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

Inspection report children's home: SC478152 1 SC478152 Registered provider: Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to four children. The home specialises in providing time-limited accommodation for children who are at a point in their lives when they have been exposed to high levels of risk and need emergency care. The home assists the local authority to identify suitable plans for children, by working with them to assess their needs. A separate self-contained one-bedroomed annex, next to the main house, also forms part of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned from their post in May 2021. A new manager is in post and is applying to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 14 and 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted. Inspection report children's home: SC478152 2 Date of last inspection: 30 October 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC478152 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2019 Full Good 16/01/2019 Full Good 13/09/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC478152 4

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious, clean and well presented. At the time of this inspection, no children were living in the home and the bedrooms were being prepared for new children arriving, with new soft furnishings and bedding. There are plenty of books and DVDs and one large room is currently being converted into a sensory room. The annex has been repainted and the damp patch, seen at the last visit, repaired.

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improvement to be good

Detailed daily records, written directly to children, reflect warm nurturing relationships between the children and the adults who care for them. Children who have been exposed to serious risks react well to more structured days and join in walks on the beach, quad biking and, for younger children, games and imaginative play. Arrangements for children’s education varies, depending on the timing of their stay and the arrangements previously in place. Staff support children with their learning and encourage them to complete the work set for them.

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improvement to be good

Not all children move on in a planned way from this home. Local authorities do not always have suitable arrangements in place, in line with the child’s plan, when the child is ready to move on. This has led to some children disengaging prior to their move or having to move to a further temporary home before they move on to their permanent home. When a child’s next home is identified before they are ready to move, sensitive and effective arrangements help them to get to know the adults who will be caring for them and the home they will be living in before they move on.

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improvement to be good

Impact risk assessments are completed when a child moves to live in the home. In one instance, this did not fully take into account the potential risks to the children already living in the home of another child moving in. Staff were unable to prevent a significant safeguarding incident between the children despite one-to-one staffing arrangements.

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improvement to be good

Arrangements in place to support children who go missing from the home are mostly effective. Staff follow a clear protocol if children do go missing, following them, and informing the police when necessary. Children who have previously gone missing on numerous occasions reduce the number of times they leave the home without permission.

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improvement to be good

Suitable arrangements are in place to recruit staff, reducing the likelihood of unsuitable people being employed in the home.

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improvement to be good

Medication is stored safely and clear records are kept of its administration. Inspection report children's home: SC478152 5 Staff use praise and rewards to encourage good behaviour. Physical intervention is used rarely. It has only been used once since the last visit. The intervention was low level and properly recorded.

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improvement to be good

Staff spoken to could describe how they would respond to a safeguarding issue and a recent safeguarding incident was dealt with promptly and appropriately.

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good

The manager was appointed in April 2021 and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted. He is working towards his level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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good

Not all the requirements of the last inspection have been completed. Systems to review the quality of care children receive, the progress children make while living in the home and learning from events to promote continuing improvement and development are underdeveloped. However, senior leaders have recognised the negative impact of children in crisis moving into the home on children who have settled and made progress there. Consequently, in recent months, only one child at a time has been accommodated in the main house.

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good

The statement of purpose and children’s guide needed amendments to ensure they were accurate and included all the detail necessary. This was corrected during the inspection and the revised statement of purpose was submitted to Ofsted.

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good

Staff have attended a range of training, including in the home’s model of care. Written daily records reflect this approach being used with children.

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good

Supervision happens regularly and in line with the home’s policies. Records of supervision show appropriate reflection on the children’s needs, staff practice and continuing professional development. Inspection report children's home: SC478152 6

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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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, 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)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 30 September

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 30 September Inspection report children's home: SC478152 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, carefully and thoroughly consider the needs of new children and whether they can be appropriately matched with those children already 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, 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: SC478152 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Support Hub, Unit 5, Chinon Court, Lower Moor Way, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6SS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Stephen Nicholson

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Inspector

Janet Fraser, Senior Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC478152 9 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 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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