Children's Home run by Serenity Specialist Care Ltd in Birmingham

Requires improvement

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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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 There has been no Registered Manager of the home for over 26 weeks.  Leadership and management arrangements are insufficient and weak in the monitoring of the home and in ensuring the home works within the new Children’s homes regulations 2015 which includes the Quality Standards.  Incidents of risk taking behaviour by some young people going missing have increased.  Risk management plans do not include clear strategies or actions for staff to take in the event of an incident of young people going missing.  Staff do not work as part of a team, this results in young people receiving an inconsistency of care.  Health and safety within the home is not robust in respect of fire safety.  Key information is missing from young people’s case files and staff rota’s.  Young people are not fully involved in their care plans and the development of the home.  Independence planning is not fully effective and does not follow the

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

recommendations of the placing authority.

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The children's home strengths

 Young people maintain relationships with family. This enables them to maintain their identity.  Young people have good attendance and engage in education.  The home has developed good relationships with external agencies. This helps to improve the progress and experiences of young people.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care quality care standard the Registered person must ensure that children receive care from staff who -

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

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

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(a) understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; 02/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

7: The children's views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings quality standard, the registered person must ensure that children receive care from staff who

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Requirement Due date

(iii) help each child to understand how their views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child 02/09/2015

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13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management quality standard 02/09/2015 ensure the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that –

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

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Requirement Due date

(a) 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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(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate

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(f) 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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(g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on

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(i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met

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(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home

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In order to meet the care planning quality standard ensure that children -

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(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home

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

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(iii) plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority

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(c) that each child’s relevant plans are followed

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(f) that staff help each child to access and contribute to the 02/09/2015 records kept by the registered person in relation to the child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within

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Requirement Due date

days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 02/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home (Regulation 16 (4)) 02/09/2015

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The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose (Regulation 16 (5)) 02/09/2015

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The registered person must after consultation with the fire and rescue authority provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire (Regulation 25 (1)(b)) 02/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if there is no registered manager in respect of the home and the registered provider is an organisation or a partnership and does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home (Regulation 27 (1) (a) (b) (i)(iii)) 02/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider is an individual, the individual must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the individual has the skills needed for carrying on the children's home. (Regulation 29(1)) 02/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child, are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 02/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must – (a) maintain in the home the records in schedule 4; (b) ensure that the records are kept up to date (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)) 02/09/2015

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with learning disabilities. It is owned and managed by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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requires improvement

Young people begin receiving help and support prior to their admission. This helps them to make a smooth transition to the home. However, after their admission inconsistency in care compromises their progress and experience. For example, managers fail to ensure they receive the necessary information about the needs of young people. This can include independence planning, contact arrangements and recommendations from a young person’s review.

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requires improvement

Young people are not at the centre of their care. They are not afforded opportunities in which to play an active role in preparing for their reviews or in developing their placement plans, behaviour plans and risk assessments. Key work sessions are not reflective of their individual needs or risks. Young people have insufficient opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the home’s development. These varied missed opportunities hinder young people taking on appropriate levels of responsibility for planning their care and influencing everyday life.

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requires improvement

Staff support young people to sustain good school attendance. Their regular attendance enables them to develop their knowledge and skills necessary to enrich their life opportunities. An education professional comments the home, ‘Always attend meetings for the young person in the school and ask for reports and policies that are relevant to the promotion of positive outcomes .’

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requires improvement

Young people’s health plans fail to incorporate all their health needs. For example, information relating to health appointments are not recorded. This compromises the staff in being able to monitor healthy growth and development.

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requires improvement

Overall effectiveness of planning for emergencies is limited through the lack of keeping information up to date and ensuring house keys are easily accessible. For, example, contact details that are to be used in an emergency refers to a manager who has left the service. Staff are not able to quickly locate main door keys that enable them to safely evacuate young people from the home in an emergency.

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requires improvement

Young people enjoy reasonably positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff engage young people in activities, for example bowling, going to the cinema and out for a drive. Independence planning is poor, it is not promoted in line with placing authorities plans. For example, staff do not adhere to the recommendations made at young people’s reviews by their placing authority. As a result, young people are poorly prepared for adulthood.

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requires improvement

Young people enjoy spending time with their families. Staff facilitate this contact, including transporting young people to and from their home. This ensures young people remain connected to important people in their lives as well as forming part of their own identity and heritage. A parent comments, ‘My son is relaxed when I visit which means he is happy.’

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requires improvement

The home is well presented, with appropriate furnishing and décor and some personalisation of rooms. The home offers the opportunity for communal meals and interactions as well as space to be alone.

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requires improvement

Staff do not consistently ensure young people are safe. For example, when young people leave the home without permission staff do not actively look for them. Consequently, young people are exposed to further risk. Risk assessments and risk management are weak. This weakness hinders staff to be able to identify clear strategies they need to follow in the event of a young person going missing.

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requires improvement

Staff know the young people and are aware of how to respond to some of their behaviours, for example a communication passport has been introduced to enable staff to have an understanding of young people’s indicators of mood and behaviour that non-verbal young people rely on to communicate. Staff are equally trained in Makaton, which helps young people to be able to communicate they feelings worries or concerns with adults that are skilled in their chosen methods of communication.

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requires improvement

Rosters fail to fully reflect the actual staffing on every shift. The failure to maintain an accurate rota means it is difficult to obtain the full details of the people caring and supporting young people at any given time. Young people’s behaviour is settled within the home, this is due to effective matching of young people in the home. Consequently physical intervention incidents are rare and staff promote positive behaviour management.

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inadequate

The arrangements for leadership and management are inadequate. The home has not had a registered manager in post since November 2014. The interim management arrangements are insufficient. The acting manager, by her own admission does not have knowledge of the regulations for children’s homes and equally the deputy manager is also lacking knowledge within this area. This has left the home without suitably experienced and knowledgeable managers. The statement of purpose fails to hold up to date information. For example, it indicates the home can accommodate six young people when it is only registered for four and refers to old legislation . Furthermore, the statement of purpose is not available on the home’s website. This lack of oversight means that the managers have failed to notice missing relevant and vital information.

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inadequate

Leaders and managers do not robustly promote the safety of the environment. Although, fire risk assessments are in place and fire evacuations are undertaken, insufficient forward planning leaves fire safety compromised. For example, during the inspection staff were unable to locate house keys necessary to gain a safe exit. In the event of a fire, such delay could put young people’s lives at risk.

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inadequate

The management monitoring and oversight of the home is inadequate. Monitoring and auditing of the home has not been effective in identifying the shortfalls raised within this report. As a result, action to improve the quality of care within the home has been impeded and managers do not use the audits to improve the development of the home.

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inadequate

The responsible individual has undertaken limited training or professional development relevant to their level of responsibility. As a result, they do not have the skills necessary to fully carry out their role. This means that there is a lack of competent senior managers who are able to effectively and robustly influence the daily running of the home. There is a lack of emphasis of increasing staff skills. Although all staff are trained in mandatory areas such as safeguarding, physical intervention, medication awareness and first aid. Staff have not participated in more specialised training. For example they are not trained in areas of missing and bullying. As a result, staff’s insight and understanding of such behaviours potentially limits the effectiveness of practice.

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inadequate

The home has taken action to make some improvements since the last inspection, for example improved recruitment are more rigorous to ensure adults working with them are suitable vetted ensuring staff records include full and satisfactory information.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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