Children's Home run by Phoenix Children’s Homes Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 1 SC403234 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

The home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. At the time of this visit, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider of education and social care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2018 and is suitably qualified.

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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 outstanding

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2021 Full Good 17/12/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in this home is flourishing through having built trusting and secure relationships with staff. Staff know the child well and take time to listen to how they feel they can best be supported. Staff have used this understanding to protect the child, give them positive experiences and helped them achieve good progress in all aspects of their life. This has helped the child develop a sense of belonging, which has been difficult to achieve in the past.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outcomes for children are positive and important progress is made at the home. A child who recently moved out of the home successfully moved to an independent living arrangement as planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place the child at the centre of everything they do. The child said they were happy living in their home. Staff support the child to gain confidence and learn new skills, including caring for and taking responsibility for their pet. The child enjoys a varied range of activities to help them build their self-assurance. Activities include visits to a local beauty spot surfing and meeting their families and friends. Friends are welcomed into the home and often stay the night.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of the child are met. Staff support the child to attend healthcare appointments. Staff also encourage the child to independently obtain the appropriate health services they need for themselves, which they have done successfully. The in-house therapeutic team, alongside specialist community services, helps staff to support the child’s emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. They liaised effectively with school to ensure that the child receives a bespoke education package. Their attendance is high. In addition to this, work experience placements are being sought to further meet their needs.

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

The child says they feel safe living in their home. They have developed trusted relationships with staff, who they can speak to if they feel upset or anxious. The child is protected by staff, who take a positive risk approach. Effective contact with the child’s social worker allows staff to understand the balance between allowing the child to have autonomy and independence, while at the same time keeping them safe and protecting them from harm, including self-harm.

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

Behaviour is well managed, and staff are not punitive in their approach. Instead, the child is helped by staff, who set clear boundaries and discuss any incidents with them, so they can learn from their mistakes. Staff listen to the child and know exactly what they need to do to de-escalate incidents quickly when they arise. Staff then support the child to manage their feelings safely and to feel secure. When Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 4 restraint has been used to ensure the safety of a child or member of staff, this has been thoroughly examined following the event. Lessons are learned and practice is adapted to help minimise future use of restraint.

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

Staff are aware of exactly what to do when the child goes missing. The home takes appropriate steps to escalate concerns and seeks additional information to prevent this from happening again. In the two incidents when the child has gone missing, staff kept them in view at all times and ensured their prompt and safe return to the home.

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

The child is supported to develop independent living skills. Staff are sensitively supporting the child to undertake daily tasks, for example, doing their own laundry. This supports their placement plan and helps ensure they have the skills required to live independently in the future.

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

Recruitment processes are comprehensive and thorough. This helps to ensure that only suitable people are employed at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides strong leadership to his staffing team. He inspires the team by creating an infectious culture of high aspiration and positivity. Staff continually develop their skills, gain confidence in their roles, and are supported to provide good-quality care to the children. The manager uses supervision sessions and reflective practice to ensure staff knowledge is continually updated, improved and sustained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high expectations of staff. He ensures staff have the specialist knowledge required to improve the life of the child they support. The child is constantly encouraged to have a voice, contribute towards their care and share their personal feelings to help staff fully understand their needs. Staff were observed following the child’s wishes when they needed support. Through this, the child became settled and was able to take part in an activity they enjoyed later that day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are strong advocates for the child in their care and appropriately challenge external agencies to ensure the child’s needs are met. They put the needs of the child first when making decisions about other children coming to live in the home. The manager liaised effectively with the local authority to ensure that, for the time being, no other child will be placed in the home. This child-centred decision gives the child the best possible chance to succeed in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say they feel valued and have high levels of job satisfaction. They spoke with genuine pride about how they are making a difference to the life of the child. Staff express confidence in the leadership team, whose members encourage and empower them to contribute and take responsibility for the home’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Feedback from the children and professionals about the manager is very positive. The placing social worker is extremely positive about communication with the Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 5 manager and the progress their child is making. They value the home and praise the well-trained, child-centred staff team.

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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: SC403234 6

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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

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC403234 7 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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