Children's Home run by Serenity Care Homes Ltd in Hampshire

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people have made good progress from their starting points since arriving at the home.  Staff support and encourage young people to develop their lives and social and personal skills by completing basic household chores and activities. Young people are learning to plan, shop, prepare and cook basic meals. They are also learning other tasks and each day they complete basic household chores.  Young people are developing strategies, which assist them to self-regulate and moderate their behaviour and emotions. Staff refer to other services and provisions that promote emotional well-being.  Staff support and encourage young people to attend and engage in education. Those not in education take part in daily constructive routines and activities. Staff are working with others, developing and exploring alternative education provision.  Young people have good relationships with staff, with each young person

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The children's home provision is good because:

having a key adult whom they trust and confide in. Staff are caring and nurturing in their approach with young people.  Staff use a variety of de-escalation methods and strategies that support young people to manage their behaviours while avoiding the use of physical intervention. Staff are calm and consistent in their approach with them, providing clarity regarding boundaries and acceptable behaviour in the home.  Young people are developing positive relationships with others. Staff guide, advise and educate young people about appropriate and acceptable interactions with others.  Staff are positive and proactive in their approach with young people, seeking to find solutions and working through the challenges that they face  Young people take age-appropriate risks. Staff provide information and guidance about risky behaviours and the impact of these.  Staff have proactive and effective responses to missing, with a coordinated

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The children's home provision is good because:

approach and robust relationships with local police and other agencies.  Leaders and managers have positive relationships with agencies and others outside of the home. This is evident in plans, with joint decision-making regarding risk management and plans to address and meet need.  Staff receive regular and effective supervision and appraisal of their practice. Staff access a wide variety of online and face-to-face training, which is specific to their roles.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered persons meet 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure (a) that staff (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(iv)(d)) 01/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

Fitness of workers The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. (Regulation 32(1)) 01/01/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Children's home staff should take every step to make sure that individual children and young people are not subject to discrimination, marginalisation or bullying from their peers by virtue of their gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, disability or for any other reason. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.12)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children with emotional and/or behaviour difficulties. A company privately owns the home. The home is located in a semi-rural location within easy access of the local services and community.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people make good progress. Staff support them to develop their lives and their personal and social skills. Young people are making informed and positive choices. The home is stable with young people placed there for a substantial period of time. This has promoted the quality of relationships between staff and young people. Young people share their worries and concerns with staff and, collectively, they explore strategies and ways to manage and cope with these. Staff support young people to explore alternative ways to express themselves and to self-regulate their behaviour and emotions. They are calm and consistent in their approach, providing clear boundaries and expectations. Young people are well cared for and supported in the home, and staff have good knowledge and insight into each young person’s needs. Robust support plans address need and provide clarity as to how to meet need. The regular communications between the home and other key parties are a

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Good

strength, with a joint approach applied to planning and review. Staff share all plans with young people, providing regular opportunities for them to contribute their views and opinions. Young people maintain relationships with their families and friends, with staff supporting them to develop and improve strained relationships. Staff provide support, guidance and education about relationships and the impact of negative relationships. Staff support young people to build relationships of trust. Contact plans detail the contact arrangements and staff support required to facilitate them. Reviews are requested when needed and required. Staff support young people when plans change, working through any emotions and worries attached to these. Staff support young people to learn socially acceptable behaviour and are consistent and persistent in doing so. Through this, young people are beginning to accept and understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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Good

They are taking responsibility for their actions. The home is busy, with each young person having a strong personality. Due to this, occasionally conflict between peers occurs. Staff are quick to respond and redirect young people, praising positive decision-making. Staff support young people to reflect on the impact of their actions and to assist them to repair relationships with others. Staff offer a variety of opportunities for young people to share their views and contribute to how the home is run. Weekly house meetings gain views about house plans, menus and activities for the coming weeks and months. Young people are getting involved in decorating and personalising their bedrooms. Young people developed the summer activity plan, choosing all the key activities for the summer. They have planned a holiday later in the summer. Staff were observed to be constantly talking with young people about their hopes, aspirations and plans for

