Children's home run by The Senad Group Limited in Derby

Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 1 SC020193 Registered provider: The SENAD 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 home provides care for up to 25 children with severe learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder and who display associated challenging behaviour.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Outstanding 20/06/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/05/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care team has high aspirations for all the children. Staff work across the residential home and the school site. This cohesive approach supports children to reach their individual targets, which have been identified and are reviewed with a systematic and effective process. This encourages children to improve their academic and care outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide children with an excellent standard of care. Staff work hard to form relationships with children, who value their support. Children feel able to approach staff and ask for their help. Staff are nurturing and patient in their approach and ensure that children understand what is being asked of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have knowledge of children’s individual communication systems. This means that children are more likely to have their views, wishes and feelings met. Staff have started to learn Makaton, with the aim of using this in addition to other forms of communication. Detailed social stories are one method used to explain to a child what actions are needed to complete a task.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to spend time with their family. The staff understand the children’s experiences and that family time is important to them. Staff capture the children’s voices through regular, planned discussions. Families highly value the care provided and the opportunities afforded to their children, including opportunities to make friends and do activities with their peer group. There have been occasions where the staff have had to be creative to facilitate family time, and great efforts have been made to ensure that it goes ahead.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and the local and wider community. For example, they enjoy holidays, regular activities and clubs. Staff are passionate advocates for ensuring that children have fun and, wherever possible, become involved in mainstream clubs. Some children have undertaken their first overnight stay on a holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child has a personalised bedroom that is age-appropriate and reflects their individual identity and interests. Consideration has been given to the design and layout of spaces to ensure that they meet the specific needs of each child. The homes are warm and welcoming, furnished to a high standard and have photographs and personal items displayed, which promote a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s guide has not been reviewed or updated for a considerable period, resulting in some information being outdated and not reflective of current practice. Certain sections of the guide are not accessible or appropriate for all children, given their individual levels of need and understanding. Additionally, the guide does not clearly outline how children can make a complaint or access advocacy services. Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 4

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

Risk assessments and care plans are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they remain individualised and reflective of each child’s current needs.It is evident that these plans are actively used in practice. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of each child’s risks, needs and strategies of support, enabling them to provide consistent care and maintain children’s safety effectively. However, on two occasions, children have been able to access items that have put them and others at an avoidable risk over an extended period. Furthermore, the outcome of this incident was not adequately reflected on or recorded as part of the manager’s review and improvement processes.

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

Physical interventions used in the home are generally appropriate and proportionate to the behaviours presented. However, records have not consistently outlined the events leading up to the intervention, or the de-escalation strategies used to ensure that physical intervention was a last resort. In instances where a child has been physically held, it is not always clear what the intervention entailed, who carried it out, or the duration of the hold. Management evaluations have, at times, been delayed and do not consistently demonstrate consideration of whether the intervention was both appropriate and proportionate to the behaviour.

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

There are clear and robust medication procedures in place. There have been no significant medication errors. However, when minor errors or discrepancies have occurred, managers have responded promptly and effectively. Medical advice is sought, where appropriate. Learning and reflection are used to support staff development and strengthen practice across the team.

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

Allegations that have been shared with the regulator demonstrate that the home has responded to them promptly and appropriately, engaging relevant professionals and undertaking thorough investigations into practice. Where necessary, disciplinary action has been taken and learning identified to inform improvement. However, not all allegations of harm have been notified to the regulator or the designated officer as required.

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

The staff do not use sanctions or punitive consequences as a means of managing behaviour. Instead, staff implement a positive behaviour support model that focuses on understanding the individual needs and underlying causes of behaviour. This approach promotes positive reinforcement, emotional regulation and skill development, enabling children to learn more-appropriate ways of expressing themselves and maintaining positive relationships.

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

Health and safety checks are rigorous and up to date. The locality assessment is comprehensive, robust and reviewed regularly to ensure that it remains current and reflective of any emerging risks in the area. Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The head of care, supported by the leadership team, is passionate about improving the lives of the children. He works alongside the deputy head of care. Together, they form a formidable leadership team. They lead a motivated and knowledgeable team of staff who have a good understanding of the children's histories and presenting needs. The whole team is aspirational for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The head of care and the senior team are clear about their vision and direction for the home. They have identified areas for development and improvement and have a robust plan for implementation of the identified actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good management monitoring through a variety of quality assurance systems. This helps the manager to ensure that timescales are met for a range of activities that relate to the running of the home. Independent scrutiny is built into the quality assurance systems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and focused supervision that supports their ongoing development. Alongside this, they complete all mandatory training, coupled with any child-specific training as required. The home is adequately staffed and recruitment for vacant posts is being prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong focus on identifying and meeting staff training needs. The management team demonstrates an effective approach to ensuring that training is targeted and responsive. Where specific training is required to support individual children’s needs, this is arranged promptly to equip staff with the necessary skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are recruited using a robust safer recruitment system of checks and balances. This means that only adults who are safe can work with children with a high degree of vulnerability. Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 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, 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— that staff—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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; and

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that children do not have access to items that put them at risk.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that all allegations about staff are reported to relevant professionals. 16 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 16 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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") 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)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that following a physical intervention a detailed record is completed that considers the lead up to the intervention, a debrief with staff and oversight by a manager.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that all allegations about staff are reported to the regulator. 16 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children's home produces a children's guide. The children's guide must be age-appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure that they understand it. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the Quality Standards', page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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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: SC020193 9

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Children's home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children's home details

Registered provider: The SENAD Group Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Senad Group Ltd, 1 St. Georges House, Vernon Gate, DERBY DE1 1UQ

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Eleanor Quanbrough, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC020193 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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