Children's home run by Phoenix Child Care Limited in North Devon

Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 1 SC066179 Registered provider: Phoenix Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private provider of education and care.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently an acting manager in post.

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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 in January 2020 to carry out a full inspection. 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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2020

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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: SC066179 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2020 Full Good 02/10/2018 Full Good 13/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 3

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improvement to be good

The staff know the children well and show them genuine warmth and care. The inspector observed staff engaging with them in a supportive, caring and sensitive manner, and the children speak fondly of the staff. The children confirmed that they were happy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

One child has lived in the home for more than two years. This child is making progress across all areas. However, some staff are not sufficiently skilled to support one child with complex needs who moved into the home in May 2021. Despite attempts, leaders and managers have not yet been able to provide sufficient training opportunities to staff; as a result, the manager and staff have not always responded to this child in line with his needs.

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improvement to be good

On a few occasions, staff have not followed and applied the home’s therapeutic support model. As a result, one child has become upset and distressed, and staff have been challenged by the child’s subsequent behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to engage in a wide range of activities, including walking, scouts, swimming and yoga. In the main, these are well-planned activities that the children benefit from.

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improvement to be good

The children live in a home that is safe and are cared for by staff who, overall, understand how to manage risk and behaviours. However, on at least one occasion some staff have not appropriately responded to one child when he was upset. This has resulted in the child being physically restrained. Leaders and managers have completed their own audit and report that some of these interventions could have been avoided.

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improvement to be good

Staff are supported to look after children through training and a range of assessments and support plans. However, the inspector and the manager noted that some of these documents require updating to ensure that they capture the current behaviours of one child and the subsequent risks.

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improvement to be good

Consequences given to one child for inappropriate behaviours have been punitive rather than restorative. The manager had already identified this, and a plan is in place to address this issue.

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improvement to be good

On the whole, records contain the details of serious incidents and they are shared with all professionals. However, the inspector found several records were confusing and unclear. Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 4

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good

There has been no registered manager in the home since March 2021. The impact of this is that some staff say that they have not felt adequately supported or led during what has been a challenging and changeable period. A recently completed audit of the home has identified several areas that the home needs to improve and develop. These include training and supervisions of staff, and practice-related issues. Senior leaders are supporting the manager and an action plan has been produced and is being progressed.

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good

The acting manager has been in post since May 2021, and overall, she has worked hard to ensure that there is effective partnership working. That said, the inspector identified two incidents that, although shared with the local authorities, the manager had failed to consider notifying Ofsted.

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good

Generally, staff speak positively of the impact of the new permanent manager. However, some report that the team is ‘disjointed’ and that staff do not always receive consistent messages. Evidence of this was also found during the inspection, as sometimes there was a lack of direction and organisation between the staff. This influences the quality of care provided to the children, as well as having an effect on their behaviour.

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good

Records and plans are mostly well kept, and chronologies are kept for all safeguarding incidents. The manager has several mechanisms by which to review practice and the progress of the children. However, the inspector identified several entries in records that were confusing, and some of the terminology was institutional and subjective. Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 5

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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—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

that the care is delivered by a person who—

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Requirement Due date

has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(3)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to leaders and managers providing staff with training that equips them with the knowledge and skills to better support the children. 30 November

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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

promotes their welfare. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that the staff team supports the children in line with the home’s therapeutic model.

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that records are kept up to date and accurately reflect the day-to-day living experiences of the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 7

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Recommendations

 Leaders and managers must ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.38)

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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: SC066179 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Childcare Ltd

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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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Inspector

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC066179 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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