Children's Home run by Serenity Specialist Care Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 1 SC471672 Registered provider: Serenity Specialist Care Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have learning disabilities. It is owned and operated by a small private company.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring inspection took place on 19 January 2018 and a compliance notice was served. This was because of insufficient actions being taken with regard to ensuring that young people were attending education. The compliance notice must be complied with by 28 February 2018.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness. This home was inspected in May 2017 and judged to be good. A monitoring visit took place in October 2017 due to Ofsted receiving concerns about behaviour management. The outcome to this visit was that one requirement and one recommendation were made. A further monitoring visit took place in January 2018 in response to Ofsted receiving further concerns. A compliance notice was served following the January 2018 monitoring inspection. This was because there had been insufficient actions to promote educational outcomes for young people. This interim inspection took place to review progress since the last full inspection. At the monitoring inspection in October 2017, a recommendation was made with regard to ensuring that young people’s concerns are properly recorded and assessed. This was

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 2 in relation to young people expressing dissatisfaction with sanctions. Since this time, staff and managers have not always ensured that the negative views of young people are explored when sanctions are given. For example, where young people say they are unhappy with a sanction, there is no follow-up discussion or exploration of any complaints the young people may wish to raise. This means that there is the potential for young people’s complaints to go unheard and not be acted upon. The leadership and management of the home have not improved sufficiently since the May 2017 inspection. A failure to have suitable monitoring and review systems in place has contributed to a decline in the quality of care. For example, there has been insufficient review of young people’s risk management plans following incidents. Specifically, there has been an increase in episodes of missing but there is no

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

corresponding review, or change to risk management plans, detailing how to manage this increasing risk. Some records lack detail and the managers have not followed this up or identified areas to improve. When young people have been known to display bullying behaviours, this is not addressed in their plans. When young people are known to encourage other young people in negative behaviours, this is not reflected in risk management plans. As a result of this failure to monitor and review, staff lack clear guidance in how to manage these behaviours. The registered managers have tried to stabilise the home following periods where staffing levels have been lower than required. Active recruitment of staff is underway and the use of agency staff is now reducing. However, there have been periods of staffing inconsistency in the home. For example, 18 different adults worked in the home during a period of November 2017, which meant that young people were not afforded

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

continuity of care during that time. A young person told the inspector that there had been ‘too many different staff on duty’. Agency staff are not suitably vetted prior to their employment starting. While the recruitment of the home’s permanent staff is robust, managers have not applied the same rigour to the recruitment of agency staff. For example, the skills, qualifications and employment histories of these workers have not been verified. Furthermore, managers in the home have not ensured that agency workers’ criminal record checks are suitable or that previous employer references have been checked. This means that there is the potential for unsuitable adults to work in the home. There have been two incidents when staff have failed to take effective actions to safeguard young people. Both of these incidents resulted in harm to young people. One incident related to two young people engaging in bullying behaviours, and this resulted

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

in an injury to a young person. Staff tried various de-escalation attempts but did not act in accordance with the agreed risk management plans. Similarly, a young person was exposed to potential dangers in the community and was able to access an unsuitable location for a period of time. Again, staff did not follow the agreed risk management processes. This also demonstrates a lack of skill in the staff team. Managers have identified some further training needs for staff and there are plans in place to deliver this training shortly. However, to date, staff working with young people lack the necessary skills to ensure that risk management processes are consistently applied. Managers have not ensured that staff have the required skills to complete their duties effectively. There have been some positive outcomes for young people since the last inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 3 Young people were supported positively to make planned moves and did so with

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

success. During their time at the home, these young people made progress as a result of effective support provided by the staff team. For example, some young people attended college and also made progress in developing their skills for adulthood. Similarly, there has been some positive work with the current young people in the home. Key-working sessions are regular, and young people are able to engage in work to develop their life skills; staff support young people to plan food shopping and complete other tasks to encourage their developing independence. The home is judged to have declined in effectiveness. This is because there has been a decline in the quality of care. Seven regulatory shortfalls have been identified as a result of this inspection. Furthermore, a compliance notice remains in place with regard to education. Ofsted will monitor this compliance notice through further inspection activity.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/05/2017 Full Good 08/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/05/2016 Full Good 25/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) and (2)(a)(viii)) 28/02/2018 * Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 4 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(i)(vi)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1) and 13 (2)(c)(e)) 31/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) and 13 (2)(h)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d)) 28/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 28/02/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 5 * These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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

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

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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serenity Specialist Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, Dominion Court, 43 Station Road, Solihull B91 3RT

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Shenai Kaur and Salma Shaheen

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Inspectors

Pete Hylton, social care compliance inspector Balsinder Jaspal-Mander, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 6 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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