Children's home run by Phoenix Child Care Limited in North Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 1 SC066179 Registered provider: Phoenix Childcare Limited 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 private provider and offers care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since December 2022.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they enjoy living at this home. One child said that they feel safe, and that they can seek support from staff when they are feeling worried or upset. During the inspection, children were able to confidently express how they were feeling to staff, and they accepted the care and nurture that were offered in return.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are good making progress from their starting points. Children who have previously found it difficult to attend school are now attending regularly and achieving their individual targets. Staff have developed cooperative working relationships with school staff, which has allowed for additional support to be offered to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual healthcare needs are being well met. Staff provide the children with positive messages about their health, which supports them to seek appropriate medical advice and access health services. One child, who finds it difficult to eat meals within a group, has been provided with their own dining space. This allows them to enjoy their meals while still being able to participate in group conversations if they wish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences with therapeutic professionals and a staff team who have an understanding of therapeutic care. Children can have open conversations and accept advice from staff, as they have been supported to develop trusting relationships. This has resulted in children being more able to express their feelings in a safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a range of enjoyable activities, including going to the beach, playing in the garden, and spending time on games consoles. Staff also help children to spend positive time with their friends and family. Memory books provide children with a nice reminder and keepsake of the positive experiences they have shared with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are mindful of the impact of prolonged screentime and the negative messages that can be found on the internet on children’s development and understanding of the world. As a result, staff help children to maintain a healthy balance between time spent online and participation in other enjoyable activities. Moreover, staff seek to provide children with positive messages and guidance when children are exposed to distorted views of the world from online media.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is mostly warm and homely. Children benefit from a large lounge, where they can watch TV and DVDs. There is also a smaller snug, where children can listen to music and do arts and crafts with staff. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, in line with their interests. The office spaces in the home have been Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 4 redecorated, although they remain out of keeping with the rest of the homely environment, as they are furnished with office equipment that would not usually be found in a family home.

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

Staff help children well when they feel upset or worried. As a result, restraint is a last resort, and staff use more-positive strategies to help children to express themselves safely. The registered manager critically evaluates the use of restraint and identifies appropriate learning points to avoid the use of restraint in the future.

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

When concerns about staff practice are raised, leaders and managers respond promptly to ensure that children are kept safe. Concerns are shared with the relevant external professionals and appropriate actions are identified, including additional staff training and reflective practice to aid staffs’ development. However, when children raise concerns about staff practice, the feedback that they are provided with is not always recorded effectively. As a result, the registered manager cannot demonstrate that children are provided with resolutions that they are satisfied with.

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

Moreover, although staff have a basic understanding of the home’s safeguarding protocols, they are not all able to speak confidently about the safeguarding procedures and the role of external professionals when dealing with concerns about staff.When children go missing from the home, staff follow the agreed protocols, including looking for the child in the local area, trying to contact the child and reporting the incident to the police. When children return to staff’s care, staff are welcoming and support children to reflect on what happened and the risks that they were exposed to. Debrief sessions with children are tailored to their individual needs to support their engagement. However, it is not always clear how evaluation and learning are shared with children and staff, as debriefs are not always accurately recorded.

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

Care and support plans outline children’s individual needs and aims. Care plans provide staff with the strategies that they need to support children and help them to achieve their targets. Plans are regularly reviewed, and children’s progress is clearly highlighted.

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

When concerns about children’s use of the internet and social media are raised, the registered manager identifies appropriate actions to help children to keep safe in the future. These actions include providing a multi-agency response, updating safety plans, and reflecting with children about what happened and how they could respond in a safer way in the future. Although children can sometimes be resistant to the advice and guidance provided by staff and other professionals, they have made safer choices following these discussions.

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

Feedback from external professionals is positive. They said that staff are proactive and creative when identifying ways to support children. This has helped children to develop positive relationships and make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 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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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for improvement. They have used the home’s development plan to outline how improvements will be made. The registered manager can reflect on the improvements since the last inspection and how these changes have had a positive impact on the children who they look after.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses internal and external monitoring to evaluate the quality of care that is being provided for the children. However, some recording processes are complex and disorganised. As a result, the registered manager is not always able to identify learning opportunities to share with the staff and children. For example, analysis of fire evacuation drills has not been effective, and the additional support that children and/or staff may require to leave the building safely has not been considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings and reflective practice sessions are well attended. These forums provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on the needs of the children and the care that they are providing. Input from specialist therapeutic services is included in reflective practice sessions, which allow staff to refine their practices and respond to the emerging needs of children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training compliance is high. The registered manager identifies additional staff training needs based on the individual needs of the children. However, not all of these training opportunities have been provided for staff yet.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from staff is positive. They said that they enjoy working at this home and that the children are at the forefront of the decisions that are made. Staff feel supported by their colleagues and were very complimentary about the registered manager’s passion and commitment to the children at the home. One family member commented that the registered manager was ‘amazing’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 6

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should use monitoring and review systems to ensure that records are accurate and can be used to share learning with staff and children. 30 November 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture so that they can confidently follow the home’s safeguarding procedures if they are concerned about the actions of other members of staff. In particular, the registered person should support staff to understand the home’s safeguarding procedures and the role of internal and external professionals (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the Quality Standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)

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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: SC066179 7

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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

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066179 8 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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