Children's home run by Serenity Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 1 Registered provider: Serenity Care Group Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children aged seven to 17 with social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted in April 2024. This is the first inspection of the home.

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Information about this children's home

There has been no registered manager since September 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The overall judgement of this home is inadequate, due to failings in how well children are helped and protected, and in the effectiveness of the leadership and management of the home. These shortfalls mean that children do not receive consistently positive experiences and their safety is not promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have positive relationships with staff. Interactions between children and staff are warm. Staff consider well the different needs of the children that relate to their different ages and are sensitive to their emotional needs. Staff engage children in storytelling to help them learn about different topics. Children say that they feel confident to talk to staff about topics such as bullying.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are some indications that children are making progress, but systems to monitor progress are still being developed. This means that systems are not currently as effective as they could or should be in supporting staff to understand how well children are doing and how best to target future support to promote further progress.. Children are encouraged to develop and learn new skills and interests. One child has developed their cooking skills and enjoys experimenting with new recipes. Staff help the children to take steps towards speaking with their families and spending time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have appropriately supported the children to manage conflict between each other when they do not get along. Staff have closely monitored the children’s relationships and have helped them to identify common interests and to spend time together to create shared memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s access to education is promoted well by staff. One child is supported to attend an alternative provision and has a new tutor while a new school is found. Managers work closely with other professionals to create plans for children to have therapeutic support at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff help children to have positive experiences. Both the children have celebrated their birthdays. One child went to a theme park for their birthday for the first time. Children regularly play football and have been swimming.

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

Concerns about staff conduct are not managed well. One serious concern about a staff member was not shared promptly with the local authority designated officer (LADO). The investigation into the staff member’s conduct has not been recorded and there is no rationale for the decision made. When the manager investigated the concern, they did not consider other relevant concerns that had been raised. This means that important Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 3 information has not been fully shared with the relevant partner agencies who have a responsibility for safeguarding children.

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

On another occasion, a child raised a concern about a member of staff’s conduct. The child’s concerns and the manager’s findings have not been shared outside of the organisation. This prevents the LADO and local authority social worker from having oversight of how the concerns are managed.

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

Management oversight of physical interventions is poor. Records of physical interventions are not scrutinised by the manager and there are no lessons learnt from their use. Some interventions are not proportionate or necessary and this has not been identified by the manager. This means that children have been physically restrained when this could have been avoided or could have been briefer or less intrusive, and that opportunities for reducing the likelihood of future incidents of restraint have not been taken. Record keeping for the use of physical interventions is poor and the actions taken by staff are not clear. The record of one incident indicates that a child sustained ‘blows’ to their head during the incident. No medical attention was sought, and the child was not checked or monitored following the incident. One new member of staff used a physical intervention on two occasions before it was identified that they did not have up-to-date training to do

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

so. The use of physical restraint by staff who have not received appropriate training places children at risk of physical harm.

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

Behaviour support plans to help staff to manage the children’s behaviour have not been updated promptly following significant incidents. Staff used a physical intervention with one child that was not agreed in the behaviour support plan. Following the incident, the plan was not updated to reflect the learning from the incident, any new risks identified and the model of restraint that should be used. This leaves staff with inconsistent and out-of-date information about how to care for children safely.

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

There is poor management of recruitment. One new staff member started working in the home before their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check was reviewed. There was no risk assessment or plan in place to mitigate this risk.

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

The environment is not safe for children. A child’s bed was broken, with wooden slats sticking out of it. This was left in their bedroom for over 24 hours without it being made safe. This had not been checked by the leaders of the home, despite being aware it was broken. The garden shed posed a risk to staff and children; several large items of furniture were placed on top of a child’s bike. There was no lock on the shed, despite managers being aware that it was unlocked for several weeks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager left suddenly in September 2024. They did not say goodbye to the children and staff or inform professionals that they had left. A new manager has been appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted. The new manager has identified some of the shortfalls identified in the inspection and is working to address these. They have had a positive impact on the staff team, providing clearer direction. Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 4 An unstable staff team has unsettled the children. Several key staff have left without saying goodbye to children. Leaders have not undertaken exit interviews to explore the reasons why they have left and to enable them to improve staff retention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of care plans to support staff in meeting the children’s needs is poor. The plans are lengthy, which makes the information harder to absorb. The information in the care plans is not always clear and creates confusion about the children’s needs. One child is described as having ‘significant sensory sensitivities’, but it is not clear what these are and how staff should help and support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Record keeping is ineffective. Key information about the care and safety of children has not been recorded or is hard to find. Language used in recordings is often ambiguous, making incidents and events hard to understand. It was recorded that a child was ‘escorted’ to their room, when, in fact, the staff member watched them go to their room. Some of the language used in records is negative about the children. The new manager has identified this as an area for development and is helping staff to improve their record keeping.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not had supervision and new staff have not had probation reviews, this is not in accordance with the home’s policy. The new manager has these booked in and the quality of supervisions has improved since their arrival.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have undertaken the mandatory training required for their role. However, not all staff have had training in the specific needs of the children such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality and effectiveness of planning for children moving into the home is inconsistent. One child was supported through outreach work before moving into the home, which led to a successful introduction. The second child moved in quickly and the staff had limited information about the child before they arrived. When the manager considered the children’s needs, they missed an opportunity to explore the support that the children might need to develop their relationship. Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health.(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d))In particular, the registered person must fully investigate concerns and allegations about staff practice. These concerns should be shared with the local authority promptly.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff identify and act on health and safety concerns in the home to ensure that the home is safe for children. 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 6 In particular, staff should take effective action if a child is injured, taking into account the nature of the injury and age of the child.

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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

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, monitoring systems should ensure that actions are taken in response to safeguarding concerns.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children's plans should be clear and accessible to enable staff to provide consistent care. Children's plans should include up-to-date information following incidents.

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In particular, staff should be trained in the specific needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure staff using physical interventions are trained in line with the organisation's policy.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should receive regular supervision and have feedback on their performance. There should be an effective system in place to monitor when staff have received supervisions. 31 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Reg 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) (b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, records of restraint should be of a high quality and detail what actions were taken by staff.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, restraint records should be reviewed to ensure that they are correct and scrutinise staff practice. This review should be documented.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 8 The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual's duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Reg 32 (1)(7)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff do not start working in the home without a DBS being checked.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of staff turnover to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 54 paragraph 10.19)  The registered person should ensure staff use careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information in a non-stigmatising way which is helpful to the child. These records should be accessible to the reader. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62 paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should assess children's needs effectively to fully consider the impact on the children already living in the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 56 paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to say goodbye

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Recommendations

to key staff who work in the home, to reduce the impact on children's stability and emotional wellbeing. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 39 paragraph 8.12) Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 9

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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: 2738013 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Serenity Care Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 124 - 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Inspectors

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2738013 11 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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