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

Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 1 SC471672

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Serenity Specialist Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children‟s home is registered to provide care for up to four young people who have learning disabilities. The home is owned and operated by a small private company.

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This monitoring visit

At the interim inspection on 30 January 2018, the home was judged to have declined in effectiveness. A compliance notice was issued in relation to continuing shortfalls in young people attending and receiving education. Four other requirements were raised reflecting shortfalls in the protection of children, leadership and management, safe recruitment and the management of complaints.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual and registered manager have made progress in addressing the compliance notice and the identified steps have been met. One other requirement is met in relation to the management of complaints. However, progress has not been made in meeting the other requirements. A number of additional shortfalls were identified during this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

There has been a significant deterioration in the presentation of the home since the last inspection. There are potential hazards for children, young people and staff. For example, data cables were observed protruding out of the wall in the hallway and the cooker door had been smashed, with pieces of glass remaining in the cooker. There was graffiti on a young person‟s bedroom door, a hole in the wall of the lounge and food splattered on some walls. In addition, a young person‟s bedroom was sparsely decorated. During the inspection, some action was taken to ensure that the wires were removed and the hole in the lounge wall was filled. In the games room there was no light bulb, and during the inspection one young person‟s family contact was taking place in the room in the dark. In another larger reception room there was only one light bulb, leaving the room dark and uninviting. Further concerns were identified due to poor record-keeping relating to the repairs needed

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This monitoring visit

and a lack of awareness of when this damage had been caused. This does not Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 2 demonstrate to the young people that they are valued. They are not provided with a homely, safe and nurturing environment.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers are failing to ensure that risk is appropriately managed. This is because risk assessments do not reflect the current concerns for the young people and they lack details of how staff can manage their behaviour. This is compounded by young people‟s behaviour management plans not being individualised. This means that vulnerable young people are not afforded care that reflects their current individual needs or vulnerabilities.

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This monitoring visit

One young person has moved into the home since the last inspection. The impact risk assessment is not robust and fails to consider the compatibility of the young person with the existing group. In particular, leaders and managers do not consider the impact of each person‟s learning disability, age, risks and behaviours in this assessment. One young person has moved out of the home in an unplanned way. His placement ended following a serious incident when staff were unable to manage his behaviour. This resulted in the young person being arrested and not returning to the home. The recording of this incident is weak. This does not ensure that leaders and managers are able to reflect on and learn from the incident to improve the quality of care that they provide.

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This monitoring visit

Staff lack the skills to provide safe care to young people. Consequently, young people are at risk of harm. Staff are unable to manage young people‟s behaviour. For example, when the young people go into the local area, the staff are unable to keep them safe. While staff are with them, the young people have been known to buy a penknife, pick up cigarettes, ask people for cigarettes and cannabis, and climb on fire escapes and flat roofs. Despite their best efforts, the staff are unable to keep the young people safe in the home and the young people hurt each other. Staff and managers do not understand what to do when they observe that young people are harmed. For example, on 31 January 2018, staff observed bruising to a young person‟s arm, which he alleged had been caused by „play fighting‟ with a peer. Managers and staff did not immediately alert the placing authorities. They do not consider this to be a safeguarding issue.

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This monitoring visit

Staff inappropriately rely on the police to manage young people‟s behaviour. The police service is now working with the home to reduce police intervention. The model that the home has introduced, in conjunction with the police, is that after five verbal warnings the police may be called. After this, the police will remove the young person from the home. This does not promote positive behaviour management or recognise how the complex needs of young people may have an impact on their behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

When staff use physical intervention, records of these incidents lack key details, including an adequate description of the young person‟s behaviour leading up to the use of the measure, the techniques that staff used to de-escalate their behaviour, a clear description of the actual physical intervention used and its duration. This is not safe practice for young people or staff and does not ensure that managers and staff Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 3 can evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

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This monitoring visit

Staff lack the required training, qualifications and skills to provide safe care to young people. Managers do not know what training and qualifications agency staff have undertaken. It is unclear which members of the staff team have achieved the level 3 diploma in residential childcare or an equivalent qualification. Staff have undertaken restraint and de-escalation training and have requested additional behaviour management training. However, they lack the skills to manage young people‟s behaviour. For example, during the inspection, inspectors observed a young person leave the home by climbing out of the window. He also entered the office and blocked the door from the inside. He then took the home‟s minibus keys.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are ineffective in helping young people to improve their personal hygiene. At the time of the inspection, a young person had not showered for a week. The staff had not supported the young person to develop a routine.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not consistently and proactively promote young people‟s engagement in positive activities. There was no evidence of games and activities in the home, and young people were observed to have no structure or routine which would promote positive behaviour. For example, on arrival, there were no chairs in the dining room, which meant that there was nowhere for the young people to sit and eat their meals; the chairs were later found to be locked away in a cupboard. In the games room, there were no games and the computer keyboard had missing keys. Some young people engage in activities such as Laser Quest and baking. Other young people have „walking around the village‟ as an activity, despite this representing significant risks.

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This monitoring visit

Leadership and management are poor. The management team lacks insight into how to develop the home and make meaningful changes. The review and monitoring processes that are in place are ineffective. Leaders and managers were unable to provide key information during the inspection to evidence how they had safeguarded young people and staff in relation to a number of allegations which have been made against staff. Staff recording lacks detail and clarity and does not ensure that staff, young people or others can understand events that have occurred in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Young people‟s case files are not up to date and do not always include important information, such as their legal status and consent to medical treatment. There is little evidence to suggest that this is being addressed.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers are unable to make the required changes to improve the care provided to young people. This is demonstrated by the fact that most of the previous regulatory shortfalls have not been met within the timeframes specified. As a result, poor practice continues and young people do not receive appropriate care that meets their individual needs.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all people working at the home are suitably vetted prior to starting work in the home. This refers, in particular, to Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 4 agency staff. Leaders and managers frequently use agency staff to supplement the staff team. The staff rota is unclear, so it is not possible to see exactly who worked in the home in February. The rota refers only to first names. A sample of recent agency staff was looked at by the inspectors. The recruitment file lacked essential information such as their qualifications and training and their employment history and experience. Only one reference had been obtained for each member of staff sampled. The risks presented by these failures are exacerbated by the reliance on agency workers. There is the potential for unsuitable adults to work in the home. This practice exposes children and young people to risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have not ensured that young people receive care from a consistent staff group. It is unclear how prepared agency staff are to work in the home, and induction forms are not always completed. In the week commencing 12 February 2018, 15 different members of staff worked in the home, in addition to the two managers. This does not provide consistent and nurturing care for young people.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/05/2017 Full Good 08/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/05/2016 Full Good

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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

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered provider must ensure that staff ensure the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i)) 14/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. 14/05/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child‟s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9(1)(2)(b)) In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered provider must ensure that staff help each child to develop skills to promote the child‟s well-being. (Regulation 10(2)(a)(iv)) 14/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)) 14/05/2018

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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 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

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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. 14/05/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 6 (Regulation 13(1)(2)(c)(e)(h)) 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)) 14/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes details of the behaviour leading to the use of the measure, a description of the measure and its duration, details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)) 14/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child and are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to consent for medical treatment, and young people‟s legal status. 14/05/2018

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children‟s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 7

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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 manager: Shenai Kaur and Salma Shaheen

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Inspectors

Rebecca Quested, social care inspector Lisa O‟Donovan, social care inspector Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC471672 8 to 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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