Children's Home run by Phoenix Care & Education Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 1 Registered provider: Phoenix Care & Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a small privately owned company which operates two children’s homes. This home is registered to provide care for up to four children between the ages of eight and 17. Children are likely to have emotional and behavioural needs due to trauma that they may have experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been the manager of this home since its registration in September 2021. This is the home’s first full inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children living at the home who have all moved in since it opened.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is generally clean and tidy, however, the environment lacks personalisation and homely touches. For example, there are no decorations or photos on walls to suggest it is the children’s home. There is also some damage which has not been promptly repaired. For example, there is significant damage to a garden fence which borders land where animals are. The toilet seat in a child’s bathroom was also broken, which was pointed out by the inspector during the inspection but was not addressed by leaders. This does not show children that they are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have moved into the home in a planned way. The registered manager ensures she gathers clear information and puts measures in place to manage risks before children move in, to ensure they can safely live with one another. This enables children to benefit from well-planned and safe care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive consistent care from a stable staff team. This enables children to develop trusted relationships with the people who care for them. Staff know the children well and understand their needs. As a result, staff provide individualised care that enables children to make progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in ensuring that the children’s health needs are met. This includes actively encouraging one child to consider their sexual health through direct work in the home, and, for another child, ensuring timely referral to specialist services when the need arises. This has supported children to make good progress in meeting their health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the impact of the children’s disrupted education history and are sensitive to this. Staff seek out education which meets children’s needs as soon as they arrive at the home and offer home tutoring to children in the interim. However, the registered manager does not always challenge other professionals when she feels there are delays which are impacting on children’s prompt access to education. This is a missed opportunity to ensure children reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take pride in the progress that children have made since coming to live in the home. However, at times, sanctions are inappropriately used, instead of supporting children to learn better ways of managing their own behaviour in a nurturing way. This is a missed opportunity to celebrate children’s progress and is not supportive of their emotional needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 4

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

Risk assessments are sufficiently detailed and are updated to reflect new or emerging risks. This ensures that staff are well equipped with strategies to keep the child safe.

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

Staff implement a consistent plan of behaviour support. This ensures that children understand what is expected of them. A focus on de-escalation means that incidents in the home are reducing. Specifically, there have not been any incidents when staff have been required to physically intervene for several months and numbers of restraints are very low.

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

Staff help children to keep themselves safe. One child’s social worker informed the inspector that because of the direct work by the home in this area and the consistent care, a child is no longer at risk of exploitation. This supports children to make positive progress.

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

Staff understand the risks if children go missing from home, and they are quick to respond in these situations. This includes spending time looking for the child in the community and mapping out their social network. Good information-sharing with the police helps to ensure the children are returned home safely. However, return home interviews are not shared with the home to help them understand children’s risks more effectively, and return home interviews are not always completed in a timely way. The registered manager does not challenge this, which presents a missed opportunity to understand children’s needs better.

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

When there are other safeguarding incidents with children, the registered manager refers information to other agencies, such as the local authority designated officer. However, she does not always promptly share information with children’s local authorities or with Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted and the children’s placing authorities from having full oversight of children’s care as a quality assurance mechanism.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is motivated, resilient and ambitious for the future of the home. She has worked hard to set up the home and induct the large number of new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff state that they feel empowered and confident in their roles and responsibilities. They feel able to approach the registered manager with any concerns they may have, and they receive regular supervisions which are child-focused. The registered manager has introduced ‘topics of the month’ in supervision to help staff develop an understanding of the regulations. This creates a supportive work environment that promotes reflective practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager clearly monitors children’s care each month, and understands the care given to children. When staff responses have indicated a lack of knowledge, she has addressed this immediately and held reflective debriefs and Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 5 further enhanced staff guidance to help ensure children receive good care. However, some minor shortfalls have not been identified by the manager’s monitoring systems. These include shortfalls in the location risk assessment and in the statement of purpose, which does not provide information regarding the home’s approach to restraint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received training in most of the essential areas, however, there are shortfalls in staff training in some areas of need for children. For example, staff have not had any attachment or trauma training, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder training, or training to help them understand children’s mental health needs. This means that children are not always being cared for by staff who are equipped to respond in a skilled way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures she reviews and evaluates all significant incidents with children as a quality assurance mechanism. However, where there are gaps in the independent visitor reports these have not been raised with the visitor to improve this as a tool to help ensure children receive good care. This is a missed opportunity to use all resources available to improve the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always ensure that staff are safely recruited. For example, reasons for one staff member leaving previous roles with children or vulnerable adults have not been verified. This prevents the manager from assuring herself that staff members are suitable to work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 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

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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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. (Regulations 5(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that when safeguarding incidents happen with children, their local authorities are informed promptly. When there are delays from other professionals in meeting children’s health or educational needs, or delays in return home interviews being carried out for children, this should be challenged by the registered manager. 4 May 2022

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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—

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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

that staff— 4 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 7 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 socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that children are supported to manage their behaviour effectively through nurturing and restorative approaches, as opposed to punitive sanctions being issued in the first instance. The registered person should ensure that when sanctions are given to children, these do not prevent them from seeing family and friends unless there is a clear safeguarding rationale for this. 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that any repairs needed or hazards in the home environment are dealt with promptly. 4 May 2022

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 4 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 8 This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff have the training needed to understand the needs and behaviours of the children living in the home. The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose explains the home’s approach to restraint, the method used and how staff are trained in this and that their competency is assessed and reviewed. 4 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person;

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that when there are gaps in the independent visitor’s reporting or assessment of information, this is challenged so that they are satisfied that the independent visitor is offering adequate oversight of the home’s care. 4 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 4 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 9 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that, as part of recruitment checks, verification is sought of reasons for leaving all previous employment where a staff member has worked with children or vulnerable adults .

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing and supportive environment that is homely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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 for children’s home: 2651807 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Care & Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Phoenix Care & Education Limited, 22-24 Balfour Road, Bootle L20 4NZ

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Inspector

Fiona Roche, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2651807 11 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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