Children's Home run by The Serendipity Centre Limited in Hampshire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home has had a full inspection. At the last inspection, it was judged good . At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make good progress, with each having made personal achievements from their starting points.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have acted on requirements and recommendations set at the previous inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are consulted regarding the day-to-day running of the home through the weekly house meetings and through the worries and concern forms they complete. Their views and wishes are visible within the home through their choice of menu and activities arranged. During this visit work was being completed to move a young person’s bed as she had requested to change its position in her bedroom.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Key work sessions allow relationships to develop, improve knowledge and education about risk factors. Young people are informed about the impact of risky behaviours encouraging them to make positive choices. Sessions have explored a variety of topics including smoking, relationships and safe sex.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people attend reviews and contribute to discussions and plans that involve them. Those young people who do not feel able to attend meetings are spoken to about their wishes with staff advocating these on their behalf. The manager intends to formalise the process in which these are recorded as currently it is not evidenced.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have sought consent from the placing authorities for the CCTV and the manager intends to gain consent from the young people also.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been one admission to the home since the last inspection, pre-admission assessment and planning has occurred allowing the manager to consider need and compatibility. These plans are regularly reviewed and amended within the first months of admission; they are a true reflection of need and risk. The young person was aware of the home prior to admission which has positively impacted on how the young person has settled.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Detailed support plans reflect need and how need will be met, with risk assessments and individual plans regarding specific risk factors being addressed. Plans provide clarity to staff that support them describing historical and current issues and needs with practical strategies to support young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Each young person is engaged in education with good attendance levels. Staff are working with education providers to address and review plans for those who are struggling with aspects of their education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Health plans provide clarity regarding need and intervention required; those with poor emotional well-being have specific plans identifying how young people will be supported. Staff have a system in place to review and amend plans following a concern. Each young person is engaged in a protected activity which forms part of their therapy support package. These activities are varied and may include a physical activity, ‘My Time’, craft, drama or a home-based activity using one-to-one time. Each young person has chosen their specific favoured activity. The young people really enjoy these activities and talk fondly of them. Young people are learning positive ways of managing their behaviour and regulating their emotions and feelings.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are engaged in voluntary work and provide support at local activity clubs with one young person assisting with horse care at a local stable.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All of the young people have been on a caravan holiday and some have also been to Euro Disney. This continues to be a topic the girls talk about and enjoy sharing their photographs and memories of the trip.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Contact with family and friends is supported and facilitated in accordance with their individual plans, with staff requesting review when required.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people have targets set which are reviewed bi-monthly, targets focus on key areas each young person is working at developing including life skills and behaviour. Achievements are celebrated through certificates, praise, photographs and other rewards.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Risk assessments highlight risk factors, interventions and strategies used to minimise risk. Episodes of missing are well managed with plans and documents providing key information and actions for staff. A recent plan has been amended, staff have not updated the plan held within the home, and the manager intends to address this. Plans are shared with other statutory organisations providing multi- disciplinary agreement of plans in place. Staff offer young people debrief on return to care; when young people have engaged it has provided insight into cause, enabling review of plans in place.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Currently no young person has been identified to be at risk of child sexual exploitation, staff have considered risk factors associated with this within individual risk assessments and plans.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Previously information and detail pertinent to safeguarding concerns and allegations was not held at the home. This system has now changed and all documentation is held at the home. Allegations have been robustly investigated with referral to others when needed, evidence to show detail, rationale and decision making is not present for all incidents and the manager is addressing this.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Complaints are recorded within the worries and concerns log, these have been explored and investigated with an outcome recorded. One specific complaint was referred to the placing authority as it was regarding their service to the young person. An outcome has yet to be recorded regarding this complaint. Young people are provided feedback regarding worries and complaints through one-to-one sessions. One shows a positive piece of work completed with two young people following a disagreement with each apologising to each other for their actions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff keep chronologies of key events affecting and impacting on young people, this provides a quick over view which assists the manager to monitor their progress and consider factors which have impacted on young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour is well managed with a variety of distraction and de-escalation strategies being used. Staff are trained in the homes preferred behaviour management method. There have been two incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. These show staff have applied the lowest form of intervention for the shortest period of time. Behaviour support plans identify how to support young people with a gradient of intervention to be applied. Young people and staff are offered debrief following an incident.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Sanctions and rewards are well recorded; sanctions are linked to the trigger, behaviour or cause. Rewards are varied with more rewards provided than sanctions. Some sanctions used have created other unintentional restrictions and the manager now intends to robustly review and reflect on the effectiveness of sanctions.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is managed by a house manager who is currently applying to Ofsted to become the registered manager for the home. She is undertaking her Level 5 Diploma and hopes for this to be completed in the next few months. The manager is using a new weekly monitoring system which enables her to monitor robustly several areas of the home and review the impact of quality of care provided to young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home development plan shows the aims and aspirations they wish to achieve over the coming year with target dates for these to be achieved. The plan has incorporated aspects raised in the regular independent and internal monitoring that takes place.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has identified that supervision has not been provided regularly to staff and has a new system in place to rectify this; it is not currently embedded in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff meetings occur regularly with a ‘Pillars of Parenting’ session occurring every three weeks, focusing on one young person per session. Staff development is ongoing with recent training sessions including the Pillars of Parenting framework as it has been newly introduced to the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been changes in staffing of late and the home has one vacancy currently, the manager has a recruitment drive in place to address this.

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Information about this children's home

 The home is registered to care for up to 5 children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It has been registered for over a year, but operated previously as part of a larger registration with its sister home.  The home is privately owned home under the umbrella of a limited company. The company also have a school for young people with educational needs.  The home specifically cares for girls who may have experienced emotional and/or physical trauma as the result of abuse or have a mental health condition.  They support each young person with a therapeutic approach.  The home is located in a quiet residential area within easy access of community based services and resources.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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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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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations page 61 paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and  understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should  record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that  distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information  about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child.  (The Guide to the Quality standards, page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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