Children's Home run by Serene Surroundings Limited in Greenwich

Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 1 Registered provider: Serene Surroundings Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in June 2025 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The inspectors spoke with the child as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2026.

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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: 10 December 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 3

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Summary of findings

Children living at the home make good progress. Staff know the children well; they invest time in them, protect them and promote their welfare.

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Summary of findings

Staff have meaningful discussions with children to help them feel safe and work towards their goals. Incidents of physical intervention are rare; however, there are inconsistencies in how these incidents are recorded and interpreted by staff, leaders and managers.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development and work together to drive further improvements in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home make progress from their starting points. Staff are committed and skilled at forming trusting relationships with children, which helps them to settle and feel secure. Leaders and managers support children during periods of crisis, doing all they can to avoid unplanned moves and disruption. This ensures stability and continuity of care for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who recently moved into the home has struggled to settle; however, they identified having a positive relationship with one member of staff. The child is able to raise concerns and did so directly with the registered manager during the inspection. These concerns were addressed promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to engage children in social and leisure activities, including attending the gym, visiting theme parks, shopping trips and going out for meals. Staff understand that children’s past experiences may influence their confidence and willingness to step outside their comfort zones. Nevertheless, they consistently encourage children to participate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular children’s meetings enable children to express their views about living in the home and make suggestions, such as requesting new equipment. This encourages children to contribute to decisions about the home and strengthens their confidence that their views are heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children maintain good physical health by supporting their access to healthcare services, specialist appointments and assessments. The registered manager has successfully advocated for interim intervention for a child from the placing local authority while they wait for local services to become involved, helping to prevent gaps in the child’s support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home is not currently in education. However, the registered manager has liaised with the child’s previous education provider, and applications for Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 4 local education provisions have been submitted. Progress has, however, been affected by the summer holiday period.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. Multi- agency working and information-sharing are robust, and staff attend all significant multi- agency meetings. This partnership working ensures that risk-related information is shared promptly, which helps and protects children living at the home.

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

Staff understand children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. Support plans and assessments reflect children’s individual needs and are regularly reviewed and updated. Updates include new strategies to mitigate emerging risks. In addition, staff sensitively engage children in meaningful discussions that help them feel secure and supported. However, children’s views are not always reflected in these documents. This is a missed opportunity to understand their lived experiences and to use their feedback to shape the care and support that they receive.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare. Clear protocols are in place for staff to follow, including preventative measures. As a result, risks in relation to children going missing are managed and minimised effectively.

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

Staff managed some challenging, high-risk behaviours well. However, on one occasion, staff actions did not fully align with the agreed strategies, and the incident escalated necessarily. Leaders and managers have reflected on the incident and identified learning to improve future practice.

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

Physical interventions are rarely used. When they are necessary, they are used only as a last resort, and good attention is given to repairing relationships between children and adults following such incidents. However, there was some confusion regarding the range of physical interventions used in the home, and there were some inconsistencies in recording practices following these events.

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

Allegations of harm or complaints from children are taken seriously, and leaders and managers ensure that information is shared promptly with relevant safeguarding agencies. Ofsted is informed of safeguarding concerns as required. This supports regulatory oversight and promotes children’s safety and wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers know the home’s strengths and areas for development and what they need to do to drive further improvements. A new system has been introduced to enable leaders and managers to evaluate the progress of children and the functioning of the home, although this system is not yet fully embedded. The requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection have been met. Leaders and managers are evidently actively involved in children’s lives, providing practical support and guidance to children and staff on a daily basis. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 5 The home has recently experienced a difficult period due to staff vacancies, delays in one child moving on, which significantly affected the child, and capacity issues resulting from the registered manager being without a deputy. However, staff are suitably skilled and generally report being happy in their roles. In addition, an experienced deputy has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

recently joined the team, enabling some management tasks to be delegated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admission processes for children joining the home are extensive and thorough. Before children move into the home, leaders and managers carry out comprehensive assessments of their needs and risks. Leaders and managers also arrange additional staff training in response to children’s emerging needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. These meetings are used as a forum to promote and embed learning for staff. Detailed discussions about children’s needs, progress and safeguarding also remain central to the agenda.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff receive regular supervision. Supervision is not sufficiently reflective or focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback. Supervision records do not contain clear, measurable timescales for staff to complete actions and learning, resulting in drift. During this inspection, it was identified that staff had not received an annual appraisal of their performance. Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 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 registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

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

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (2) (3)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the policy must stipulate that any form of physical intervention constitutes restraint. Therefore, recording procedures should meet regulatory requirements and include an opportunity for the child to express their feelings about the restraint used. 10 December 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, allowing them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph

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Recommendations

13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 7

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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: 2832526 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Serene Surroundings Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 High Tor View, London SE28 0LN

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Inspectors

Tina Woolley, Social Care Inspector Kay Barnett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2832526 9 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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