Children's home run by Physis Quantum Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 1 Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A privately owned limited company runs the home. It offers care for up to four children. The home specialises in caring for children who have been, or are, at high risk of child sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been registered with Ofsted since 9 July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably experienced manager recently started in the post. He is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel happy and settled in their home. They build strong and trusting relationships with staff. Staff provide children with nurturing and individualised care. Children who are new to the home settle quickly. They learn to trust staff and feel safe. A child told the inspector, ‘The staff made me feel welcome and that I belonged. The home feels like my safe space.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend the provider’s school. Their attendance rates are excellent and they make strong academic and social progress. One child, a new arrival to the home, has recently started attending the school. This is a significant development given that prior to living in the home she had not attended education for two years. Staff and teachers work well together to provide children with consistent care. For example, staff and teachers meet each term to review children’s progress and set joint targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities and enjoyable experiences. Staff support children to develop their hobbies and interests. For example, one child is an exceptionally talented singer. She attends singing lessons and is completing a music examination. Another child enjoys horse riding and trips to the cinema. These enjoyable experiences create a legacy of positive memories for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A team of therapists are employed to work in the home. They work closely with staff to ensure that they understand children’s needs and provide appropriate and effective care. For example, therapists and staff regularly review children’s progress and set targets in line with their needs. This specialist oversight means that children receive good-quality and well-informed care. However, during the inspection, some staff were unable to articulate a clear understanding of the home’s model of care and the theory underpinning their practice. The impact of this shortfall is reduced as staff practice is overseen by a therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to participate in day-to-day routines and more complex aspects of their care. For example, children take part in regular house meetings to make decisions about activities, decorating the home, and choosing menus. The manager recently adapted the format of these meetings to make them more child friendly. In addition, staff support children to write and review their internal plans. This provides children with a sense of ownership and responsibility for their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that transition arrangements in to and out of the home are well organised and smooth. One child has recently moved out of the home. Staff travelled a considerable distance to visit the child and help her to settle in to her new home. Another child has recently arrived at the home. Staff took the time to get to know this child. For example, they visited the child in her previous home. The child visited her new home to meet staff and enjoy activities. Staff worked closely with the child’s social worker to identify her needs. Staff provided the child with high Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 4 levels of nurture and support. For example, they organised ‘pamper’ evenings and spent time styling the child’s hair. This child-centred approach helped her to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children spend time with those who are important to them. They work hard to develop positive relationships with family members. When appropriate, staff advocate on children’s behalf so they can spend safe and enjoyable time with their family and friends. This provides children with a positive sense of identity.

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

Children’s risks are known and well captured in detailed and up-to-date risk assessments. Children say that they feel safe, and their behaviours reflect this. For example, one child frequently went missing prior to her admission to the home. The child has settled and her missing incidents have significantly reduced. Staff practice strikes a good balance between embedding clear and consistent boundaries and providing children with nurturing care.

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

The home is situated in a rural location close to neighbouring farmland. This presents children with a number of risks, particularly when they go missing. Overall, staff provide a robust response when children go missing. They are diligent in searching for children, and work alongside family members, social workers, and the police to support children to return home. However, on one occasion, staff missed opportunities to locate a child when she went missing for a prolonged period of time. For example, staff searches were sporadic and the manager in post at the time of the incident did not work with the child’s social worker to review the safety plan in a timely manner.

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

Staff support children to understand how their behaviours may be harmful to themselves and others. Individual, targeted one-to-one support helps children to understand and learn from their risk-taking behaviour. Staff work alongside children to create joint safety plans. For example, children create their own behaviour support plans, mobile phone agreements, and online safety plans. This inclusive approach supports children to understand risk and take ownership of it.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks. For example, children spend time away from the home with friends in the local community. Staff act as any good parent would by getting to know the child’s friends and family. Staff provide children with appropriate support and supervision to help them develop safe and healthy friendships.

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

Staff provide children with clear, consistent boundaries and routine. They reward children for positive behaviour. The manager has introduced two separate reward systems. Children thrive on this approach and enjoy meeting their targets and celebrating successes. This positive ethos helps children to reduce their levels of challenging incidents. Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 5 Children can seek support from trusted members of staff if they need to discuss concerns or worries. This helps children to feel secure. In addition, children know how to complain, and their concerns are taken seriously by staff. This open and transparent approach helps children to feel safe. A child told the inspector, ‘My carers are all lovely, I can talk to any of them. I feel much happier since living here, I feel safe.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Two managers have left the home during this inspection period. This instability impacted upon staff morale for a brief period of time. Senior leaders recognised these concerns and took timely action to address them. For example, the new manager is now in post. He has worked hard to improve staff morale and provide children with better continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the home. He is ambitious and passionate about the children in his care. The manager is keen to develop his staff team. Since starting at the home, there have been significant improvements in the different systems that support children’s care. Staff feel reinvigorated by the manager’s inspirational and child-centred approach. A staff member told the inspector, ‘I’m glad he [the manager] has arrived. I like his style. He has a clear vision. He is easy to talk to. It feels calmer and friendlier. I love coming to the home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An established and diverse staff team means that children have access to staff who have a range of expertise. Staff are committed to children and genuinely care about them. They demonstrate a good knowledge of children. They provide a strong, well- thought-out and consistent approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager continues to improve the quality of monitoring systems in the home. He has spent time scrutinising a range of reports completed by previous managers. This has helped the manager to identify some learning. As a result, he has put plans in place to improve staff practice. A detailed development plan includes ideas from children to improve the home further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme that equips them with relevant skills and knowledge. A recently introduced training calendar allows the manager to identify gaps in staff knowledge and plan training accordingly. In addition, the manager plans to provide staff with regular workshop training events to support them to develop their understanding of the home’s therapeutic model.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that children’s plans are comprehensive and individualised. He ensures that key documents are on file and works closely with social workers to develop a clear understanding of children’s needs. However, the inspection identified some recording shortfalls in other aspects of children’s care. For example, the quality of children’s one-to-one support is variable. This means that, on occasions, children receive inconsistent support. Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 6 Overall, staff receive regular supervision. However, the inspection identified some shortfalls in the quality of these supervision sessions. This is, in part, due to the different styles adapted by the two previous managers. The current manager acknowledges that staff received inconsistent supervision support and plans to address this shortfall. Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 7

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each individual child’s risk assessment, and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to the risks of children going missing from care. 13 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive consistent and good- quality supervision. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff provide children with good-quality and consistent one-to-one support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff develop an appropriate understanding of the home’s therapeutic model and how this influences their practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 8

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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: 2585407 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Dpc, 55 Stone House Road Business Park, Stone Road, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6SR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Laurence O’Dwyer

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2585407 10 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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