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

Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 1 Registered provider: Phoenix Learning and Care Holdings Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children. It is operated by a private company that has several other homes in the same area.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 December 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/05/2018 Full Good 22/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Most of the young people have lived in this children’s home for over two years. This is the longest period of stability that these young people have experienced. This period of stability has directly led to consistently improved outcomes. The young people spoke about how happy they are in the home, how they are kept safe and how they feel ‘loved’ by all the staff. Overwhelmingly, young people spoke of how the staff team helps them to overcome worries and provides support to stop them from engaging in behaviours that would place them at risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The stability provided by the registered manager and the staff team is excellent. As a result, the young people receive highly individualised, tailored care from a staff team that knows them extremely well. Professionals spoke of the ‘steadying influence over the years’ provided by the staff team and the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The quality of the relationships that the care team forms with young people is excellent; the approach is worthy of wider dissemination. The warmth of the relationships is evident. The staff team values young people and very much cares about them. Caring gestures are included routinely in the care that the young people experience. For example, most recently one young person has been supported to read their life story book. A professional said they were ‘impressed’ by the staff’s knowledge of the young person and how this was instrumental in the crafting of the book.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Records kept are of an excellent quality and evidence well-sustained improvements in all the young people’s education, emotional well-being and behaviours. For example, all young people significantly improve their education outcomes because they are encouraged and supported to regularly attend school and college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff team supports young people to devise their individual placement plans. These plans describe the young people with warmth. The young person’s identity, the purpose of their moving into the home and what they wish to achieve are all captured exceptionally well in care plans.

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

The registered manager and staff gather a wealth of information about young people before they move into the home. They thoroughly analyse how the needs of young people can be met and carefully consider how well matched their needs are to those of other young people already living in the home. Placement plans and risk assessments are comprehensive due to this careful planning, and young people are fully involved in the process. This ensures a smooth transition for young people moving in, and that other young people already living in the home do not experience disruption. Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 4 The staff team meets young people’s emotional health needs well. All staff have training in responding to the needs of young people with mental health issues, learning difficulties and associated behaviours. Gradually, young people are assisted to find alternative strategies that will help them and, as a result, the frequency of self-harming

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

and aggression reduces and then the behaviours stop. The registered manager ensures that young people have access to the specialist services that they need to support them to achieve positive mental health.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted well, staff do not use physical intervention to manage behaviours and the young people do not go missing. Scrutiny and analysis of all records by the registered manager and designated safeguarding lead are of a very high standard. Their analysis is used to inform up-to-date risk assessments, including triggers and trends that help staff to effectively understand the young people’s needs and to find alternative ways of supporting them.

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

Safeguarding of young people remains central to the home’s ethos. The registered manager knows when to escalate concerns. There are several examples of how swift action has prevented young people from being at risk from their own behaviours. For example, a collaborative and common-sense approach by the manager, staff and other professionals resulted in one young person being helped to safely navigate their way through a new relationship.

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

The staff encourage young people’s development by balancing their interventions between keeping them safe and recognising that young people need to take measured risks to develop appropriate skills. Throughout the inspection, the young people shared that they have learned to understand the risks and possible consequences of their behaviours.

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

Clinical supervision regularly takes place to ensure that all staff remain up to date with research developments. Staff spoke positively of how regular one-to-one sessions with qualified therapists support their learning and enable them to critically reflect on their practice and make continuous improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides consistent and strong leadership. He and most of the staff have been in post since the home opened in 2017. They provide continuity and stability to the young people who have similarly lived in the home since it opened. They complement each other well, and young people said that they are a family.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Continuous professional development is central to staff’s practice. The staff make excellent use of published research in attachment and permanency. As a result, the young people make sustained progress in their overall development. The manager and key staff share their learning beyond the home. For example, a tool that tracks the progress of young people has been instrumental in determining how to better individualise young people’s targets. Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 5 The registered manager and staff regularly seek the views of the young people about their care and the operation of the home. Young people told the inspector that they know that their views are important and that they feel listened to by all staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Collaborative work takes place between the staff team and the young people. For example, young people have helped towards the improvement in the recruitment, induction and profiling of new staff. This has had a positive impact on the relationships between the young people and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has highly effective monitoring systems to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Young people are fully involved in future plans for the home and have helped to devise the development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff aspire for the young people. They provide positive role models in terms of realistic ambitions, goals and achievements. They are champions for the young people in their care. They focus on the young people’s strengths and potential, which builds trusting, kind and caring relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The training package for staff is tailored to the needs of the young people. Training is effective in ensuring that the team delivers high-quality care. All training is up to date.

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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: 1256771 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Learning and Care Holdings Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Phoenix Learning and Care Ltd, Rolle Quay, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1JE

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Inspector

Linda Bond, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256771 7 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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