Children's home run by Physis Care Service Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 1 Registered provider: Physis Care Service Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at a full inspection on 8 April 2025. Serious and widespread failures were found in relation to safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home. As a result, Ofsted issued two compliance notices, under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 2 A monitoring visit was carried out on 12 May 2025 to review the progress made in meeting the compliance notices. The compliance notices were found to have not been met. A notice of proposal to cancel the registration of the home and a restriction of accommodation notice were issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A further monitoring visit was undertaken on 30 June 2025 to consider the representations made by the provider in response to the notice of proposal to cancel the registration of the home. Some progress had been made to address the shortfalls identified at the previous visits and the representations were upheld. However, the restriction of accommodation notice was extended for a further three months.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2025 Full Inadequate 21/08/2024 Full Good 14/05/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. They had lived there for approximately 18 months. Since the last inspection, the child has made some progress. Staff have strengthened relationships with the child, supporting better engagement with them, and this is helping the child have aspirations for their future. However, there is a lack of direction from the leaders of the home to ensure the child is fully supported to achieve in all areas.

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improvement to be good

While there has been some progress in the child’s engagement in education, action taken by staff is slow in helping them to achieve their aspirations for further education. Managers and staff have not been proactive in advocating for the child, to ensure information required by the child’s chosen college is sent. This could impact on the child’s ability to access their chosen course or could delay their start.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported by staff with their emotional health and well-being. The child regularly accesses therapeutic support, which they engage well with. Relationships between the child and staff have improved and the child is making progress with their independence.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide opportunities to enrich the child’s life. The child has recently returned from a holiday with staff and is actively requesting activities they would like to do. Safety plans are in place to enable the child to attend events with friends. This enables the child to have fun and enjoy new experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. The home is some distance from the child’s family and friends. Despite the distance, staff help the child to regularly spend time with family and friends. This helps the child to feel loved and supports their emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Overall, the home environment is well maintained and well decorated. The child’s bedroom is personalised in line with their wishes. The child has also contributed to the decor of the home, with their artwork and photos proudly displayed.

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improvement to be good

Staff have developed positive relationships with the child. The child has become more open to having important conversations with staff, which helps support them in making positive choices. Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 4 Incidents have decreased as staff have become more skilled in managing these and de- escalating behaviour when the child is distressed. There have been no complaints, allegations or incidents requiring physical intervention since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff have taken appropriate action when the child has been missing from home. Welfare checks are in place and when these are not adhered to staff take action to try and find the child. However, on one occasion, the child managed to leave the home undetected to meet an unknown person they had spoken to online. While the child did not come to any harm, ineffective safety procedures potentially placed the child at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Guidance for staff for when a child is missing from home is inconsistent. Staff say they are confused as to when police should be informed. On one occasion when the child went missing, police were not informed for over two hours. Although the child had been in contact in that time and staff had taken action to locate the child, their safe return could have been hindered by the lack of clear processes.

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improvement to be good

While the home generally provides a safe environment, fire safety is compromised by fire safety equipment being locked away. Leaders have failed to adequately assess the risks of doing this. This could place the child and others at risk in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been significant investment in the home, which has led to some improvements and progress for the child. This has included external support for the manager and upskilling of the staff team. Despite this investment, shortfalls in the management of the home continue to hamper the progress being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Overall, feedback from external stakeholders is positive. One professional said that the home has provided the most stable and settled placement for the child. However, some concerns were raised about the need for more experience in the staff team. The provider has recently recruited a new responsible individual, which it is hoped will help improve the leadership going forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managerial oversight of the child’s care is weak, which affects the delivery of high-quality care. For example, leaders and managers have failed to show adequate professional curiosity when reviewing missing-from-home incidents or recruiting staff. The child’s statutory health review is significantly overdue and has not been adequately followed up. Information requested to support the child’s education has not been responded to in a timely way. In addition, opportunities for the child to have input into their care are also infrequent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are also weaknesses in the systems for monitoring the home. Although no significant concerns were identified in relation to health and safety, the audit tool in place is not fit for purpose in identifying shortfalls. In addition, when audits are undertaken, it is not clear whether actions are followed up, as these are not recorded. Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 5 This does not provide assurance that there is proactive management of the home or that staff are provided with clear direction to support improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say they feel well supported by leaders and managers. There is a stable team of staff in place who have benefited from additional training and upskilling. This has given staff a better understanding of trauma and the impact of this on behaviour. The staff have grown in confidence and are acting on this knowledge, which has led to improved relationships with the child, enabling staff to better support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Following the inspection, a case review was held, and the decision was made to lift the restriction of accommodation notice which had previously been issued. Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 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

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must take timely action to help secure a child’s college place and avoid any unnecessary delays to them starting. 30 September 2025

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 7 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure staff are clear about the risks to children who are missing from home and at risk of exploitation and the action they must take to safeguard them.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

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)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure they have effective oversight of the home and take action to ensure 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 8 children receive high-quality care, and that systems for monitoring and reviewing the quality of care in the home are fit for purpose and support continuous improvements.

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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

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that an adequate assessment is undertaken before children move into and on from the home. This should determine whether the home can suitably meet children’s needs and ensure that any risks identified are adequately mitigated. This includes staff having the appropriate skills, training and competencies to meet children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure any presenting risks of a child moving into the home are assessed in relation to other children already living in the home, to determine whether it is appropriate for them to live together.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been carried over from the last inspection as no additional children have been placed in the home. It will be reviewed at the next inspection. 30 September 2025

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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: 2754135 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Physis Care Service Ltd

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Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2754135 10 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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