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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 1 Registered provider: The Serendipity Centre Limited 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 for up to four children. It is privately owned by an organisation which has two other registered children’s homes and a registered school in the local area.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

This is the first inspection of this home since it was registered in April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home make good progress because they experience well planned care from staff who are attentive and familiar with children’s needs. Interactions between children and staff are warm and nurturing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Encouraging children to engage in education is a priority for staff and children make good progress from their starting points. As a result of proactive support from staff, one child has engaged in a part-time hair and beauty course. The child also attends the organisation’s school and is preparing to sit their GCSE exams. When the child finishes school, they will be returning to live nearer their family. The child is considering changing their career pathway to a cooking apprenticeship. Staff give children the confidence to pursue goals that are important to them, and support children to select education placements that provide the greatest chance of success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The progress that children make in relation to their emotional well-being improves their life chances. The social worker for one child who has recently left the home told the inspector that, ‘Because of the child’s relationships with the staff, the child learned how to express how they were feeling. The staff always showed empathy and reassurance that they were there for the child’. The child has been able to move from the home into a foster family. Building and maintaining positive relationships with staff makes children feel secure and cared for and enables them to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to helping children live as independently as possible. Teaching practical skills to children is embedded into practice. Children have independence folders and activities are based on children’s individual ability and circumstances. In one example, a child who has already developed skills in cooking and completing other domestic tasks, is now moving on to learn about opening bank accounts and registering with health providers. Sensitive support from staff enables children to become more confident about their ability to live independently in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s success is celebrated and is captured in ‘Good News’ letters. These are shared with people who are important to children. The letters are added to children’s individual memory books which also have photos of their enjoyable experiences during their time at the home. There is meaningful commentary to accompany the photos. Consequently, the records demonstrate a positive lived experience for children and reflect the good progress that children are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity and respect. One child is being sensitively supported to understand more about their sexuality. Staff spoke with pride when they described the improvement in the child’s self-confidence. They said the child has changed from being shy and reserved when they arrived, to happy and Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 3 confident now. The child told the inspector that their mental well-being had improved as a result of living at the home. Staff promote an inclusive culture that promotes equality and diversity and enables children to explore their developing sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A recent development for the organisation is the addition of a clinical team who work in partnership with the care staff. Therapists from the clinical team are in the process of creating individual clinical care plans for children. These plans provide staff with information about how to work in a trauma-informed way with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms have personal items which reflect their interests and identity. However, some of the living areas are lacking in items that would give the house a more homely feel. Children told the inspector that they would like the house to look more homely.

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

Children’s safety and well-being are priorities for staff. Incidents of children being at risk of harm reduce over time. In one example, a child is being offered extensive support to help them learn how to safely manage their diabetes before they move on to live more independently. The child is often reluctant to accept any help from staff, but staff remain resilient and determined to help the child become increasingly safe. Staff understand the importance of trying to address specific vulnerabilities that exist for children.

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

There is a robust process in place to assess children’s needs before they come to live at the home. Managers undertake a thorough risk assessment of the likely impact of the child moving into the home, focusing on their needs alongside those of children who already live there. One child has moved on from the home because staff were unable to manage their behavioural incidents due to the frequency and severity of them. It is evident that staff made every effort to keep the child safe and avoid the placement ending, but managers recognised that the child’s behaviour was having a negative impact on other children living at the home. The child was supported to have a successful move to one of the organisation’s other homes. Managers and staff have reflected on the child’s time at the home and have used this learning to inform their current practice in relation to planning and matching.

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

Managers have made sure that the electronic record-keeping system used in the home is streamlined. This means that all staff can easily access children’s records when they need to refer to them. Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans provide staff with strategies to reduce risk and practical steps to take if risks arise. As a result, risk assessments and behaviour support plans reliably inform staff how to look after children and keep them safe.

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

The inspector found practice of fire doors being propped open. This undermines the fire safety of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 4 Safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by the manager and staff responsible for this area of practice. All necessary checks are in place to ensure that children are protected from unsuitable people working in the home. However, staff recruitment files do not fully demonstrate a high level of scrutiny with regard to staff conduct and performance in all their previous work with children and vulnerable adults. As a result, the safety of the recruitment process is undermined by some incomplete records.

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

Records of missing-from-care episodes for two children who have now left the home demonstrate that there is a robust response from staff to ensure that children return safely when they go missing. The frequency of both children’s missing-from-care episodes reduced dramatically when they came to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is currently no registered manager at the home. However, children have benefited from consistency in the management team. The manager in day-to-day charge of the home was previously the deputy manager. He is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are mindful that this is a newly formed staff team and some staff members have only limited experience of working with children. Only a small proportion of staff have the necessary qualifications as required by the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations (2015). The remaining staff are working towards achieving the qualification and are on target to do so within the required timescales. The knowledge, skills and experience of the staff team are considered alongside the complexity of children’s needs when managers make decisions about which children will come to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access good-quality training provided by the organisation and they receive regular, meaningful supervision sessions. Staff who are ready for career progression within the organisation are given carefully supported development opportunities. Managers demonstrate that staff are valued which inspires staff to give good-quality care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation maintains the statement of purpose for the home. However, revised versions of the statement of purpose are not being sent to Ofsted and the most recent version is not published on the organisation’s website. This risks the regulator and other interested parties being unclear about any changes to the home’s intended aims and objectives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to empowering children to have a say in decisions which affect them. Children have regular meetings with their keyworkers to review their placement plans. This ensures that children know what is being written about them and children can influence the way they are looked after. However, children told the inspector that they are unhappy with the management team’s response to suggestions they have made about changing some practice and Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 5 routines. Limited consultation with children about the way the house is run has resulted in children not being confident that their voices are being heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have sound awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There is a comprehensive service development plan in place to further improve the service. During the inspection, leaders and managers demonstrated that there is an embedded culture of welcoming feedback from external sources. Criticisms and comments about the service are seen as an opportunity to learn, reflect and improve. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 6

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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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it;

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Requirement Due date

and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b) (4)) 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)) 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that recruitment records demonstrate that managers have sought to verify applicants’ reasons for leaving all previous roles involving work with children or vulnerable adults. 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 for children’s home: 2605336 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

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605336 9 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 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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