Children's Home run by Serenity Children Services Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 1 Registered provider: Serenity Children Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in December 2024. The manager resigned with immediate effect in April 2025.

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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/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There were no children living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child had moved in and moved out since the home was registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have a process of assessing children before they move into the home. However, they did not appropriately assure themselves that they could meet the child’s needs before they moved into the home. Staff struggled to manage the child’s behaviour, and their placement quickly broke down. A director of the provider reflected that not enough had been done to assess the child’s needs before they moved in. They felt that they had failed the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some consequences that were issued to the child appeared punitive. This did not help the child to understand their behaviour or encourage a desired outcome. Leaders and managers did not always review consequences to assess the impact on the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

An internally commissioned investigation found that when there were concerns about the child’s health and well-being, staff did not seek support and advice from appropriate professionals. A failure to seek appropriate advice leaves children at risk of their health needs not being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child had a positive relationship with some staff. The child’s parent named some staff that the child spoke positively about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff made attempts to engage with local schools to enrol the child. However, the child moved on from the home before any options were found.

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

Leaders and managers failed to take the necessary action following allegations made by a child against staff working at the home. Leaders, managers and staff failed to notify all relevant professionals of allegations, including Ofsted and the child’s social worker, until prompted to do so by an internal investigation. This meant that the capacity of Ofsted and the local authority to monitor safeguards on these occasions was reduced, leaving the child at risk of significant harm.

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

The child had individual care plans and risk assessments in place. However, these were not reviewed or updated following incidents. They did not give a true reflection of the child. This meant that staff were not provided with accurate up-to-date guidance to care for and safeguard the child.

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

In the short time the child was living at the home, there was a reduction from previously in the number of times they went missing. However, following episodes of going missing, Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 3 they were not offered a return home interview. This meant that an opportunity to understand why the child went missing was missed.

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

Appropriate pre-employment checks were not completed for some staff before they started working at the home. This meant the child was at risk of having unsuitable people working at the home and caring for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager resigned with immediate effect in April 2025. The home does not have a responsible individual, with two responsible individuals having left since the home was registered. One of the directors was present during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

All the staff have left the organisation since the child moved out. At the time of the inspection, there were no staff employed by or working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Communication between leaders and managers is extremely poor. Managers are not leading this home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos described in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have been ineffective in supporting, monitoring and overseeing staff practice, to enable them to deliver consistent and safe care. Staff, including the manager, do not receive regular supervision and supervision records lack detail and reflection on practice. This means opportunities are missed to support staff and their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s workforce development plan does not contain accurate information. Information about staff training, qualifications and experience is incorrect. This means it is not a true reflection of the home or the staff team’s development needs, skills or knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff faced difficult situations. They had to manage some behaviours that challenge. Before the child moved in, some team meetings took place. However, following the child’s move into the home, there are no records of any team meetings. This means opportunities were missed to discuss incidents and events, to learn and reduce risks and make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not always reviewed incidents in the home. They also did not always carry out debriefs with staff following the use of physical intervention, to identify any learning and evaluate the impact on the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 4

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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, The 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 23 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 23 June 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 5 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 spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 23 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 23 June 2025

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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— 23 June 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 6 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that regular staff meetings take place to review and evaluate practice, enabling staff to work consistently as a team to reduce risks for children and improve their experiences.

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that oversight by leaders and managers is effective, all incidents at the home are reviewed to evaluate staff practice and all consequences are reviewed to evaluate their effectiveness and impact on children. 23 June 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 7 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)) 23 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 23 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 23 June 2025

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 8  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Information provided by such interviews should be considered when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that the home has a key role in organising and ensuring each child’s attendance at the necessary primary and secondary health services. Most health services that a child needs to access will be provided by other organisations. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff seek medical advice from appropriate medical professionals when there are concerns about

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Recommendations

a child’s health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)  The registered person should ensure the home’s workforce plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and is used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. In particular, the registered person should ensure information in the workforce plan is accurate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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 for children's home: 2792075 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serenity Children Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 82a James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds IP28 7DE

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2792075 10 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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