Children's home run by Phoenix Children’s Homes Limited in North Devon

Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 1 SC368137 Registered provider: Phoenix Child Care 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 registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider of education and social care.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: On 25 June 2019, a monitoring visit took place to review the progress made following the previous inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2019 Full Inadequate 06/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 01/11/2018 Full Good 25/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation (6)(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(ix)) In particular:  When agreeing the placement plan with the local authority social worker, ensure that the arrangements for delegation of authority are clear so that the day-to-day decision-making is not unnecessarily deferred to the social worker. 02/09/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 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; understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such 30/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 4 barriers; help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of

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Requirement Due date

compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x)) In particular:  Ensure that communication with educational professionals is effective and that the approach to support the child at home and during education is co- ordinated and consistent.  Escalate any gaps in educational provision to the relevant local authority personnel to ensure that the child’s educational needs are met. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the

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Requirement Due date

registered person to— ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(b)(a)(2)(e)(g)(ii)(h)) In particular:  Record all complaints and concerns raised collectively so that outcomes can inform improvement of the home. Additionally, demonstrate that the child is clear about the 18/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 5 outcome of any concerns that they raise.  Ensure that the risk management plan includes the necessary information in relation to physical intervention to give staff adequate guidance, and that the child’s views are considered and documented in the plan after

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Requirement Due date

physical intervention has taken place.  When safeguarding allegations are dealt with, ensure that any action taken is recorded and carried out fully in line with safeguarding procedures.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child in this home has recently moved in and started to make positive relationships with the manager and staff. The caring staff team has successfully helped the child settle in and feel at home. Given the difficult circumstances that the child has come from, this is already an encouraging indicator of progress. Staff members communicate with the child carefully, using trauma-informed responses, so that she feels less anxious and defensive. As a result of this approach, although incidents happen, they have not been at the frequency and severity that had been predicted. Planning a redesign of her bedroom has helped the child to feel at ease and to have some personal investment in her new home. Staff are clear about what outcomes are needed to be achieved for the child and have started to gently approach these objectives at the child’s pace. The manager and staff help the child to express her feelings and develop trust. When she has raised concerns,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the manager has listened and responded. There is currently a shortage of staff in the team. Staff have worked extra hours to compensate so that the shortage impacts less on the child. The manager is in the process of recruiting new team members. The manager liaises regularly with the social worker who is kept informed of all developments, but communication could be more effective and everyday decision- making agreed at an earlier stage. On some occasions, the manager has deferred Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 6 decisions to the social worker that the manager herself could make, for example allowing a friend to stay overnight. This meant that the child had to wait for an outcome. The extra layer of decision-making slows down care planning, makes the child feel different and potentially undermines the team’s authority in looking after the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage the child’s behaviour well. They encourage the importance of routines and healthy eating, identify areas of strength and promote confidence so that the child can achieve the outcomes in her care plan. Staff are trained and supervised to respond to situations so that the likelihood of incidents happening is reduced, which in turn helps the child to have a safer and more positive experience. The child has started to confide in staff. This building of relationships increases help and protection to the child in relation to past negative experiences and outside influences, such as social media. Staff are trained in managing in keeping children safe online. Physical intervention has been used on one occasion in order to keep the child safe. The child’s views about how she prefers physical intervention to take place are known and documented. However, the manager’s debrief with the staff member after physical

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improvement to be good

intervention took place did not take these views into consideration during the reflection, and the risk management plan to guide staff is not updated accordingly. If allegations or concerns are raised, these are taken seriously and the relevant people are notified. The management response, in relation to documentation and action taken, has not been as precise or as thorough as safeguarding procedures require, but the child’s safety has been assured.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The current manager has been in post since May 2019. She has made an application to register with Ofsted and an interview date is planned for the near future. The manager has a good relationship with the child and has made positive changes to the home in this time. The team feels well supported and supervised by her. The manager will be supporting the organisation at a wider level in the future, but in the meantime she is putting in place a transition plan to limit the impact of management change on the child. The manager continues to make good progress with the development plan, following areas for change identified at the previous full inspection. Two of the requirements from the previous inspection are not yet met, and there are some management tasks that need further work. Complaints and concerns are not collated centrally so that the manager can have a clear overview of practice, and the outcome of concerns raised is

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

not fully communicated to the child when they highlight a concern. The quality of recording has improved, but documentation of an incident still did not have the necessary clarity to understand exactly what happened for the child and what intervention was used. While helping the child to receive the best and most suitable education suitable is not without its challenges, communication with educational professionals has not enabled Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 7 the home’s staff team and education provider to be coordinated in their efforts to support the child consistently. The lack of suitable education in relation to distance travelled and the effectiveness of the education plan have not been escalated by the manager to senior professionals. The home is well decorated and welcoming, making it an environment which is comfortable and relaxed for the child.

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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: SC368137 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Sarah Canto, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC368137 9 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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