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

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

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to four children with complex needs. Three children were 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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 19/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC471672 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have moved out of the home. Staff prepare and support children well with these moves. One child had to move out due to a significant safeguarding concern. Despite the child’s move being unexpected, the manager supported the child throughout the transition process to settle them into their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well furnished and maintained, and provides a welcoming and pleasant environment for children to live in. Children personalise their bedrooms and this allows them to have a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about living here. One child told the inspector, ‘I have had many different homes, but this is the best place I have ever lived. It’s made such a big impact on me in such a small amount of time.’ It is a home where care for everyone is promoted. Staff and children celebrate and cherish their individual and shared successes. These positive relationships and experiences have resulted in children developing a sense of security and belonging. The children make good progress in important aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built strong relationships with the staff who care for them. This helps children to build trust and to feel safer and relaxed in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a positive ethos around the importance of education. As a result, children do well in education and have full-time attendance. The home advocates for children’s education and works closely with education establishments to ensure that the best possible academic outcomes are achieved for children. This support helps children to grow in confidence and self-esteem. It also provides them with a greater opportunity to reach their full potential and increase their life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to support children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Staff take time to plan these visits carefully. This enables children to have positive experiences with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s memories are captured through photographs and are stored in beautiful and personalised books. These books provide children with a valuable record of the time they spent living in the home.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and clear. They provide staff with the information and guidance they need to understand and support the specific vulnerabilities and risks for each child. This awareness is embedded in the staff’s day-to-day work, which reduces and minimises the risks for children effectively. Staff are directed in how to manage and mitigate the risks identified for each child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC471672 4 Staff are clear about their responsibilities to protect children. Staff understand the child protection policy and know how to report a safeguarding concern. The manager has an effective system in place for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Liaison with professionals, such as the local authority designated officer and social workers, is effective. Information is shared swiftly with them to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. The

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

manager takes guidance from these professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe. Safeguarding records are comprehensive and detail the outcome of any concern and further actions staff need to be aware of.

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

Staff educate children around potential risk. Children take part in key-work sessions and engage in meetings where safeguarding scenarios are discussed to address identified risks and raise their awareness about topics of concern. This direct work includes the topics of stranger danger, online safety and managing emotions. This positive work enhances children’s knowledge of risk and allows them to take the lead in their learning.

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

Staff and children have positive and caring relationships with each other. Managers and staff listen to children’s views. Children know how to make a complaint, and any complaints are taken seriously. As a result, children feel listened to and valued.

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

Staff physically intervene when children become unsettled and show behaviours which place themselves or others at risk of harm. Staff understand the reasons behind children’s behaviours and provide good support to children afterwards. This helps children to move on from incidents. The manager provides scrutiny of all incidents and measures of control to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate. Good management oversight and prompt action to address issues mean that children are treated fairly and stay safe.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow the required protocols effectively. Searches conducted by staff and persistent attempts to make contact with children show children that staff care about them. Proactive collaboration with parents, local authorities and police supports children to return home safely. Missing-from-care incident records are clear, enabling thorough monitoring of these events by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably experienced manager leads the team. The manager holds some relevant qualifications for this role and is currently completing the Level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The manager keeps children at the heart of all she does. She is passionate about the care the home provides and is ambitious for the children, and she ensures that this ethos spreads through the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good knowledge of children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living at the home. She is fully involved in children’s lives. She is Inspection report for children’s home: SC471672 5 clear about the progress children are making and has high aspirations for what they can achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. Effective auditing tools are utilised which produce action plans to develop the staff’s practice further and promote consistency in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good and staff enjoy working at the home. One staff member told the inspector, ‘The manager is supportive. We really respect her; she makes us feel valued for the work we do.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets the children’s individual and diverse needs. Team meetings and supervision sessions take place monthly and are used for reflection and learning. Important issues are tracked and discussed, and children are at the centre of all practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established good connections with partner agencies. Professionals are positive about the communication with the staff team and the care provided for the children. One social worker told the inspector, ‘They are really attentive to [name of child]’s needs and have a lovely nurturing approach.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Current staffing arrangements mean that there is a high use of agency staff. The manager is aware of this shortfall and is working hard to recruit a full staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Two members of staff have not obtained their Level 3 qualification in residential childcare within the required timeframes. This means that not all staff have been trained to the required level to meet children’s needs. The manager is taking steps to address this. Inspection report for 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 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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that no more than half the staff on duty at the home at any one time, by day or night, are from an external agency. 1 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or 1 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC471672 7 in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that staff complete the required qualification within the given timescale.

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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: SC471672 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serenity Specialist Care Ltd

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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

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC471672 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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