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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 1 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 is operated by a private provider of social care. It is registered to provide care for up to two children. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since May 2022. A new manager is in post and has not yet applied to register.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 3

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inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress are not positive. Children have not received care that fully promotes their welfare. While children’s needs are considered before they move in, relationships are not managed effectively when they live together, and incidents between children have occurred.

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inadequate

Managers do not always challenge children’s placing authorities at the start of care arrangements when they are concerned about care planning. This has contributed to protective measures relating to children’s internet use and time spent away from the home not being implemented at the earliest opportunity.

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inadequate

Two children have moved in and out of the home due to their needs not being met. One child, who lived in the home for over two years, moved on from the home during the inspection. Strategies used to support the child to develop healthy outcomes have not been effective. Their personal hygiene has deteriorated, their diet is poor and behaviour linked to their emotional needs that affects the quality of their daily life has not improved.

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inadequate

While the child attends an education provision regularly, reports describe incidents in the home negatively impacting on their engagement in learning. They have limited opportunities to interact with peers, and they have not developed friendships. The time the child spends with wider family members has increased but support to improve relationships between the child and immediate family members has not progressed.

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inadequate

Staff have created memory books for the child. They include photos and comments to help the child remember positive activities and events that they have enjoyed with staff members. This will support their life story following care arrangements ending.

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

Managers and staff have failed to implement safeguarding measures to safeguard one child online. Inconsistent boundaries relating to the child’s internet use have increased their risk of exploitation and radicalisation. Senior managers have taken action to increase the child’s safety and have implemented measures to monitor the child’s activities online. However, further work is needed to help the child learn how to keep themselves safe online and to develop an understanding of harmful relationships.

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

Staff complete a range of training to understand how to care for children safely. However, managers have not provided staff with clear guidance and support that are needed to improve responses at time of conflict. Records demonstrate that Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 4 inconsistent approaches are used and have not helped children to manage their emotions and behaviours effectively.

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

During incidents, restraint has been used to prevent harm. However, these measures are often ineffective at preventing injury to staff members and serious damage to property. Following incidents, damage in the home is repaired promptly, and some restrictions to prevent harm are removed that help the child to manage the impact of incidents.

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

Managers have failed to review all serious incidents and restraint, and the child’s views have not been sought. Senior managers have subsequently reviewed records, and a no-restraint policy was implemented before the child moved on from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has not had a registered manager since May 2022. Managers who have worked in the home have consistently failed to apply to register with Ofsted to enable the regulator to determine if they are suitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children have not been provided with consistent care because of staff shortages. Agency staff no longer provide care. A mix of permanent staff and staff from the organisation’s other homes deliver care in the home. Comprehensive information about the child is not always provided to non-permanent staff before they care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When concerns about practice are identified, senior managers take action in response. However, concerns about practice are not always raised promptly with senior managers. Senior managers told the inspector that they intend to review the home’s whistle-blowing procedures to promote safe practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to provide supervision to staff team members to ensure that they have the experience, qualification and skills to meet the needs of each child. New staff members have not received supervision since starting in the home, and established staff members are not receiving regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A recruitment drive is in place to increase staff sufficiency and continuity of care. A new manager has been recruited successfully and has started in the home. They were not present for the inspection due to completing training as part of their induction process. They talked with the inspector about their understanding of current difficulties and actions needed to address shortfalls identified in the leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Following this inspection, a compliance notice was issued relating to the leadership and management of the home. Ofsted will continue to monitor the home closely. Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 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, The 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; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that concerns about children’s care planning are resolved at the earliest opportunity to ensure effectively planned care. 3 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that;

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure — 3 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 6 that staff help each child to —

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv))

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action when there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; 17 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 7 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

staff understand the risks posed to children by the internet and implement care approaches to keep children safe online;

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Requirement Due date

staff have the skills to manage children’s behaviour to prevent them from harming each other when they live together;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness of behaviour management plans is reviewed to reduce restraint measures used in the home.

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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;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered provider ensuring that the manager has the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child, through meeting the requirements specified in regulation 28 relating to fitness of manager for registration as required by section 11 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered provider must ensure that they—

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Requirement Due date

review current systems to understand the impact of the quality of care and take action to address the shortfalls; 17 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 8 regularly review the effectiveness of all aspects of the operation of the home to help them ensure that the quality of care provided to children is regularly reviewed. Any shortfalls they identify through their monitoring systems must be addressed promptly.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2610709 9

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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

Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2610709 10 regulates and inspects 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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