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

Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 1 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a provider of education and social care for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned from the post on 4 May 2021.

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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 inspected this home in March 2020. 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

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: 2538055 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 3

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improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection in March 2020, two children who moved into the home have since left. Despite the efforts by staff to support these two children, both children presented with behaviours that challenged the staff. Incidents occurred that resulted in damage to the property, some staff being injured, the staff requiring the support of the police to manager some behaviours and the children going missing. Leaders and managers acknowledged that these children were not a good match, and one child’s placement was ended.

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improvement to be good

There is one child currently living in the home. The child moved from another of the provider’s children’s homes. To ensure that the child felt supported, some staff moved alongside her to the home. The staff have been flexible and creative to make sure that the child has been at the centre of her transition plans. This has ensured that the child has received consistent care and support from staff who know her well. However, there have been several staff changes, and these have had an impact on the child’s ability to build trusting relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff are provided with regular training and support. Nevertheless, the inspectors found that some of the support plans did not provide staff with sufficient strategies to support the child when she is upset or placing herself at risk of self-harm. As a result, some staff are challenged by the behaviours of the child living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The child is not currently receiving any formal education. Staff work hard to support the child to complete educational workbooks, and they involve her in educational trips. However, despite attempts by the manager to escalate the issue, the inspectors found unnecessary drift and delay, and no plan to support the child to return to a learning environment. As a result, the child’s education outcomes are being affected.

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improvement to be good

Staff discuss a range of topics with the child to encourage healthy development and growing independence. The child has good access to healthcare professionals, and the staff have had additional training to enable them to respond to the child’s specific health needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers undertake a range of training courses in safeguarding matters. Online courses are provided while staff wait for facilitated face-to-face courses. This ensures that staff have some knowledge of safeguarding practice, and that there are clear protocols in place to support the staff if they have to report a concern. Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 4 Inspectors found that not all of the child’s plans are sufficiently clear, and some risks are not clearly identified. For example, the physical intervention risk assessment failed to reference the potential risk of the child having a seizure if being held. This means that staff are not always provided with the strategies for managing behaviours so that they can respond in a consistent way to challenging behaviours. Some staff told the inspectors that they do not always feel confident. The inspectors found that an incident of self-harm was not followed up appropriately.

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improvement to be good

The child who currently lives in the home rarely goes missing. On the occasions that she has left the home, the staff have worked hard to not involve the police. However, the inspectors found that there was no clear strategy to support the child in the event of police involvement. As a result, when the police have been involved, they have not responded in a way that takes into consideration the child’s level of understanding.

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good

Since the previous inspection in March 2020, the registered manager has resigned and there have been two further changes in the management of the home. The current manager is qualified and plans to apply to Ofsted for registration. She is passionate about the home, and staff said that they feel supported and positive about the future.

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good

The repeated changes of registered manager have been challenging for the staff. An internal audit completed by the manager, the responsible individual and the group quality manager identified many actions that require improvement, including how the staff are to be supported. Despite an area of concern being raised during the inspection by the Responsible Individual in respect of staff not having completed supervision records, this remains an outstanding action. During this inspection, the quality of supervision was not able to be verified

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good

The inspectors found that there is limited management oversight of some of the records, and the current recording system is not wholly purposeful. This means that staff are not always provided with clear guidance on how to manage behaviours and reduce risk effectively.

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good

The home has been staffed by a mix of staff from this home and other homes. The manager is aware of the need to ensure that there is a permanent staff team, and a recent recruitment drive has already proved positive.

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good

Leaders and managers have an action plan to address the shortfalls they and the inspectors have identified. Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of 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

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Requirement Due date

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)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to leaders and managers ensuring that there is no delay or drift in identifying a suitable educational placement for the child. When a child is not in receipt of formal education, leaders and managers must ensure that there is an informed and structured package of home education. 17 December

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— 17 December Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 6 mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to leaders and managers ensuring that staff are provided with clear direction and strategies to help a child manage their feelings and behaviours better.

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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

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; 17 December Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 7 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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(ii)(h))

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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: 2538055 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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Inspectors

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2538055 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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