Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Durham

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 The home has been unsettled recently, for a period of about four months, due to admission of young people with significantly challenging behaviours. There are clear signs that the home is now becoming more settled again. At times the staff have not coped well enough with this additional pressure.  Staff have been unable to keep some of the young people safe during this period although they have made clear efforts throughout.  Two young people had their placements terminated quickly when it became apparent that the home was unable to keep them safe and when their behaviour started to impact more seriously on other young people living in the home.  Young people have been admitted without sufficient pre-admission assessment and without appropriate risk assessments in relation to their potential impact on other young people.  During this unsettled period there have been a number of incidents where young people have gone missing and a few of these episodes have resulted

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because:

in young people being exploited. There was also an increase in some young people harming themselves. Some of the young people have felt unsafe and some issues of bullying have not been dealt with in sufficient depth.  Some work around admissions procedures and around safeguarding is now required to return the home to the more settled and positive environment it was prior to this unsettled spell.  Many of the young people living at the home are vulnerable and require considerable support and guidance. Work with these young people needs to be more in-depth in order to be effective. Although staff have received some training and support in dealing with issues of child sexual exploitation, mental health and self-harm, a more in-depth and formal approach is required.  During this unsettled period the standard of recording at the home has deteriorated and this now requires some improvement. Staff have been

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because:

busy coping with some very demanding situations and have at times been unable to maintain high standards in keeping up to date with paperwork.

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The children's home strengths

 The home has a very strong, skilled and experienced manager who is clearly passionate about and committed to her work. The manager and staff team have put a great deal of effort in to try and keep young people safe during the unsettled period but unfortunately they have been unable to keep all the young people safe all of the time.  Some of the young people at this home have continued to make good progress despite the unsettled period.  Some young people continue to be very positive about the support they have received from the staff, they have engaged well with education and made significant progress towards independence.  The home has an ethos of putting clear boundaries in place and levels of supervision are generally high. Staff balance this structured environment with a nurturing approach. Staff are clear about the safeguarding task and have made all appropriate missing reports and notifications as required.

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The children's home strengths

Staff have been asked to work with too many young people who were admitted too closely together and who were very high risk.  The home has seen a number of staff changes but generally the staff team are positive and talk positively about working in the home. A number of staff felt the staff team was strong.  The staff have worked with the local police to try and deal with some of the more difficult sexual exploitation issues. Staff also work closely with local authorities and all return from missing interviews have been completed.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6. In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, with particular reference to ensuring that appropriate ke- work sessions of sufficient depth and quality take place to deal with issues arising, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b)(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. 08/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to children going missing and children self- harming, the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) 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. 08/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

14. In order to meet the care planning standard, with particular reference to fully assessing children's needs and their likely impact on other children prior to their admission, so that children:

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Requirement Due date

(1)(b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 08/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ('case records') for each child which –

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Requirement Due date

(b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)) 08/11/2015

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and is registered for up to eight children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties (EBD)

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24/02/2015 Interim Improved Effectiveness

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requires improvement

The home has had an unsettled period over the last four months. This has happened because the management of the home have admitted a number of young people with significant risky and challenging behaviour and they have been unable to meet these needs in full. This has meant that some of the young people have not had a good experience and some have not made progress. Two young people were admitted for medium to long term placements but were discharged within a few months.

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requires improvement

During this period the number of missing episodes increased significantly and actual exploitation concerns also developed. A number of the young people also harmed themselves and this may well have been to copy other more traumatised young people.

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requires improvement

Although staff have tried hard to cope with these challenging events there have been some other shortfalls during this period. Key-working has not been carried out in sufficient depth and recording has deteriorated.

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requires improvement

Some of the young people who were settled at the home prior to this period have continued to make progress. Some young people more recently admitted have also made some progress. One young person who has been at the home for some time has had a poor experience during this time and has not made progress. This is because she went missing with other young people and was involved in various exploitation incidents.

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requires improvement

Generally, young people have good relationships with the staff and day-to-day interaction between them is good. However, two young people said that they did not get on with staff and had issues with them, saying they were not consistent. Another young person was particularly positive about how staff had helped her.

