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

Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 1 SC485423 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 five children. It is privately owned by an organisation which has other registered children’s home and an educational setting in the vicinity.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 15 November 2020.

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/07/2019 Full Inadequate 08/11/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New children planning to move into the home are carefully assessed, including consideration being given to the matching of children who are already living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Senior leaders focus on the welfare of children. For example, when a child moves between homes in the organisation, staff continue to work with the child until they settle in. This is effective in ensuring that children have familiar support at times of change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During regular meetings, children are given the opportunity to have their say in the running of the home and express any worries or concerns they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children raise complaints, they are swiftly addressed. However, the written details of the investigation and outcomes are not recorded in line with the organisation’s policy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is a priority. Staff recognise children’s barriers to learning and bring in bespoke support that helps children to engage in formal learning. One child has made significant progress in their learning and has ambitious plans for the future. Staff have supported a child to apply for jobs, including carrying out mock interviews. The child is now actively looking for jobs and has confidently attended an interview.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The clinical psychologist and therapy team work effectively with senior leaders and staff to progress children’s care plans. Regular meetings and thorough and informed assessments are instrumental in identifying children’s future needs.

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

Staff are vigilant in identifying any risks that could compromise a child’s safety. For example, children receive early support to understand the risks of the internet and how to keep themselves safe when online.

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

Children receive a high level of supervision and, as a result, they rarely go missing from the home.

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

The manager has oversight of all records, and the responsible individual reviews incidents when the manager or deputy manager are involved. There are clear strategies and guidelines for responding to each child’s specific behaviours. This ensures that there is a consistent response to any challenging situation. One child has made significant progress in managing difficult emotions and their associated behaviours. However, evidence is not provided to demonstrate that all incidents are reviewed within 24 hours of the incident occurring. In addition, the records do not Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 4 clearly identify who was involved at each stage. This hinders the manager’s analysis of these reports.

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

The staff follow the home’s fire safety policies and procedures. They ensure that regular fire evacuation drills occur and act swiftly on recommendations raised by the fire service.

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

Staff work closely with the youth offending team when children have been involved in criminal activities. This includes staff supporting a child to successfully complete work with the youth offending team.

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

Ofsted is notified of serious events in line with regulation. However, the recording is brief with little information regarding the incident that occurred. This prevents the regulator from having a thorough oversight of safety concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. She provides effective leadership to ensure that children receive a high standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides opportunities to reflect on and develop their practice. However, regular agency workers are not offered any formal supervision. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that all regular staff have time to reflect on their practice. In addition, some records of staff’s appraisals are brief and do not reflect how staff’s professional needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings enable staff to discuss children’s specific needs and agree on responses that help to ensure that children continue to receive consistent care. The contribution of the therapy team is essential in equipping the staff with the knowledge and skills needed to respond appropriately to children’s trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good induction and a training programme available to all staff. This includes a structured pathway for staff to progress in their career. There has been a focus on providing additional training, specific to the needs of an individual child. The work force plan is a useful document. However, it is not kept up to date. Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 5

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii)) 1 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)() 1 September 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home. It should also be used to record the training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should have systems in place so all staff, including regular agency staff, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. This should allow them to reflect on their practice and their needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 6  The registered person should ensure that the home’s record of the notification of

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Recommendations

a serious event includes detail of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. Additionally, it should provide enough information for Ofsted to be satisfied that the child is safeguarded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 4.13)

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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: SC485423 7

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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

Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC485423 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 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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