Children's Home run by Phased Care in Walsall

Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 1 Registered provider: Phased Care

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in February 2026 to provide care for 1 child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there was 1 child living at the home. The child was seen by the inspector and spoke with them.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 2

p.1

Summary of findings

The staff team is experienced and stable, and the child feels settled living here. Staff understand the safeguarding arrangements for the child and consider their individual risks and vulnerabilities. The child has been supported to take age-appropriate risks and is now able to spend time in the community safely. Managers and leaders have not ensured that reporting and recording for the child is consistently good enough.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a home that is well maintained and in good order. The child’s bedroom is personalised to reflect their tastes and interests. The garden is secure and provides an outside space for the child to enjoy safely. The activities and play equipment, such as football nets, a boxing punch bag for the garden and a games console in the living room, have been purchased to reflect the interests of the child. Repairs to any damaged areas of the home are carried out promptly. Staff ensure that the child is consulted on all aspects of living in the home, including menu and activity planning. The child is offered opportunities to engage in a variety of activities that they say they enjoy. This ensures that they feel their wishes and feelings are valued and builds their self-esteem.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since coming to live in the home, the child has made significant progress from an extremely difficult starting point. Before living at this home, the child had not attended school for several years. The child has now had a period of engaging in home tutoring, and staff are supporting them to return to attending an education provision.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff talk to the child about the importance of positive physical and mental health as well as ensuring they have consistent health and hygiene routines. The child has now developed better self-care routines. Staff have advocated for the child living in the home to have access to their first ever dentist appointment. Staff support the child to attend health appointments. However, outstanding vaccinations from the child’s most recent health review have not yet been actioned. This has the potential to impact on the child’s ongoing good health.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. They have gone over and above to support rebuilding of the relationship for the child with their birth siblings, after a long period of not having any meaningful contact. This has included staff staying out of area overnight near the family, to support the child. The child says that this is hugely important to them and has made a positive change to their life.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff have a strong understanding of the child’s past experiences and how these can affect them. Managers ensure that restorative practices are in place so that staff and the child can improve relationships and develop their sense of responsibility. Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 3 There have been no incidents of self-harm within this inspection period, and the child is receiving appropriate support from mental health services.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specialist support is sought for children who use illicit substances. This has been effective in helping a child to significantly reduce to occasional cannabis use in the community only. Staff discourage vaping in the home and offer support and smoking cessation advice. However, staff have not spoken to the child about the risk of causing a fire and the risk that vaping therefore presents to everyone in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have not been proactive in ensuring that a child receives any benefits for which they are eligible. As a result, they have not secured the child’s financial entitlement. This does not promote their welfare or ensure that they receive the support and services they need to achieve the best possible outcomes.

p.3

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

Missing incidents have reduced significantly for the child since coming to live at the home. Staff know what to do when the child goes missing and have processes to ensure that information is shared appropriately. Staff are inquisitive and have a thorough understanding of the risks for the child and their own safeguarding responsibilities. Staff are confident in being able to talk to the child about how to keep themselves safe, and they show curiosity around the time the child spends in the community. Staff take account of the child’s individual circumstances and previous experiences in thinking about how to do this. Managers ensure that plans for children are updated after incidents to support staff to understand the current risks for children.

p.3

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

Staff receive training so that they understand the potential risks to the child of being online and using social media. Although staff talk confidently to the child about the associated risks, these conversations are not always fully recorded. The child living in the home has now been able to have a mobile and use this safely after a period of restrictions, developing their independence and awareness of how to keep themselves safe online.

p.3

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

There have been no complaints made during this inspection period, and the child says that they know how to raise a complaint and who they would speak to if they were worried about anything.

p.3

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

The use of physical intervention has significantly decreased since the child moved into the home. Staff know how to manage these appropriately, and they ensure that information is shared with all stakeholders afterwards. Managers ensure that they review these so that any learning is shared with staff.

p.3

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

On one occasion, a child's room was searched as a consequence, but there is no record of conversations held to help them understand why. While staff and managers claim they verbally explained the restorative approach—such as when a child causes damage to the home—no written evidence supports this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 4 Staff are trained to administer medication safely. While processes exist to monitor the safe storage of medication, they have not been completed recently, failing to ensure that expired medication is safely discarded. Staff are confident in talking to children about the risks of smoking and vaping, although they have not yet discussed the specific fire hazards associated with using these products in the home.

p.3

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

Reporting and recording for the child are not consistently of a good enough quality. Managers do not always follow the processes or use the systems in place to ensure that they understand the quality of care the child receives. Therefore, gaps remain in the manager’s monitoring and oversight of the home. There is limited evidence of monitoring by the responsible individual. Staff do not consistently review updates to children’s plans in a timely manner and so do not always understand the current risks for children.

p.4

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

The home operated outside its statement of purpose by leaving one staff member alone in the building for a short period while the child was asleep. Managers and leaders were unaware that the second staff member had briefly left the premises. Managers and leaders acknowledged this shortfall. During the inspection, they immediately addressed the issue with staff.

p.4

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

The home is fully staffed and does not rely on any agency staff or staff from their sister home. Staff are knowledgeable and experienced in caring for children with complex previous experiences. Their progression is actively supported by the manager. Staff say that they value this approach and appreciate the opportunities afforded to them. They receive a comprehensive training offer and professional development, including specialist training focused on understanding the child’s diagnosis and individual care needs. Team meetings are held regularly, but these currently consider matters relevant to both sister homes and so are predominantly task focused, allowing little scope for reflection on staff practice.

p.4

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

Professionals report that managers and staff share information effectively and in a timely manner, and that they work positively with them. Professionals say that the child has made significant progress since coming to live at the home.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure that the child is cared for by safe adults. Staff receive regular supervision that helps them reflect on how they can best support the child. When there are concerns in staff practice, managers and leaders address these promptly and appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staffing ratios reflect the statement of purpose and that enough staff are always present in the home to maintain this. 12 September 2026

p.5

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 6 that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(b)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that actions from health assessments are progressed for children in a timely manner.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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.

p.6

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)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have effective monitoring systems in place to review the quality of reporting and recording for children and that staff regularly review the updated plans for children. 1 October 2026

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that children have access to all additional support to which they are entitled. Children with disabilities or illnesses may have physical or emotional difficulties which mean that participation in leisure or cultural activities in the community is difficult to achieve. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.10)  The registered person should ensure that when a child’s preferences, such as ‘vaping’ and smoking in their bedrooms, are unreasonable or cannot be met for safeguarding reasons, staff should discuss this with the child to help them understand why. In particular, the register person should ensure that the child understands the fire risk to Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 7 themselves and everyone else within the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to dispose of any medication that is no longer required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

p.7

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: 2843618 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Collingwood Centre, Collingwood Drive, Kingstanding, Birmingham B43 7NF

p.8

Inspector

Helen Dickens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2843618 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9