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

Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 1 SC487165 Registered provider: Serenity Care Homes Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four children who have emotional and/or behaviour difficulties. A private company owns and operates this home plus one other in the vicinity. The home is located in a semi-rural location within easy access of the local services and community.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have very good relationships with each young person, enabling them to gain support, advice, guidance and reassurance from staff.  Young people are actively addressing their healthcare needs.  Staff encourage and support young people to attend and engage in education.  Young people are supported to seek part-time work.  Staff work effectively and collaboratively when managing episodes of missing.  Young people participate in a wide variety of group social activities.  Managers have acted on all previous requirements and recommendations.  There is a robust approach to safeguarding in the home.  Staff provide practical advice and information to young people about the impact of risk-taking behaviours.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have not clearly evidenced what they are doing daily to ensure that those young people not in education are engaging in meaningful daily routines.  Risk assessments are not robust or detailed. They do not provide sufficient clarity for staff to manage and minimise risk.  Managers have not yet completed detailed impact risk assessments prior to accepting an admission.  Not all staff possess the required qualification.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 08/08/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. The statement of purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of the children that the home is set up and equipped to care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  All managers working in a children’s home must have the qualification in regulation 28(2) within the relevant timescales listed in regulation 28(3). All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps that the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Specifically, ensure that risk assessments reflect how and what staff do to minimise and manage risk on a daily basis.  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with

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Recommendations

the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  Children should be in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained in the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school, unless the child’s relevant plan indicates that this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14) Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress while living at the home. They are developing relationships of trust, learning basic life skills and beginning to improve their well-being. Young people are encouraged and supported to attend education settings. Staff have facilitated changes of education provision well, resulting in young people quickly settling in to their new schools. A young person moved school and, within a few weeks of arriving, attended all of his exams. Those young people not in education are encouraged daily to engage in structured activities. Staff attempts to support one young person to attend school have been unsuccessful. Staff are now working closely with others to explore alternative plans and opportunities, but the plans were delayed in their implementation. Staff prepare, support and encourage young people to investigate and plan further education and employment opportunities. A young person has sought part-time work

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and another has enrolled onto a college course. Staff celebrate each young person’s achievements and accomplishments. Staff support young people to meet their health needs. Young people address long- standing health needs, which previously they were not able to do. Staff make referrals to health services when required. Staff facilitate and assist with family contact. They follow detailed contact plans, which help to ensure that contact between young people and families is well managed for all parties. Staff advocate effectively for young people. They request reviews and raise issues with placing authorities if they consider that plans do not accurately address the young people’s needs. Staff provide young people with practical advice and education about the impact of risk-taking behaviours, encouraging them to make positive choices. Staff develop positive relationships with young people, enabling them to have open, honest and frank

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

discussions. Staff and young people plan activities and holidays. They are currently planning their summer holiday. Everyone is contributing to the plan of activities, menus and the finer details of the trip. Young people are supported to pursue hobbies and interests. Staff encourage young people to explore and try new experiences. Staff involve young people in aspects of decision-making about the home and their individual care. They gain the young people’s views about their wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Young people feel safe and supported while living at the home. They each have a Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 5 trusted adult that they can share their concerns and worries with. Staff respond to concerns, and records demonstrate that staff have a proactive approach to safeguarding. Safeguarding policies and procedures are understood by staff. Staff clearly record and refer concerns to the external agencies when needed. Managers have identified that staff require additional training about radicalisation, gang culture, and female genital mutilation to ensure that their knowledge remains current. There have been no allegations made since the previous inspection. Managers have explored, investigated and responded to complaints. Complainants have been provided with a clear response and outcome to any concern raised. Episodes of missing are well managed through a collaborative and coordinated

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improvement to be good

approach. Staff actively seek young people and request the support of additional agencies. Staff welcome young people back to the home and offer young people the opportunity to explore and talk about their reasons for going missing. Staff are proactive and consistent in how they manage behaviour in the home. Staff use a variety of strategies to de-escalate situations. They utilise their knowledge and relationships with young people to avoid the use of physical intervention. Staff have clear boundaries and expectations of behaviour. Young people are encouraged and supported to work through conflict and challenge with peers. Risk assessments detail actions required to minimise risk. They are regularly reviewed and updated. A risk assessment and plan for self-harm did not detail what actions and control measures are needed to manage and minimise risk. There is no lone working policy and the fire risk assessments were not updated to reflect the new location for

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improvement to be good

fire-fighting equipment. Managers’ complete assessments and plans prior to admission, ensuring that need and risk can be minimised and managed effectively. They do not explicitly explore the impact of new admissions on others already living at the home. Staff have completed a great deal of maintenance and improvement to the environment of the home. The home’s development plan details when other areas will be decorated and refurbished. Managers adhere to safer recruitment practice and procedures. Newly appointed staff are provided with a thorough induction to the home. They complete a probation period, in which their practice and knowledge is regularly reviewed and monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager leads the home effectively. He has not yet achieved his required qualification. The registered manager has responded to all of the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. He has implemented systems which monitor and evaluate the quality of care provided in the home. Staff are caring and nurturing towards young people. They have developed good Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 6 relationships with young people. They encourage young people to develop their personal skills and independence. During inspection, there was an incident when staff did not prioritise the needs of the young people before their own. This had a negative impact, with young people becoming agitated and unsettled. Staff benefit from regular and effective supervision, but they have not had an annual appraisal of their practice. Managers address and monitor staff performance and practice. Newly appointed staff are provided with a thorough induction to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

They complete a probation in which their practice and knowledge is regularly reviewed and monitored. Staff are enrolled on the required qualification, but not all have achieved this within the expected timescale. Staff complete a wide variety of training, and are due to have first aid training this week (the accreditation for which has expired for some staff). Staff have not yet completed specific training about radicalisation; this was addressed during inspection and an online training module has been sourced. There is regular additional scrutiny of the home through the visits of the independent person. The manager acts on their findings and this informs the home’s development plan. Managers have built and maintained positive relationships with others outside of the home. This positively impacts on young people’s plans and ensures a joint approach to supporting young people. There has been positive critical learning following the multi-

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

agency review, with lessons learned from significant incident sessions. Leaders and managers have completed robust effective pre-admission processes with clear plans that promote a young person’s ability to settle into the home. These processes have enabled young people to begin to develop relationships with staff, and they move into the home with a clear understanding of where they will be living. These processes provide the opportunity for managers to have a clear understanding of a young person’s needs and risk factors while developing those initial relationships.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 7 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 children’s home: SC487165 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serenity Care Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Greenacres, Silver Street, Hordle, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 0FN

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Inspector

Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC487165 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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