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requires improvement

Some young people attend college away from the home but most of the young people attend school on the premises. Young people do make progress at the school. There is clear evidence of them gaining some qualifications. Records show that attendance is improved for most of the young people although it is difficult to know the extent of attendance through the day as the classrooms are in the building and some young people do not stay in the classroom for the required time. The young people who attend college outside are the more settled and generally achieve well and make progress. One young person told me her ambitious career plan to become an air hostess and she was working hard to achieve this.

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requires improvement

Young people are supported to have regular check-ups with all the health services. Young people who require sexual health services are encouraged and supported to attend these as required. There have been a number of self-harm incidents within the home recently. Some of these have been well handled by staff but some of the work done with young people around these issues needs to be improved.

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requires improvement

Young people’s meetings are held regularly and it is clear that young people are listened to. One young person said staff had, ‘really helped her with her confidence and self-esteem’. However some young people feel that staff are not as attentive as they should be, one young person said staff, ‘don’t care’. The home has high levels of staff so that young people have the opportunity to have lots of one to one time with staff. Young people are taken out regularly on activities of their choice. This is really important as some of the young people do not have free time outside of the home due their vulnerability. Young people are involved in care planning and are able to contribute to their care plans. Because many of the young people have been placed a long distance from their home areas for their own protection, it is perhaps understandable that some of them have mixed views about the home. On the one hand understanding the need to be safe and on the other hand missing

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requires improvement

Most young people who have been at the home for some time have clearly made progress with their social and psychological well-being. They have settled well and have made progress with their confidence and self-esteem.

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requires improvement

On a day-to-day basis the young people have had mixed experiences. Some have settled and made progress and others have not. The home accommodates eight young people and this allows some choice of friends. Some of the girls clearly get on well with each other. One young person said, ‘we look out for each other’. However, clearly having this number of young people in one home does create tension at times and other young people have said that sometimes young people fall out and that there are difficulties.

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requires improvement

A number of the young people are living a long way from home and have protection issues around home contact. Staff do place a high priority on ensuring young people are able to have regular family contact and do put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that these visits are properly supervised. Young people commented that this was positive. Some young people were planning to return to their home area when they reach eighteen years old but others were planning to stay locally. Staff have a comprehensive and organised programme of independence skills training which all the young people undertake. Judgement grade

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requires improvement

During the recent unsettled period, some of the young people have engaged in behaviour which has meant they were not safe all the time. The number of missing episodes has been high and some of the young people who have gone missing have been sexually exploited on a few occasions. This is a concerning situation which, while it is being dealt with, has still not gone away completely.

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requires improvement

There has also been an increase in self-harming behaviour from some of the young people and at times this has been serious. There has been some bullying within the home and although this has been addressed, it was not addressed in sufficient depth. Some of the young people have clearly felt unsafe at times, both because of what was happening in the home and what was happening outside.

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requires improvement

This situation has arisen because of some inappropriate admissions. These young people did fit the home’s criteria and statement of purpose and the new admissions were not sufficiently assessed and planned prior to admission. Risks were not fully understood and the potential impact of these admissions was not fully understood.

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requires improvement

The manager and staff have worked hard to try and reduce risks but have had to discharge two young people quicker than planned in order to achieve a safer environment. Young people at the home are now becoming increasingly safe. The number of missing incidents is falling and the concerns around sexual exploitation are decreasing. Staff do understand the current risks and do work proactively to reduce these risks. Staff have worked closely with the local police and together they are now keeping the young people safer.

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requires improvement

The home works with young people who are very vulnerable and as such the staff place a high emphasis on supervision. Young people are not usually allowed free time away from the home until their risk assessment allows. Staff do routinely attempt to follow young people who try to leave the home. Often this tactic is successful but inevitably sometimes the young people go missing and are not able to be returned quickly. Some young people have gone missing overnight and this has been a particular concern. Child sexual exploitations concerns increased during the unsettled period and are now decreasing. However, this situation has not yet been fully resolved. Staff and the local police are continuing to work on this issue.

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requires improvement

Young people do have challenging behaviour at times. Generally this is well understood and dealt with well by staff. Young people are closely supervised within the home and do have restricted free time away from the home. This together with the number of young people in the home does lead to some tensions building up and some challenging behaviour arises because of this. There have been some physical interventions used but these are now reducing. Physical interventions are recorded appropriately.

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requires improvement

Boundaries and expectations are applied consistently and young people are challenged when they their behaviour requires.

