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

Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 1 SC478315 Registered provider: The Serendipity Centre Limited

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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 privately owned home is registered to care for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The organisation which owns the home also has sister homes in the local area and a therapeutic education setting. The home specialises in caring for girls who have experienced physical and/or emotional trauma in their past; it also provides them with access to therapeutic services.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 December 2017

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 18 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress while living at the home.  All young people are engaged in full-time education and making educational progress within their individual capabilities.  Young people are successfully engaged in addressing their physical and emotional health, and this is having a positive impact on their future life chances.  Staff support young people to develop essential life and social skills promoting opportunities into adulthood.  Young people make positive contributions to the community in which they live; they access a wide variety of community activities and services.  Knowledgeable and skilled staff support young people to explore, manage and address their anxieties and behaviours.  Staff are caring and nurturing in their approach with young people.

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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

 Leaders and managers have not consistently reviewed and evaluated records to ensure that they are clear, detailed and contain all of the required information.  Leaders and managers have not reviewed incidents and safeguarding concerns to explore patterns and trends and to identify whether interventions have been effective.  Young people admitted to the home have not always been clearly assessed as to their compatibility with those already residing in the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2017 Full Outstanding 31/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/01/2016 Full Good 11/11/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to 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 person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) 01/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ , page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. ( ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 9.59, page 49)

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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 children 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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 4 experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress while living in the home. Staff form good relationships with young people which support them through their daily achievements and challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are in full-time education. Individual education plans are followed, through which young people make progress and engage in preferred education activities that develop their individual skills. Staff have good, effective relationships with education providers; they regularly discuss and share concerns to ensure that a consistent approach with young people is taken across the settings. Staff attend young people’s school celebrations and reviews and supplement learning through the home-based activities they offer. Staff support and encourage young people to consider and explore all of their further education opportunities and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support young people to access healthcare services, and refer them to specialist services when needed. Staff referred a young person swiftly to services when concerns arose, and ensured that specialist support was obtained quickly, which helped the young person to speedily return to improved health. Young people develop and improve their health and emotional welfare through the services they access and the approach and support offered to them in the home. Young people are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles through a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical exercise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to develop their interests and hobbies. Young people have protected weekly activities which they choose and enjoy. These activities are specific to each young person and assist them to regulate and manage their feelings, emotions and develop confidence and self-esteem. These activities include football, attending a youth club, music, art and ice skating. The young people also enjoy the home’s holidays, pamper sessions and trips out for treats.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to develop independence, social and life skills through a variety of activities. Young people plan, budget, shop and prepare basic meals. They assist with basic household chores and are being encouraged to take age-appropriate risks in the community when having free time. A young person has passed a moped driving test, another has passed her cycling proficiency course, while others are learning to use public transport. Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 5 Staff have formulated clear support plans which detail likes, dislikes, how to spot when a young person is becoming upset or anxious, and how to support them at these times. Young people are involved in the creation of plans, with their voice expressed within them. Staff regularly review and amend plans through the multi-disciplinary review meetings which young people attend every six weeks. Young people contribute and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

understand their targets and goals. The regular reviews enable a clear, consistent message and approach to the care provided. Young people also voice their views, hopes and aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported through carefully planned, facilitated and safely managed contact with their families and friends. Young people are safely supported to form positive relationships with family members, including those who they have been estranged from.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have good knowledge and understanding of risk factors affecting young people, and the policy and procedure to follow when concerns arise. They know what is required to manage and minimise risk, applying a swift response to concerns, and referral to external professionals when needed. However, records are not explicit or clear about staff actions, and managers have not consistently monitored and reviewed records to ensure that they provide all the required information. Records contain lots of information which is duplicated, but it is not collated to ensure clear evaluation of intervention, action and outcome.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments detail all known risk factors and provide some information about practical strategies to manage and minimise risk. One record viewed did not detail the preventative strategies and approaches to minimise risk. Staff provide practical advice and guidance to young people about the impact of their risk-taking behaviours. Staff and others complete risk assessments which consider a young person’s risk level associated with child sexual exploitation. Staff and others have formulated plans to address and minimise risk. They have not reviewed or updated a pre-admission risk assessment for a young person who moved here from a sister home in the organisation.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people have missing from home plans which detail the required response to episodes of young people being missing from the home. There have been no episodes of missing since the previous inspection. Staff understand their responsibilities and the required response if an episode arises.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in the home’s preferred approach to behaviour management and support. Young people have a behaviour support plan that considers triggers, behaviours and how best to support them at times of crisis. Staff record incidents well, with information about antecedents, and how staff responded, and interventions used. Staff seek and explore a young person’s view, post incident. There is also some evidence of staff views regarding their actions being explored, but records lack detail. Managers have not explored the effectiveness and learning, post incident. Staff have used physical Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 6 intervention on occasions, but this has been for very short periods of time, and records clearly show who and what this involved, and how long intervention was used.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff use a wide variety of rewards to promote and celebrate positive behaviour and achievements, and they use many more rewards than sanctions. Sanctions given are generally linked to cause or behaviour but, on occasions, this is not the case. Staff gain a young person’s view about the sanction, but managers have not routinely and consistently monitored or reviewed sanctions to ensure that they are effective, reparative or linked to the cause.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people raise concerns and complaints either on a written form or through conversations with staff. Staff have reviewed and explored complaints, with response and outcomes given to complainants. Staff have reparative and rebuild conversations with young people to resolve conflict and difficulties between peers. Young people have written apology letters and completed restorative acts of kindness following some concerns. The current system used by staff is over-complicated and creates confusion.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Medication is appropriately stored and managed in the home, with clear systems and procedures which staff follow. Since the last inspection, there was one error, which staff swiftly acted on, seeking advice and guidance, and the impact was minimal.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home is well presented and managed through regular checks on the environment and damage is repaired swiftly.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are due to update and review the home’s location risk assessment, following recent changes in the local community in which the home is based.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safer recruitment processes are followed, and records demonstrate that all necessary information is gathered pre-employment. However, they require closer oversight to ensure that they provide clarity and detail about gaps in employment history and how references are verified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a change in the day-to-day management of the home since the last inspection. The registered manager also has another role within the organisation, and this has had a negative impact on the management oversight and monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home and the evaluation of records and documents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and staff have very good knowledge and understanding of each young person’s needs and plans. They have formed positive professional relationships with external stakeholders through regular communication and discussion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and this informs an up-to-date continuous improvement plan. The robust monthly independent Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 7 visits to the home provide an additional layer of scrutiny and challenge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Newly appointed staff follow a thorough induction process which incorporates core training and shadowing opportunities. A newly appointed member of staff had received reviews, but not supervision, in their first few months of employment. Staff have access to regular supervision, but the quality of records requires improvement and detail to evidence the staff development and progress from one session to the next. Staff do access additional reflective supervision, but these records are basic in detail.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Training and staff development opportunities are provided through regular team meetings, focused training sessions, team review of young people’s plans and online training suitable to their role. Staff are enrolled or have achieved the required qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders, managers, staff and young people have formed positive relationships and links with many in their local community. They engage well with local services and community-based activities.

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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 differences 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 whom 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 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: SC478315 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Serendipity Centre Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1st Floor, Goodlands House, St. Lukes Close, Hedge End, Southampton SO30 2US

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Inspector(s)

Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478315 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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