Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are happy, like living at this home and get on well with staff and each other. They make good progress with regards to their emotional health, education and reducing risk-taking behaviours such as going missing from care.   Young people feel safe and secure. Staff provide stability for young people and have strong trusting relationships with them. Practice to promote the safety of young people is good.   Staff work effectively with other agencies. This ensures young people continue to make good progress and stay safe.  The registered manager provides strong supportive leadership. She is a good advocate for young people.

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four girls with an emotional and behavioural disorder. The young people are aged between 10 and 18 years. The home will work with young people who display challenging behaviours that are often associated with traumatised past life experiences including child sexual exploitation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

02/12/2014 Interim Improved Effectiveness

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Good

Young people are welcomed into the home sensitively. Staff explain what the home is about, its rules and what sort of things they can do while in the home. This helps young people to settle quickly. A young person who has recently moved into the home said she felt welcomed by both the staff and the other young people. A young person who has recently left the home wrote in a thank you letter, ‘When I first moved in the only thing I wanted to do was move out but now it feels like I’m leaving a family full of people I care a lot about.’ A young person said simply, ‘It’s just nice and homely’. Young people are happy and consequently make good progress especially with regards to their emotional wellbeing, education, and risk taking behaviour such as running away. Staff spend time with young people researching the most appropriate education provision for them. This contributes to the fact that young people like their education placement and regularly attend. A social worker said,

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Good

‘It’s a real success to get her back into a college which is suitable for her’. Young people have gone on to complete college courses and get employment. Staff know and understand the young people well. A social worker said, ‘I have found everyone very welcoming and they really care’. Staff say that building trusted relationships with young people is important. Part of this is ensuring things are done when staff have agreed to do them. Staff work well as a team and are consistent in their approach to young people. This helps young people to understand the rules and boundaries so that they feel safe and secure. Young people are helped to build positive relationships with their parents where this is appropriate. Staff facilitate and support this important contact which helps young people to maintain important links with their family. Parents feel welcome and say that staff are, ‘friendly and kind’. One parent said that the home

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Good

communicates well: ‘They treat everyone as family… staff are really great’. Young people are in good health. Upon arriving at the home, young people register with the local doctor, dentist, and optician. Staff inform the local authority Looked After Children Nurse of new admissions. She visits the home regularly to support young people with any health concerns they may have. Young people have access to a therapist through the company but can also be referred to external mental health services if this is required. Young people have access to a range of activities in the home and the local community. They play board games and use game consoles. They also go to the local park, cinema, food outlets, bowling, and keep fit classes. They will help staff with meal preparation as well as bake cakes. Young people are not always keen to do activities with staff but staff continue to encourage them to participate. Staff

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Good

create a bright and cheerful newsletter each month to remind young people about all the positive things that have happened during that period. A good example of this was doing a high ropes activity which young people achieved. This helps to build self-esteem and confidence. The views and opinions of young people are valued. Staff regularly seek their views about their care, day to day running of the home and staffing. The registered manager uses a traffic light system for young people to give their views about what they like and do not like about staff. Young people say they feel listened to. Staff, young people, parents and external agencies all agreed that this is a lovely house and very homely. Young people have comfortable single bedrooms that they like and can personalise. They have access to a large amount of communal space including a large garden where they keep poultry. Young people also have pets: a

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Good

budgie and a hamster. They really enjoy looking after the animals, which gives them a sense of pride and achievement.

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Good

Young people say they feel safe. They said that staff are there for them if they feel unsafe. Practice to promote the safety of young people is good. Staff are competent in their knowledge of the home’s safeguarding procedures and implement these well. They build strong trusting relationships with young people but also put in firm rules and boundaries. This helps young people to feel safe and secure. All safeguarding concerns are referred to the appropriate agencies. Effective multi-agency action is taken to ensure the safety of young people. Young people do go missing from the home but these incidents have reduced in recent months. Missing incidents have occurred more recently as young people have felt frustration about not living close to their families. When young people do go missing but are staying with family, they are classed as absent. In these cases staff work closely with the placing authority to ensure the safety of the young

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Good

person. They also maintain regular contact with the young person and their family until they return to the home. Young people are generally well behaved. They get on well with each other. Staff promote positive behaviour by providing good role models, building strong relationships and using financial incentives. Staff are trained to use physical intervention but rarely use it. They prefer to talk to them or gently guide them away from the situation. Similarly, sanctions are rarely used. When they are used, young people often earn back what they have lost by demonstrating positive behaviour. Good vetting procedures are used which help to prevent unsuitable adults from working with young people.

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Good

The registered manager provides strong and supportive leadership. She is experienced and qualified with an appropriate National Vocational Qualification at level 4. She is currently completing the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare as well as a training qualification so that she can lead in-house staff training. The registered manager clearly knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has plans in place to ensure continual improvement. She is a good advocate for young people, helping them to put their views across to external agencies. All staff hold an appropriate qualification or are in the process of completing one. Staff are highly motivated, professional and caring. Most staff have worked in the home for some time, providing stability for young people. They want to provide the best care that they can. Staff have access to a good training programme which

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Good

includes mandatory training such as first aid, safeguarding children and food hygiene. They can also access other courses such as online safety and radicalisation. This enables them to provide informed practice. Staff are well supported by the management team including senior managers within the organisation. Staff work closely with external agencies. A social worker said, ‘They put boundaries in place which they confirm with me. I would place another young person here.’ Another said, ‘I can rely on them to do the work.’ Young people make good progress because they have a network of professionals supporting them facilitated by the registered manager and care staff. The registered manager has also facilitated meetings with the police, health professionals and other children’s home providers to ensure they can share information about the local area. This enables them to be aware of any imminent risks within the local

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Good

community. Young people are aware of and utilise the complaints policy. Responses to complaints are prompt and thorough. Young people are kept informed of progress made throughout the complaints process.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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