Children's Home run by Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited in Plymouth

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 1 SC458812

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Registered provider: Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for one child and is run by a private company that operates several children’s homes in the region.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home having moved in from July 2024. Another child previously lived in the home from 29 March 2022 to 7 March 2024. There was a change of manager in the home in November 2023. There were concerns about the management of the home and for the child’s care. Senior leaders asked the placing authority to find the child an alternative home and closed the home temporarily for four months from March 2024 to early July 2024. During this time, senior leaders recruited a new manager who is registered with Ofsted and retrained the staff team before moving a new child in.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2023 Full Good 13/06/2022 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 4

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improvement to be good

The child was present and seen throughout the inspection. The child could be heard laughing, chatting, and seeking hugs from staff to reassure them. Staff know the child well and were observed by the inspector to use the positive relationship and nurturing care to successfully engage the child. There are some notable positive experiences for the current child, and they are making progress overall.

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improvement to be good

The experience of the child who used to live in the home was poor. They were not adequately safeguarded by the staff at the home. Concerning practice and serious failures were identified by senior leaders prior to the inspection and action was taken.

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improvement to be good

The staff team is led well and energised to focus on providing the current child with positive experiences, with activities and trips arranged in consultation with them.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is positive. The child’s completed drawings and diamond artwork are displayed in the lounge. The child’s bedroom is cosy, with personal possessions and photos. It captures the child’s age and interests and is decorated in colours that they have chosen. The child’s wish to celebrate festivals, including Halloween, has been responded to. There are bunting and skeleton lights, and pumpkin painting activities have been completed.

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improvement to be good

The child has been supported to attend weekly swimming and youth club. Staff speak with pride of the child’s achievements. This is helping the child to develop their confidence and social skills with other children and adults outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

The child is attending a suitably identified school. The completion of the child’s education, health and care plan was delayed. This was unchallenged by the manager due to the allocation of the school. The purpose and impact of these assessments in planning were not given adequate consideration by the manager.

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improvement to be good

The staff are responsive to the child’s routine health needs and support healthy food choices. Specialist health provision is accessed, and medication is reviewed appropriately. Plans do not consistently capture this. A parent reported overall positivity about the care their child receives and their progress. However, they requested better communication about health appointments.

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improvement to be good

The child’s time with their family is encouraged and facilitated. Staff know the importance of maintaining and growing significant relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 5 Beautiful, personalised memory books created with the child capture their experiences. The child also enjoys creating funny photos for their cuddly soft toy character and making them a memory book.

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improvement to be good

Senior leaders and the responsible individual identified several failures in the care provided to a child who previously lived in the home. The subsequent investigation into allegations against a person working at the home was comprehensive. The investigation evidence notes the child was exposed to emotionally and verbally abusive care and given access to unsuitable online gaming.

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improvement to be good

A closed culture influenced inaction by staff and failure to use escalation processes, including the whistle-blowing policy. The staff at that time did not have the developed relationships and trust to escalate their concerns to the responsible individual. These factors prolonged the negative experiences for the child.

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improvement to be good

Senior leaders implemented learning from their investigation into this period and have taken time to retrain and develop the staff team.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to the current child’s needs and requests with emotional warmth, compassion, and care. The child communicates their needs verbally and when uncertain they will often ask for hugs or attention to support them away from self- injurious thoughts and behaviours. For episodes when the child finds it difficult, to verbalise their needs a safe word is used The child is learning how to recognise and express their emotions safely.

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improvement to be good

Staff use the therapeutic plan and strategies to support the child well. Overall, there is a reduction of self-injurious behaviours. However, the monitoring and oversight by the therapeutic practitioner and manager note inconsistency in the application of the strategies by staff. This is contributing to the occurrence of potentially avoidable incidents. The manager has not resolved the issue, which is not acceptable given the impact on the child.

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improvement to be good

The child has some restrictions that are appropriate for their safety given the self- injurious behaviours. The manager did not have oversight of this fully. For example, the child’s favourite mug had been locked away, but neither the child nor the manager knew why.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention has been used once, and this was appropriate to safeguard the child from harm. Staff are not confident in their ability to explain what constitutes a physical intervention. The recording is not consistently capturing the required detail to fully understand the incident and actions taken.

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good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 6 The leadership and management of the home were, for a period, ineffective. The home’s aims and objectives were not delivered, and a closed culture developed.

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good

The senior leaders, including the responsible individual, took responsive and immediate action under the disciplinary process when allegations were received. Relevant individuals and agencies were notified, including Ofsted. The home had no children for several months to ensure that the issues were fully addressed.

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good

The leaders and manager have used the formal investigation process and the disciplinary procedure effectively. Additionally, they completed a comprehensive internal review, and the actions and requirements were well formulated. The impact is improved practice at individual and group level for staff and managers.

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good

Staff feel supported and receive regular supervision, and those who are new to the organisation had an effective induction with training to equip them with the skills for the role. They understand the expectation and their obligation to report any inadequate care and the requirements under the whistle-blowing protocol.

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good

The senior leaders and the current manager recognise the impact that these experiences had and understand the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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good

The new manager models empathy, compassion and care to staff. They are committed to developing a positive culture. The managers lacked some insight and awareness of cumulative small issues, for example failure to address low-level maintenance issues and how this impacted on practice.

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good

The responsible individual and senior managers recognise the lack of experience of the manager and have planned additional support for them. The safeguarding lead will also undertake increased auditing processes to ensure effective oversight while practice is consolidated, and change is embedded.

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good

The recruitment to vacancies has been successful and is almost met, and safer recruitment practice is adhered to. Leaders and managers recognise the importance of having a full and stable staff team and the impact on the quality and consistency of care the children receive.

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good

The social worker is positive about the care and support the child they have placed at the home receives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 7

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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 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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h)) 30 April 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should be responsible for ensuring that all their staff have been adequately trained in the principle of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for, as defined Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 8 in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, ensure that staff are confident in recognising what constitutes a restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly when any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to express themselves as individuals and are given an age-appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day-to-day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items such as clothing, technology and leisure items. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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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: SC458812 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Phoenix Learning & Care Holdings Limited

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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

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC458812 10 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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