Children's home run by The Serendipity Centre Limited in Eastleigh

The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection. This home was judged outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness . Young people continue to make good progress. They have achieved academically and socially, while developing their independence skills. Young people are learning more socially appropriate behaviour and developing positive strategies for managing their behaviour. The home’s manager succeeded in becoming the registered manager since the last inspection. The home has been unsettled, with staff vacancies and shortages affecting staffing levels. Staff recruitment is ongoing. Managers are drawing on bank and agency staff to fill gaps, although these people may be less familiar with the young people accommodated than the permanent staff are. Staff have also worked additional hours, which managers recognise s not sustainable in the long term.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

There has been some minor renovation work in the home, with the creation of an additional young person’s bedroom on the first floor and the relocation of the staff office. The young person who now resides in the new bedroom is very happy with it and is involved in choosing the decor and soft furnishings. Staff follow care plans and risk assessments, which provide practical detailed information. Staff have involved all stakeholders in the development of plans, and there are regular review meetings. Staff have not always updated plans when new needs and risks have been identified. Staff support young people to meet their health needs. Staff have facilitated and supported young people to attend medical appointments. Staff request and refer for further intervention and support when required. Staff use one-to-one sessions with young people to reinforce messages given. They supplement young people’s knowledge and education, enabling them to make informed choices about their

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

health. These conversations have included healthy eating, safe sex and promoting positive emotional well-being. Staff support all young people to attend and engage in full-time education. They encourage and assist young people to complete homework tasks and other educational activities. Staff have positive relationships with education providers, with regular review of plans and staff attending parents’ evenings. Staff request and seek the views and voices of the young people. Staff use a variety of systems to seek young people’s views, including house meetings, one-to- one sessions and through the worries and concerns forms. On occasion when young people have raised concerns about relationships with staff, these have not been fully explored or investigated. Staff have facilitated repair and rebuild sessions with young people but these have not explored how the young person feels and what could change to improve the relationship. Young people have made

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

requests to staff to review aspects of their plans, for example to have unsupervised spending. Staff have not explored, investigated or provided an outcome to young people regarding this. Staff report, investigate and refer allegations to others, as required. A recent allegation was appropriately referred. Evidence is not available in the home to show the investigation and outcome of the allegation. Staff have recorded and responded to complaints. They have supported a young person to make a complaint. The record does not detail the outcome; monitoring of records is overdue. Staff support and promote positive moves to the home through well-planned transitions. Day and overnight visits have enabled all young people to start to develop relationships and experience what it is like to live at the home. A recent admission proved very challenging in the first few days resulting in the placements premature ending. Staff are reviewing their pre-admission assessment and

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

planning processes to ascertain if this could have been avoided. Staff did consider the impact of the new admission on other young people or put plans in place to support and address their needs in the light of the admission. Staff give young people a variety of rewards which celebrate their achievements. Staff use sanctions and these are generally restorative in nature and linked to the cause. They have applied financial sanctions to contribute towards the cost of repair for damage in the home. Some sanctions create restrictions to communal areas of the home and this requires review as it isolates and excludes the young person. Staff are thorough in their approach to safeguarding, with concerns well recorded, reported and referred. Clarity is required regarding staff roles and responsibilities within the home’s safeguarding policy and procedure. Managers have not ensured that records are monitored and reviewed and so many concerns remain open with

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

no outcome or actions detailed. Staff manage episodes of young people going missing with good reporting, recording and referral to others which follows individual plans. Staff have followed the plans, with them actively seeking young people in the area and using a variety of strategies to de-escalate situations. Staff meet with young people to debrief after incidents and discuss causes of them going missing. Staff did not review and update one young person’s plan following a recent episode, which highlighted new risks. Those at risk of child sexual exploitation and episodes of going missing have plans in place, but these lack the specific clarity and focus required. Young people are educated and informed of the risks associated with risk-taking behaviours. They access a variety of therapies support on- and off-site, promoting good emotional well-being. Staff have acted robustly and effectively to manage risk

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

when required, seeking support and guidance if needed. Risk assessments address risks and provide practical strategies and guidance to manage them. Behaviour management plans detail young people’s triggers and the de-escalation strategies to be used. Recent challenging incidents have required staff in the home to seek additional support and guidance from others. Staff have sought additional support following criminal damage or when they are no longer able to manage a situation. Staff are reviewing, evaluating and learning lessons from recent challenging incidents. Staff access a multi-disciplinary team that has supported and assisted with the review of incidents and plans. Some staff are effective at role modelling behaviour, expectation and boundaries. However, sometimes they have focused on the young people’s negative behaviour and have not celebrated positive behaviour. Staff are inconsistent in their approach

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

with young people, with young people having developed their favourite staff. This is undermining the home’s ethos and aims. Managers have identified this and have plans in place to address this. The registered manager has implemented systems and actions to address the recommendation set at the previous inspection. It is in its infancy and not yet embedded. Staff continue to receive regular, effective supervision and review of their practice annually. Staff are currently reviewing the medication policy, procedure and processes. Staff had identified that there had been inconsistencies in the quality of recording. The home’s medication storage area has also changed as a result of this review.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered for six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is privately owned by an organisation which also owns other homes and a therapeutic educational setting. It specialises in caring for girls who have experienced physical and/or emotional trauma in their past. The home provides access to a range of therapeutic services.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

15/10/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

16/12/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) 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, specifically ensure that risk assessments consider all risk factors and how to minimise these and safe storage of medicines; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (e) that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(e)) 30/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (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; (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints 30/09/2016 received; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(g)(ii)(h))

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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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