Children's home run by Serenity Housing Service Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 1 Registered Provider: Serenity Housing Service Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, no children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since February 2024.

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This monitoring visit

In November 2025, Ofsted received information from other agencies which raised significant concerns about the safeguarding practice in the home. Specifically, concerns related to leaders and managers’ decision-making around unknown adults visiting the home and poor supervision of a child who was living in the home at the time. No other children were living in the home. The concerns raised were being investigated by the appropriate agencies. Due to the significance of what occurred, the child’s local authority moved them on from the home immediately. The concerns were so serious that they placed children at risk of harm. Consequently, Ofsted suspended the home’s registration. This means that the provider is unable to move children into the home while under suspension. Following the previous monitoring visit, the provider was issued with a notice to suspend the registration for a further period.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this monitoring visit was to consider the provider’s responses since the home’s registration was suspended and to gain evidence of the suitability of the provider to continue to be registered. No children have moved into the home since the first suspension notice was issued.

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This monitoring visit

The home continues to be without a registered manager. A new manager has been appointed, along with a responsible individual. However, neither have submitted Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 2 their applications to be registered with Ofsted. Additionally, neither have extensive experience of working in or overseeing registered children’s homes. The provider has appointed a service manager who does not have direct experience of managing children’s homes. Neither the responsible individual nor the service manager work in the home full time. There is a lack of clarity regarding how frequently the responsible individual would work in the home. This was later confirmed as once a week. The manager was unable to attend the home on the day of the monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

The seven members of the staff team have been provided with contracts for working in the home. However, there are inconsistencies and a lack of clarity in these contracts. For instance, those seen were for 3 days or 20 hours per week. However, the 3-day contract was not explicitly clear that this meant a week. Staff are working with other employers during the suspension period. Consequently, there is a lack of opportunity for staff to learn and work together as a cohesive team. The new manager has been in contact with staff’s current employers to check that they remain suitable and have not had any safeguarding concerns raised while working away from this home. The provider spoke of fortnightly team meetings taking place to keep the team updated. However, these could not be evidenced at the time of the visit, with the last recorded team meeting being in September 2025. Similarly, the leadership training meeting referred to in information made available to Ofsted has

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This monitoring visit

not been scheduled to take place yet. This demonstrates a continued lack of urgency to make the required improvements that are necessary to provide safe care to children and to ensure that the home is operated in accordance with the relevant regulations.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have had training in some areas, and this remains ongoing. The manager keeps in touch with staff and details their areas of development and training needs. The senior staff members appointed will have specific areas they will be responsible for, specifically safeguarding and the therapeutic model of care. However, neither have had additional training in the areas that reflect their lead roles.

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This monitoring visit

The staff workforce development plan and rota demonstrate that there is a suitable number of staff. However, it is not a highly skilled or experienced team. This, alongside a management team with little experience in registered children’s homes, is a significant concern. Only one member of staff in the whole team has a suitable level 3 or equivalent qualification in residential childcare. Staff have not had all the training they require at this stage nor had the opportunity to fully embed this into practice.

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This monitoring visit

The provider is of the view that it has implemented the recommendations from the safeguarding review, such as joined-up missing-from-home plans and documents for consistency and updating policies. The home has a camera doorbell and alarms on external doors to help prevent unauthorised access to the home. The doorbell has Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 3 not been linked to a phone at this stage, and the plan is for it to be used post- incident or concern. Consequently, it does not add a layer of protection at the time of an incident. The exterior door alarms are connected to the frame in an unsightly way, which would be easy to tamper with or remove. This also detracts from a homely environment.

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This monitoring visit

With regard to staff reflection on the significant safeguarding issues, they had a group opportunity to do this in early March 2026. The use of supervision as a space to reflect is also planned for future supervision sessions. The provider wants to incorporate staff reflection for all future incidents too.

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This monitoring visit

The process for checking visitors is still not fully clear. This is because there is a lack of clarity regarding how this will work for friends of children or those who appear under 18 without formal identification. However, staff will be expected to supervise any visitors in communal areas.

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This monitoring visit

The implementation of the quality assurance and monitoring framework has not been fully implemented. The purpose is to monitor all aspects of the service with staff having responsibility for certain areas. The plan is to simplify oversight. However, this could not be tested as the proposed framework is not in place. Alongside this, information made available to Ofsted refers to the ‘implemented annual independent governance review’. However, this has not yet been started.

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This monitoring visit

The director who was present at the visit spoke about the relationship with the other director as being ‘mutual’ and assured the inspector that they could work together for the business. However, there is little evidence to support this. This is a concern as it was identified in an independent investigation that there were systemic safeguarding failures due to a lack of leadership governance. The investigation outcome concluded that this contributed to the significant incidents that occurred in the home which resulted in a child experiencing harm. There are no meaningful plans in place to address the systemic safeguarding failures or the governance of the home.

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This monitoring visit

The home’s statement of purpose requires a full review. It refers to guidance that is either out of date or non-existent. The language is institutional and not child centred. Additionally, it does not include all information as required in regulation, including details of the full staff team.

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This monitoring visit

The home environment requires a thorough clean and redecoration both internally and externally. The garden and driveway are poorly presented. Upstairs windows were open despite nobody staying in the home, making access easy. The shower tray is cracked in the downstairs bathroom and has been mended poorly. At this stage, the home is not habitable for children. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 4 Some requirements relating to care planning and staff recruitment could not be fully tested at this monitoring visit. Therefore, they are restated. Other requirements, specifically those relating to the protection of children, leadership and management and staff supervision, were not met and have been restated. Two new requirements have been raised in relation to the lack of a registered manager and the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2025 Full Good 16/04/2024 Full Good 10/01/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 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—

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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

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; and

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 5 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 7 This requirement is restated.

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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

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)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is suitably cleaned, decorated and maintained. 5 May 2026

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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

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 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; 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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(h)) 5 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 8 This requirement is restated.

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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.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 5 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 5 May 2026

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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 5 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 9 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

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Requirement Due date

a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 5 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 10 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 16 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d) (3)(a)(b) (5))

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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.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) 5 May 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted within 24 hours. The notification should be accurate and include details of the action taken in response to the incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 11

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serenity Housing Service Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 320 City Road, London EC1V 2NZ

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2734050 13 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 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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Inspector

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