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requires improvement

While most of the young people say they feel safe and secure, it is clear that some young people have not and do not feel completely safe all the time. There have been some issues with local young people causing some nuisance around the home and this has unsettled some of the young people. Staff do work hard to address these issues and have involved the police when necessary.

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requires improvement

Staff do understand safeguarding well. Safeguarding training has taken place along with training around child sexual exploitation and self-harm. Staff spoken to, do understand the issues around these topics and do understand the home’s policies and procedures. However, some of the recording around these issues displays a lack of empathy.

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requires improvement

The home is well kept and free from any health and safety issues.

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requires improvement

The manager has been in post for over four years, is appropriately qualified and has substantial child care experience. She has generally shown a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home although has perhaps over-estimated the staff team’s ability to deal with the most challenging young people in recent months.

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requires improvement

The manager does prioritise the needs of the young people and does have a genuine enthusiasm and commitment to the work.

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requires improvement

However, in recent months the registered manager and the responsible individual have allowed too many, too challenging young people to be admitted. They have not taken sufficient time to properly assess young people’s needs prior to admission and have not looked closely enough at the impact these admissions might have had on a relatively settled group of young people. Although these decisions are difficult, the outcome has been that a number of vulnerable young people have been influenced by young people with more chaotic and risky behaviour and have been caused harm as a result.

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requires improvement

Consequently, although the home has been working with young people who fit the criteria as outlined in the statement of purpose, they have not been able to keep them as safe as they would have wanted.

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requires improvement

The manager has worked hard to limit the difficulties and has now largely been able get the situation under control. While some of the young people have not been unduly affected by this disruption, others have, and will need further work to ensure they are kept safe. The manager has increased staffing levels to achieve this and has appointed some administration support to assist. This has been helpful.

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requires improvement

The manager has good links with other professionals and has worked closely with them. She has particular close links with the police and local safeguarding services and has reported and followed procedures at all times. The manager has certainly shown determination in ensuring other professionals play their part in safeguarding young people. She has put pressure on placing authorities and on health professionals when quick decisions were needed to take action on young people who required a more secure placement. Therefore, while some of the young people have made good progress since they arrived others have not. Two young people have been discharged quickly because staff were unable to keep them safe. Other young people continue to remain at some risk although the manager continues to prioritise their needs.

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requires improvement

The manager is supportive of her staff. Staff comment on the strong manager and clearly feel supported. The manager has ensured that staff are fully trained and that staff receive good supervision. The training programme has covered all areas required but given the nature of the current group of vulnerable young people there is a need for more in-depth training around sexual exploitation and self-harm in particular.

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requires improvement

The home now requires a number of improvements to be made. Four requirements have been made.

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requires improvement

The manager and the responsible individual have to examine their admissions practice and procedures in order to make better assessments about who is admitted and when, and about any likely impact on the existing group of young people.

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requires improvement

Some young people have not been safeguarded well enough. While the manager has worked well reactively to these situations, more care needs to be taken at admission. More work needs to be taken to avoid young people going missing so as to avoid further sexual exploitation concerns. More work needs to be undertaken around self-harm and around bullying. A requirement has been made to safeguard the young people better in the day-to-day work.

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requires improvement

Every young person has a key-worker in place and there are key-work sessions recorded for all young people. However, this is not always in sufficient depth and it does not cover all the issues in the young person’s relevant plan. Key-working also lacks obvious planning so that it appears to be an activity which is picked up informally rather than being formally planned. While informal key-work sessions are to be encouraged, they are not a substitute for planned, formal work carried out consistently by one nominated person.

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requires improvement

The recording of incidents and recording in general has become an issue. For the past four months the home’s own independent visitor has remarked on poor recording issues every month and some of these are still apparent. Records need to be accurate and up to date and they need to be signed and dated by the relevant person. Existing records show that staff are not doing this all the time.

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requires improvement

At the previous inspection, there were recommendations made to address the private phone issues and to update the children’s guide. These have been completed satisfactorily. However, the previous recommendation to increase the quality of key work has not been acted on sufficiently.

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requires improvement

The manager has accepted that there is some improvements necessary and remains positive about identifying the changes she should make. The manager has acknowledged that some of her staff team may need additional support and is planning to ensure this happens.

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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

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Information about this inspection

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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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