Children's Home run by Physis Quantum Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 1 Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in October 2024 and is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted and is awaiting a fit person interview to confirm their eligibility for registration.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home registered with Ofsted, three children have moved in, and two children have left. The inspector spoke to the child living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two of the three children experienced well-planned moves into the home and have made progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child lived in the home for a very short length of time. The child’s placing authority had not shared all relevant information at the time the child moved in. The information shared with the registered manager provided insight into behavioural challenges. Contrary to agreed arrangements, police transported the child to the home in the middle of the night. This directly affected the assessment of suitability, risk and the experience of the child moving into the home and resulted in several significant incidents in the home over a few days.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is well presented, and children can personalise their bedrooms. However, following incidents, repairs take some time. Boarded-up windows, missing cupboard doors and damaged walls detract from the home’s appeal. These areas can be a daily reminder of shame for children. There is a plan in place to carry out the necessary work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult children about their views, wishes and feelings. Each child has a designated key worker who supports them in participating in regular sessions to discuss their views. When children make requests, staff respond by taking action and explaining why they may not always be fulfilled. This helps children feel heard and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children having positive relationships with the people who are important to them. They help children maintain these relationships, transport them to and from family time, and carry out work with them around healthy relationships.

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

The home is a safe place to live. Health and safety checks are carried out in line with the organisation’s requirements to ensure that the environment is safe. Risk assessments are in place and are updated regularly. These provide staff with guidance on how to care for children safely and reduce potential risks.

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

The manager has strong links with services in the community, partner agencies and stakeholders, particularly those that specialise in child sexual exploitation. This provides the manager with useful links, training opportunities for staff, and information to identify current patterns and trends in the local area. The manager shares this information with staff. This aids in minimising risks to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 3 Children do not go missing from the home. Staff are aware of the steps to take if a child goes missing. Staff do not always manage challenging behaviours effectively. Sometimes, the police are called to help manage children’s behaviours, which has resulted in one child being arrested. This affects children’s ability to build trusting relationships.

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

The use of restrictive physical intervention is rare. When required, physical intervention is proportionate, and records provide full details of the behaviours, identified triggers, and actions taken by the staff team to try to avoid using restraint on these occasions.

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

Children understand how to make a complaint. Overall, complaints and allegations are taken seriously, and the local authority designated officer is consulted as necessary. Children receive feedback once their concerns have been investigated. As a result, children feel heard and that their views are considered. However, on one occasion, after a child had moved out of the home, a social worker raised a concern about a child sustaining bruises. The manager did not carry out an independent investigation to explore the concerns. This means there are shortfalls in ensuring that children are cared for safely.

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

Children’s privacy is not always respected. Staff search children’s belongings and remove items without their knowledge. This causes children distress and has resulted in incidents in the home that have required police intervention. Incidents of this nature, which affect children’s sense of privacy and trust in adults, may have been prevented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who is new to the role, knows her duties and is a positive role model for the staff team. The manager provides sufficient oversight and is developing monitoring systems tailored to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive the necessary training to care for children. They have an appropriate balance of experience and knowledge to enable them to care for the children effectively. Staff who are new to working in residential homes have transferable skills. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children and how to support them. The manager is confident in her ability to build a strong staff team as the home develops.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has sufficient and suitable staff to care for children due to robust safer recruitment procedures. Staff receive supervision and are positive about their experiences of working in the home. They say there is a supportive atmosphere, especially from leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Child-focused discussions are held in team meetings. Team meetings take place regularly, and they are well attended by the staff. Agendas are clear, and learning opportunities are provided. Staff are reflective and share their experiences and understanding of the children they are caring for. As a result, children receive consistent and higher-quality care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 4

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)) 26 May 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they carry out their specific responsibilities under Regulation 34 to implement the policy on the protection of children from abuse when dealing with allegations involving staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19) Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 5  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing, supportive and homely environment that meets the needs of the children. This specifically relates to ensuring that damage to children’s bedroom walls or the home as a result of an incident is promptly repaired. Staff should implement daily routines to ensure that used plates and cutlery are removed from children’s rooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2801849 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Physis Quantum Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: DPC Chartered Accountants, Stone House, 55 Stone Road Business Park, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6SR

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2801849 7 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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