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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 1 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

The home is owned by a private provider and is registered to provide care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of inspection. The registered manager has been in post since January 2023.

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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: 1255407 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2024 Full Good 26/09/2023 Full Good 18/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, the inspector spent time with one of the children. The other child was away on holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a bright and welcoming space that celebrates the children. It is decorated to a high standard, with the children’s sensory needs in mind. For example, there are a variety of seating options, including a hammock and large bean bags, that meet the children’s movement and sensory needs. However, not all areas of the home are accessible to the children. Furthermore, some snack foods are locked away. This will make it difficult for the children to learn the skills they will need to make healthy choices for themselves and is also a restrictive practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated with photos of the children, as well as celebrations of personal and educational achievements in the form of certificates. The children have access to a written celebration book and memory books which include photos of the children and the people who are important to them. The books are clearly labelled with names, dates and a description of the activity being undertaken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have good attendance at school and regularly complete their homework with the staff’s support. The home and school communicate regularly to ensure that the children’s needs are understood and met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with the people who are important to them. The home has shown persistence in arranging family time, resulting in clear and consistent plans for children to see their family members. Staff also facilitate regular phone contact and have supervised family time in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help children attend routine health checks appropriately. The home strongly advocates for specialist assessments and for the children to have access to the specialist support they may need. This has included sourcing advice from an occupational therapist to consider the home environment and psychological support for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a range of activities both in the home, where they enjoy arts and crafts, growing vegetables, baking, and go-karts, and out of the home, where they access clubs such as football and swimming. Children’s views are actively sought and acted on from day-to-day choices, such as choosing dinner, to being supported to share more complex views, such as where they would like to live in the longer term. One of the children has been able to attend formal meetings to share their feelings because of the support they received from staff. Where there are plans for children to move on from the home, planning has incorporated views from the children, their families and the wider professional network. Regular meetings and specialist assessments support the decision-making process, which is Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 4 conducted to minimise disruption to the children and ensure that the best interests of

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

The children are safe and well cared for in the home. They have positive and trusting relationships with the adults. They feel able to share their worries and seek reassurance from the staff.

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

The number of incidents leading to physical restraint is high. While there has been a recent reduction this is attributed to one child being away from home.

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

Incidents are monitored through a range of methods, and the wider professional team meets regularly to review incidents with a view to reducing them. A plan is now in place to analyse and reflect on the effectiveness of interventions. However, it is not always clear how long each intervention is trialled before moving on. Specialist advice is sought when needed, and care plans are updated accordingly. However, plans are not always clear. Some of the language used is not child focused. Old information is not always removed from the plans, making them difficult to understand. While the home does adjust plans based on advice and guidance, implementation is not consistent. This has led to some discrepancies in the care provided by staff, particularly in managing peer relationships, which has contributed to the high number of physical interventions.

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

Restorative work following incidents is a strength. Conversations with children following incidents focus on naming feelings and helping them understand their emotions . The conversations are supportive, positive and reassuring. This helps children identify and understand their emotions and helps them feel loved and supported by the staff.

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

A clear protocol for managing allegations is in place. Allegations are taken seriously, and each allegation is considered separately on its own merits.

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

Staff are clear on the procedures to follow when a child goes missing. Although the missing protocol did not fully reflect the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, this has since been addressed.

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

Medication is stored and administered safely. One medication error occurred, which was thoroughly investigated. As a result, systems were revised to reduce the risk of recurrence. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of the home. She understands the development areas for the home, primarily the need to reduce physical interventions. She has a robust plan to achieve this goal, including seeking external advice and guidance as well as closely monitoring patterns of behaviour to better understand the challenges the children may be experiencing. She advocates strongly for the children’s needs and has secured assessments that have been vital in care planning and understanding the children’s backgrounds and how this impacts them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they enjoy working in the home and feel valued and supported by the management team. They talk about the children’s achievements with pride. Although the team acknowledges it has been a tricky period for all, they are still committed to ensuring that they deliver good-quality support for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is delivered in accordance with the home’s Statement of Purpose, with additional training sourced as needed. A plan to introduce further training tailored to the children’s specific needs is in development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and clearly documented. Consistent monthly supervisions closely monitor staff development and safeguarding practices. In addition, regular reflective practice sessions and single-issue supervisions explore specific areas of practice in depth. These forums serve as valuable reflective spaces, enabling staff to examine the children’s needs, maintain up-to-date safeguarding knowledge, continuously improve their practice, and allow the manager a detailed knowledge of the staff team’s capabilities. Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 6

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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

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child); serious damage to the property of any person (including the child)

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)) 19 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(xi)) 19 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 1255407 8

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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

Sally Shakespeare, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1255407 9 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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