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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 1 Registered provider: Phoenix Care & Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 2

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improvement to be good

Children say they enjoy living in the home and they have staff they can trust and who listen to them. One child said, ‘Staff listen and actually know what I need. The best thing about being here is the support.’

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improvement to be good

Staff provide consistent routine and boundaries that enable children to feel safe and cared for. Staff encourage children to develop positive relationships with their peers in the home. Staff promote positive relationships between children and their friends and families, who visit them at home. This promotes a sense of belonging and stability in the home.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff sensitively manage children’s moves into the home. The manager assesses children’s needs before they move in. However, children do not have all relevant local authority plans in place before moving in. Some children’s plans are not up to date or relevant to their needs and vulnerabilities. This does not allow for effective planning to meet children’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

All children attend education. The manager and staff support children to attend education settings, in line with their individual needs, where they are making progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including having a balanced diet and regular exercise. Children enjoy a variety of activities and clubs, including trampolining and horse riding. Children’s health needs are met, and staff support children to attend routine and specialist health appointments, such as ongoing therapy. However, children’s health plans do not include all their individual health needs, for staff to have a clear understanding of these needs and the actions necessary to continually meet these needs.

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improvement to be good

The home is large, spacious and decorated to a high standard. Children have personalised their bedrooms and have input into the way the home is decorated. There is plenty of space for children to play and relax, both in the home and outside.

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improvement to be good

Children told the inspector that they feel safe in the home and with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out direct work with children and use resources to help children understand risks and develop strategies to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of individual children. However, written risk assessments do not consider all known risks and do not provide staff with clear Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 3 guidance and strategies to follow in practice to ensure a consistent approach to protecting children. Records do not consistently include all actions that staff take when there are incidents that could place children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

There has been a reduction in missing-from-home incidents for one child. The child told the inspector that the manager helps her understand the risks of going missing. She said that this has helped her to keep safe when she is out in the community.

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improvement to be good

Children’s missing-from-home plans do not include clear actions for staff to take to ensure that children return home safely. Children who go missing do not receive an adequate response from staff to reduce their risk of harm. The manager does not ensure that staff have clear strategies to follow when children go missing. As a result, there have been significant periods of time when staff have not taken sufficient action to try and find children when they are missing.

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improvement to be good

Children receive praise and rewards to encourage positive choices and behaviour. Consequences are used appropriately and help children to understand the impact of their behaviour. The use of restraint by staff is proportionate and necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and the manager complete recruitment checks before employing staff. However, the manager has not made reasonable attempts to seek references from previous employers when staff have worked with children.

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good

The home is led by a manager who has been registered since the home opened in April 2023. The manager is currently completing her level 5 management qualification. A deputy manager supports the registered manager.

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good

The manager has created a warm, homely environment for the children and staff team. Children say they trust the managers and feel happy at home. Staff say they enjoy coming to work. The managers provide staff with regular supervision and team meetings. This gives them opportunities to discuss children’s needs and any areas for development.

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good

The manager knows the children well and has high aspirations for them. She advocates for children and communicates well with external professionals to ensure that information is shared in a timely way. However, several documents, including care plans and health and education documents, have not been provided by the local authority. This means that the manager and staff do not have the most up-to- date information in respect of the child. This limits the manager’s ability to continue to plan effectively for the child.

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good

The manager has started to identify strengths and areas for improvement in the home. However, not all shortfalls are identified, and improvements are not fully embedded in practice. Management oversight of staff practice and record-keeping is Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 4 not robust. Records do not provide clear, consistent or sometimes accurate information regarding children.

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good

The manager ensures that external monitoring takes place each month. However, the reports lack information and evaluation and do not routinely include feedback from parents or professionals. This limits the manager and the regulator’s oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 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

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

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 whenever 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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff take effective action to safeguard children when they are missing from the home. The registered person must ensure that staff are aware of policies and procedures and that staff follow these to ensure the safety of children. 2 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 6 The registered person must ensure that risk management plans are accurate, and that staff are aware of the identified risks and the strategies to manage them.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they receive copies of relevant plans for children in their care, including local authority care plans, placement plans, health and education plans, to ensure appropriate care planning for children in the home. The registered person must ensure that children’s plans reflect their needs and that the home is able to meet the needs of those children moving into the home. 2 November 2023

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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

promotes their welfare. 2 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are effective monitoring systems in place so there is oversight of all aspects of the day-to-day running of the home.

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if— 2 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 8 the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that employment checks include verification, so far as reasonably practicable, of all positions where a person has previously worked with children or vulnerable adults and why the employment ended.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person appointed to complete regulation 44 visits has the skills and understanding necessary to assess all relevant information, form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care and make recommendations for the registered provider to improve the quality of care. The registered person should support the independent person in obtaining feedback from parents and professionals to inform their report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8) Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 9

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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: 2727794 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Care & Education Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Jenni Gadsby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2727794 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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