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 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and support for up to four children with complex needs. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2021 and is completing a leadership and management qualification at level 5.

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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: 19 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/06/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. They respond well to staff support, develop life skills and enjoy activities. For some children, the strong relationships they build with staff are noteworthy considering their previous experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop their independence. For one child, a clear and structured personalised programme has helped them to feel more confident. For another child, who moved to semi-independence, the work done by staff has meant that they are doing well in a more independent environment. This child’s network told the inspector that given their previous experiences, the development of their independence skills has been ‘remarkable’. This means that staff prepare children as much as they can for their next steps towards adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and on from the home are positive. Staff have a personalised approach to children to make them feel welcome. Staff give children a bright, cheerful guide to the home when they arrive. However, not all the information in this guide is clear. This means that some information is not well matched to children’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They can mostly predict how children will react in different situations. As a result, incidents are rare as staff help children to make good choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand their health needs. This includes children taking an active role with their health and medication where possible. Children are also supported to know when to ask for help with their health, which is an essential life skill. Staff encourage children to eat healthily and develop their cooking skills. These factors combine to help children to deepen their understanding of health and how they can stay healthy.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s difficulties and associated risks. Managers make sure that risk assessments and plans are in place which give staff clear guidance on how to keep children safe. Managers review this guidance regularly, which means that staff have the most up-to-date information to care for children.

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

Children complete a wide range of individual work sessions with staff, which helps them to develop. This is an area of strength in the home. For example, staff have completed work on exploitation and consent, which were relevant to children at their stage of development. Children enjoy these sessions and engage with them well. Staff encourage children to take positive risks, but staff remain clear when they Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 4 need to step in and be more directive. For example, staff give children freedom with their mobile phones but have clear boundaries that help them to stay safe. This work all adds to a culture where children can safely explore difficult things.

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

The registered manager gives staff comprehensive written guidance to support their understanding of long-term health conditions, such as diabetes. However, not all staff adhere to the protocols in place and not all staff have had sufficient direct training about diabetes. In addition, the registered manager has an inconsistent approach to determining staff competency relating to diabetes care. Staff lone working at times compounds this concern. In addition, staff do not always lock medication away. As a result, children are potentially left at risk of harm. There is no indication that children’s health has been negatively affected by this at the time of this inspection. However, it does remain a shortfall in safe practice.

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

Children very rarely go missing from the home. When this does happen, staff follow children’s protocols to help them safely return. Staff welcome children back warmly, and the registered manager makes sure that they can have a conversation with an independent person about why they have gone missing. Staff are keen to develop their practice in this area because they want to do the best they can for children.

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

The registered manager and leaders manage recruitment well. They explore gaps in employment, and staff do not start working in the home until all employment processes are complete. As a result, leaders and managers are confident that the staff caring for children are suitable.

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good

The registered manager has some useful processes to help her oversee the activity of the home. In addition, the responsible individual completes detailed audits which help to identify strengths and areas to develop. Despite these useful systems, there are shortfalls in oversight. For example, monitoring activity has not noted when staff are not adhering to health protocols. Leaders have completed a useful risk assessment to help staff who lone work. However, this does not identify all staff who this applies to. Leaders and managers have also not noted errors in training records. In addition, the registered manager has not taken effective action to ensure that all staff complete training within set timescales. As a result, not all staff have completed training which is relevant to children in the home. This reduces their knowledge base to help them to respond to children.

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good

Staff value their regular team meetings where they talk about children and how they can best support them. Staff also have regular supervision meetings. These meetings are short and do not offer a full opportunity to reflect on practice or consider the impact of training. In addition, records are brief and do not evidence discussions. As a result, this limits opportunities for supervisors to drive improvement. Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 5 Leaders and managers take concerns about staff practice seriously. They investigate concerns if needed and put in place clear actions. However, on a rare occasion, some unkind actions taken by staff were not formally investigated. This is a missed opportunity to emphasise to children that they should only expect, and receive, the best care and support from all staff. The staff who this concern related to have moved on from the home.

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good

Staff keep children’s views central to their work. Staff record children’s views, so they are accessible to children, and they take into account children’s individual learning needs. The registered manager responds to all feedback. She also takes all opportunities to celebrate children’s successes. This means that children feel valued and appreciate how the registered manager and staff help them.

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good

The registered manager has a clear system to monitor progress. This system is fully inclusive of children, and staff and children identify actions to help children to develop further. The registered manager makes sure that actions link to children’s plans. This gives children a clear picture of their successes. This boosts their confidence so that they can feel they are doing well.

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good

Professionals are confident that staff and the registered manager care for children well and help them to develop. Professionals are clear that children make progress and are happy. For some children, this means settled periods where they engage well with their peers in the home. For one child, this is a new experience. Professionals told the inspector that the supportive relationships this child has built with staff have made all the difference.

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good

The registered manager challenges other professionals to ensure that children receive the education they deserve. This has resulted in one child starting a vocational education placement which suits their needs. As a result, this child is increasing their social and employability skills for their future. Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 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

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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that there are sufficient staff working in the home at all times who are trained and assessed as competent to manage children’s health conditions, including understanding how these may impact on behaviour. 11 August 2022

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff complete necessary training to support children in line with their own policy. In addition, leaders and managers must use their monitoring to ensure that staff are adhering to 11 August 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 7 protocols and take appropriate action if needed. Leaders’ and managers’ monitoring should also ensure accuracy of records.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff adhere to children’s plans and protocols, particularly, but not exclusively, relating to health conditions. 11 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that medication storage is kept secure. 11 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide meets the requirements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should ensure that supervision provides staff with an opportunity to reflect on all areas of their practice and that the narrative of records reflects this to aid staff development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 8

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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 children’s home: SC471672 9

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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, West Midlands B91 3RT

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Inspector

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC471672 10 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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