Children's home run by Serenity Care Group Limited

Inspection report 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.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025.

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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: inadequate

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: 2738013 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built strong relationships with staff. One child says they 'love it here'. Children talk fondly about staff who they have particularly strong relationships with. Through these relationships staff have developed a deep understanding of the children. The staff team are diverse, and the children have embraced the diverse cultures. Children have tried new meals which have become firm favourites and are regularly requested by children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress in all areas of their lives. One child's social worker described their progress as 'phenomenal'. Children are developing their social and emotional skills. Staff have helped children to recognise and express their feelings. One child has a visual aid to help communicate their feelings with staff each day. Staff promote age-appropriate independence with children by shopping and cooking with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to. Staff speak with children often about their thoughts, feelings and wishes, and they are involved in planning menu's, decorating the home and activities. When the children wanted to try steak, staff bought this with the children, and they enjoyed trying this for the first time. These conversations take place as a group regularly and individually.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s education and help them engage in learning. One child is at school full time and the other has education in the home and attends a specialist education resource. Staff encourage informal opportunities to learn and reward children for taking part in these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff sensitively promote family time. They help children to spend time with their families. This is completely led by the child and in close working with the social worker. One child is now spending regular time at home with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have had a range of positive experiences. Staff encourage children to lead busy lives. One child goes to the gym, and another has regular swimming lessons. They encourage children to try new activities and persevere with them. Children have also been to theme parks, go karting and celebrated traditional events such as Christmas and Halloween.

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

Staff understand risks for children and help the take age appropriate positive risks. One child recently wanted to visit a city which could increase the risk of for them being missing from home. This was carefully risk assessed and they enjoyed a day out with no issues. Staff respond promptly to risks. When staff have concerns, these are shared Inspection report children's home: 2738013 4 promptly with the child’s social worker. Staff take effective action to reduce risks and keep children safe.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding. Although no children have been missing from home, they know what actions they should take. Staff are confident in raising and escalating safeguarding concerns. Staff talk about safeguarding regularly in supervision and team meetings. This is helping to develop a strong safeguarding culture across the home.

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

There is a positive approach to children who are distressed or upset. Staff use humour and distraction to help calm children. Physical intervention is used as a last resort. One staff member is a trainer to help continuously develop staff confidence and skills. The records of these interventions are of high quality, and the manager has strong oversight of these. Staff and children are spoken to following a physical intervention and lessons identified. Staff have developed insight into the children's behaviours and as a result incidents have reduced.

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

Consequences are rarely used with the children. These are proportionate and restorative in nature. Staff use them to help re-enforce the rules of the home and promote social skills between the children. The manager has effective oversight of these.

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

Conflict between children has been well managed. Staff have had regular conversations with children to help develop their relationship. Staff have taken children on activities providing opportunities to spend quality time together. When things have gone wrong staff help children to repair their relationship. One child wrote to another child to say sorry and made them a meal. As a result, their relationship is improving.

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

Since the last inspection in October 2024, there has been one serious incident. This has been well recorded with clear actions taken and management oversight. Staff follow the children’s behaviour plans to help children calm. In-depth learning takes place following incidents. After this serious incident, all staff had a debrief with the operational manager which identified learning. Changes to practice have been made to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an excellent impact on the quality of care for children. They have a strong drive for improvement. They are permanent, qualified and highly experienced. There has been a real focus on promoting teamwork and skilling up the newly formed team. One staff member said that they are the 'best manager' they have had. The manager is always available to support staff when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is strong. They effectively use recording systems to monitor the quality of care. This helps them to have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager provides regular feedback to staff to improve their performance and record keeping. The manager is highly aware of the progress for Inspection report children's home: 2738013 5 children, they are involved in the children's lives and celebrate with them when they achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and operations manager work closely to support the manager. They have provided training to staff to support the improvement of record keeping. The responsible individual has oversight of the care for children and visits the home regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported through regular supervision. They have plenty of training opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge. Supervision records are of high quality. Staff discuss a range of topics including their own well-being, children and safeguarding. Clear actions are agreed and tracked to support staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meet regularly. These are productive opportunities to discuss the children and reflect on recent incidents. The manager provides informal training to staff at these meetings to help them understand the children’s needs. The manager recently helped staff understand the support they might need to provide to the children during the festive period. Staff are listened to by managers and their views are considered when developing the service. Staff are invested in the home and care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff relationships with key professionals is strong. Social workers say the open communication from staff is 'fantastic'. Staff support partner agencies involvement in the children's care. One child is being supported to have specialist assessments and future therapy to promote their well-being. Inspection report children's home: 2738013 6

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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: 2738013 7

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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 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Inspector

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2738013 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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