decreased since they arrived at the home. There have been no recorded incidents of physical intervention for over a year in the home, due to effective behaviour management strategies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The experienced and skilled registered manager is highly regarded and respected by the young people and the staff team. The young people and the staff benefit from his calm but authoritative style of leadership.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager is yet to complete the level 5 diploma in leadership and management in residential childcare. This is because of issues with the previous training company. He intends to complete this qualification in the next six months. This completion date is not within timescales, as required in the regulations. The regulation states that registered managers must complete this qualification within three years from their date of registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The staff team is consistent, experienced and skilled in providing nurturing care to the young people. There is no use of agency staff and the young people know who is going to be on duty in the home on any particular day. This practice give the young people a sense of security and safety, as they know which familiar and trusted member of staff will be looking after them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager and the staff team benefit from effective and regular supervision. These reflective sessions give the staff team an opportunity to discuss any concerns or training needs its members have. The programme of training is comprehensive and the staff comment that they are able to obtain any specialist training they need in order to Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 6 support the young people effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The development plan for the home documents the further improvements that will be implemented in the home in the next 12 months. Feedback from the young people, their parents and involved professionals is encouraged by a manager who is embracing changes in the home and modernising practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The manager and the staff advocate strongly for the young people and have high aspirations for them. An example of this is how the manager is currently looking to admit another young person to the vacancy in the home. He is clear that he will only consider another young person if they are an appropriate match for the existing young people. He has refused many applications for the vacant place as he did not feel they would be a suitable match and would have a negative impact on the existing young people living in the home.

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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.

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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: SC458811 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Learning And Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rolle Quay, Barnstaple EX31 1JE

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Inspector

Tina Maddison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC458811 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 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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