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Good

the day. The regular key-work sessions provide good-quality education and advice, with opportunities to reflect on the highs and lows of the week. They have provided essential education, covering a wide variety of topics and themes with young people, exploring risky behaviours and their impact. Topics have included smoking, relationships, substance misuse and media safety. Staff are open and honest with young people, exploring the impact of their risk-taking behaviours and actions. The strength of the relationships between staff and young people was evident through these sessions. Staff support young people to address their basic healthcare needs. They make referrals to other services to address more complex healthcare needs. Health-care action plans provide clarity about need, with details of whom to consult and how to address need. A young person has attended the dentist for the first time in several

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Good

years, engaging with the treatment offered. Young people are supported to attend education, and those who attend have good attendance. Staff have regular communication with education providers. Staff are working with local authorities, exploring and developing plans for those who are not attending education. Staff have supported young people to explore new experiences and opportunities to develop and widen their choices for the future. Young people are supported to seek employment. Staff assist them to develop their curricula vitae and to attend job interviews. Staff offer a good variety of activities and social opportunities for young people in and outside of the home. Staff encourage young people to invite friends to the home and to join them on planned activities. The recent trip to a theme park was a reward and an opportunity for young people to bring a friend. Young people engage in risk-taking behaviours. Staff carefully monitor and review

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Good

plans to ensure that risk is minimised. Staff have invited others to visit the home and to talk with young people about the impact of risk-taking behaviours. This has promoted young people’s knowledge, while influencing their decision-making. Staff have good relationships with police and other agencies, and there is a joint approach applied to managing risk and supporting young people. Young people are well cared for and supported in the home, and staff have good knowledge and insight into each young person’s needs. Staff support young people to complete life story books, which are a pictorial journey and diary for each young person. They tell a story and show a young person’s achievements, celebrations and favoured activities. Young people are proud of their books and the story they tell.

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Requires improvement

Young people report feeling safe and each has a key adult whom they trust and can confide in. They are sharing and exploring their worries and concerns with staff, learning strategies and ways to manage their feelings and emotions. This is having a positive impact on their emotional well-being, developing and improving their ability to self-regulate and manage situations. Young people can be dominant in the home and their behaviour and actions affect others on occasions. Staff have responded to this and supported young people to understand the impact on others. The behaviours have not subsided and a young person has reported feeling bullied by peers. Staff have responded to this, but without sufficient success so far. Managers have identified this and a developed a plan to address this. Staff are supporting young people to work through conflict and to develop positive relationships with peers. There have been episodes of going missing. Young people have ‘missing’ profiles

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Requires improvement

and plans for staff to follow, when the need arises. The home’s policy and procedure provide clarity as to what is required from staff during an incident, and to whom to report and refer. Episodes of missing have reduced for some young people. Records do not evidence debriefs with young people on their return to the home. Young people are welcomed back to the home. Staff have requested reviews when the pattern of missing varies from the known pattern or trend. Young people engage in risk-taking behaviours. Risk assessments detail actions and interventions to minimise and reduce risk. Staff request review and update risk assessments when required, addressing new risks. Staff provide support and education to young people, promoting their knowledge and understanding. Staff have explored and identified strategies to minimise risks associated with child sexual exploitation. Managers complete pre-admission risk assessments. These highlight key risk

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Requires improvement

factors and state if the home can match the needs of the young person. Staff consider the impact of the risk factors on current residents and how these will be managed. Staff address and implement plans to minimise and manage known risks. These are reviewed weekly when a placement is in its infancy. Staff follow detailed behaviour support plans, which clarify actions and strategies to be used to support young people. Staff skilfully follow a 'hands-off approach' using a wide variety of de-escalation techniques and calming strategies. They support young people in a non-confrontational manner and avoid the use of physical intervention to manage behaviour. Staff are all trained in the home’s preferred method of approach, which focuses on breakaway techniques. Staff provide clear boundaries to young people through specific house rules. Staff use very few sanctions in the home. When they do, they are used as

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Requires improvement

management strategies or as restorative sanctions, which are linked to the trigger or cause. The sanctions applied have been proportionate, and the young person’s view and feelings are gained. Young people appear to choose their own sanctions. A young person chose to make cups of tea for staff to apologise for their actions. Staff have effective links with the local police and the youth offending team. Collectively, they have supported young people to develop an awareness and understanding of the consequences of their actions. Staff keep reward logs for each young person. A variety of rewards and treats are offered to celebrate young people’s achievements. There have been no safeguarding concerns or allegations made since the previous inspection. Staff have good knowledge and understanding of the home’s safeguarding policy, procedures and process to follow if the need was to arise. Staff have managed complaints effectively, with reporting, referral and

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Requires improvement

investigation as required. They have provided outcomes to the complainant, and records show good recording and detail. The home’s location risk assessment details key risk factors around the home with information about the local crime and areas of concern. The assessment is due for review and update to reflect new services and risk factors in the area. The home is well maintained. At the inspection, the staff had not completed their daily house checks and low-level risk factors had not been addressed. A fire door had been compromised, and staff had not raised this as a risk requiring urgent attention. The safer recruitment process has become more robust with areas continuing to require further development to meet the required standard. Managers have not evidenced that references have been verified.

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Good

Managers and senior staff are effective, using good systems to review and monitor the quality of care provided. Good evaluation forms the basis of the home’s development plan. The plan identifies key areas to improve and develop, with clear action points. Robust independent visits take place, providing additional scrutiny and oversight of the quality of care provided. Managers use the evaluation and act on the areas identified. The effective registered manager is enrolled on the required qualification for the role. The deputy manager has a significant role in the home, and they work collaboratively. They use a variety of methods to evaluate the quality of care provided in the home. The monthly independent visitor contributes to this process, providing a critical perspective of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. These areas identified are included in the home’s development and action plan with key goals set to be

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Good

achieved. The systems in place to ensure regular daily monitoring checks and assessment of the home are lacking, with low-level issues not identified or addressed. The home is fully staffed with a stable secure team. This has developed over time since the home opened. Staff are calm, consistent and honest in their approach with young people. They all follow and apply the home’s ethos and use a wide variety of de-escalation strategies supporting young people. Staff are child focussed and aspire for each young person to achieve their full potential. Staff in the home are positive and work well as a team, providing consistency of approach to young people. Staff report feeling well supported by the house manager and leaders in the organisation. Staff receive regular effective supervision of their practice with appraisal at least annually. Staff that do not have the required qualification are enrolled on the

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Good

appropriate course. They access a wide variety of training that is specific to their roles. Recently, the whole staff team completed specific training to develop skills regarding breakaway and de-escalation strategies. Leaders and managers have good relationships with those outside of the home, with regular multi-disciplinary reviews of plans. This has had a positive impact, with the same process applied to pre-admission planning and clear plans developed to meet young people’s needs. The joint-working approach has developed robust plans, which manage and minimise risk. The impact of these positive relationships is apparent when young people access the community, and other agencies keep the home informed of their whereabouts. Managers have challenged others when required. Managers and young people have good relationships. They are regularly available for young people. They have a good understanding of young people’s needs and

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Good

challenges. Staff and managers have maintained relationships with those who have now moved on from the home, providing support to them. The statement of purpose reflects the ethos of the home and the aims and objectives it is setting out to achieve. The young person’s guide provides vital key information for young people on admission. Managers have acted on the previous recommendations and requirements set. Improvements have been made to the safer recruitment process. There continue to be gaps in recording with evidence of verification of references lacking.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 that 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 whom 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

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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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