Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Buckinghamshire

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 have good relationships with a stable dedicated staff team.  Staff understand that transitions can be difficult and work closely with young people, families and social workers to overcome this.  The home has developed good relationships with other agencies to support young people.  Young people are involved in completing their placement plans with staff and have the opportunity to comment on these.  Staff appropriately challenge professionals to ensure the best outcomes for the young people.  Young people are involved in making decisions about home life.  There is good communication between staff and families.  Young people are supported to learn independence and life skills to prepare them for independent living.  Young people say they feel safe in the home and that staff listen to them.

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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

7. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the views wishes and feelings standard the registered person must; (iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. 15/12/15

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Requirement Due date

34. Policies for the protection of children

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(d) provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. 1/12/15

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The child’s GP should be kept informed of any progress of care, including any suggested changes of that care. This is in relation to GPs signing to say what house hold medication can be given to young people by staff. (Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, page 18, paragraph 3.33)  The children’s guide should help children understand, what the day to day routines of the home are. (Guide to Children’s Home Regulations, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The homes staff should recognise and celebrate the achievements of their children. (Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, page 31, paragraph 6.7) 

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Information about this children's home

This service is run by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide medium to long term care for up to four young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Young people living in the home can attend a school also run by the provider and have access to in-house therapeutic support.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

p.5

good

The young people have built good relationships with a stable staff team who support them to progress. One young person commented, ‘I like it here, staff are nice and I can talk to them if I’m upset’. Staff use appropriate humour and banter with young people, which successfully creates a relaxed atmosphere. A social worker commented, ‘X hasn’t been here long but has settled in remarkably quickly, staff have built a good relationship with her and got to know her.’ A parent said that, ‘X has made fantastic progress since moving to the home, he is much more mature and I have really noticed a difference.’

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good

The young people have regular key work sessions, which cover all aspects of their lives, some of these are completed when staff are out with the young people which helps to build and maintain positive relationships; they are encouraged to set targets and to comment on their key work session.

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good

There are quarterly newsletters, which all the homes in the group contribute to, these are colourful and inform each home of new young people, achievements and activities.

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good

The young people have individualised care plans, which support staff in working with them in all aspects of their lives, and updated by the keyworkers. Young people have the opportunity to comment on these and social workers sign to say that they are in agreement with the plan.

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good

There is a reward system in place and young people can see on a daily basis how well they are doing, achievements are discussed in house meetings and key work sessions but not specifically celebrated with young people. The manager is in the process of looking at how this could become more of a focus for the home.

p.6

good

The staff have good relationships with parents, one commented, ‘I am always made to feel very welcome and am always offered a cup of tea. The staff are lovely and they really understand X’s needs and behaviours.’

p.6

good

The young people’s health needs are promoted. They are registered with the local GP, dentist and opticians and are supported to attend regular health appointments. The Looked After Nurse and ‘RU safe?’ also work with young people on issues such as sexual health. Staff are proactive in following up any health needs. One member of staff who was not happy with the response from a health professional spoke to the GP regarding her concerns and with his support has followed this up as a complaint. This demonstrates that staff take the health needs of the young people seriously and advocate on their behalf. She commented, ‘the response I got from the health professional would not have been satisfactory if it was my child therefore it is not good enough for X. I have written a letter with the support from X’s GP.’

p.6

good

The young people are given the opportunity to access a wide variety of activities, there is an activity forum involving the other homes in the group; young people are encouraged to attend but at this time, they do not wish to. Ideas for activities are discussed in house meetings and the member of staff will take these to the forum. Staff are currently trying to obtain tickets to the X Factor as a result.

p.7

good

Staff actively seek and act on young people’s opinions on how the environment can be improved. The home is currently being redecorated, young people have chosen wall paper and paint along with new furniture for the lounge. One young person has just repainted her room with staff.

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good

Work has been undertaken in the garden making it a pleasant environment for young people.

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good

One young person is currently attending the company’s school; staff are proud of the achievements that he is making especially with his car mechanic course. There is good communication between the home and school, a daily report is sent to the home. The headteacher commented, ‘the home sends a report every morning so that we are aware of any issues from the evening before or the weekend, we then send a report at the end of the day, I also meet with the managers on a regular basis.’

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good

One young person is in the process of looking for work, staff support him with completing his CV, application forms and attending interviews.

p.7

good

Another young person is currently out of education, she has had a meeting with the home and social worker but nothing is in place yet. This means that she is getting up late and spending her time unstructured in the home.

p.7

good

Young people are supported in developing their independence skills in line with their care plan and age. Young people are encouraged to cook for everyone one day each week; one young person is in the process of learning to budget in preparation for moving into a semi-independence unit in the near future. A young person who recently left the home was able to develop skills such as budgeting and cooking and now lives independently.

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good

The home has a therapist who works with young people, staff and school to help them understand behaviours; informal drop in sessions are available to young people and the staff. She is seen as an important part of the staff team. Staff effectively support contact with family; each young person has a contact plan in place and staff complete a contact sheet after each visit so that any issues are monitored and passed to the social worker.

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good

The young people know how to complain and feel staff listen to them. One young person commented, ‘if I had a complaint I would talk to the manager, he will always listen’. A parent commented, ‘if I had a complaint I would speak to the staff or manager, if I wasn’t happy with the answer I would go up the line but I have never had to make a complaint.’

p.8

good

Staff challenge all forms of bullying or discrimination, this is done in house meetings and followed up in key work sessions. Staff are aware of the risks that the internet can pose for young people, they have also spoken to young people about the use of the internet and the risks, they have also looked at a child exploitation on-line protection site during house meetings and there is information for young people on the notice board. This supports young people in using the internet safely.

p.8

good

Staff have a sound understanding of health and safety issues in the home. All checks have been completed and are up to date. Young people all undertake regular fire drills and are encouraged to keep their environment safe.

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good

Staff have attended training in protective behaviours which includes self-harming and child sexual exploitation, staff have also spoken to young people about this in house meetings so that they can learn to understand risks and help keep themselves safe.

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good

The local police officer visits the young people on an ad hoc basis and attends some house meetings to build and maintain positive relationships with the young people.

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good

Staff report any safeguarding or child protection issues appropriately but it is difficult to track some evidence of actions taken or outcomes. The local authority designated officer reported that, ‘there are no concerns with the home, all referrals are appropriate.’ Staff are conversant with the home’s policy for young people that go missing. Staff actively look for young people if they have not returned when expected and contact them on their mobiles and try to ascertain where they have been on their return. There have been 15 incidents reported, 12 of these by young people that are due to or have since moved into independent living. The staff have worked with these young people about managing risk when they are out.

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good

All young people have had an interview on return from an independent person. The home works closely with the police and missing person’s team and has regular meetings to outline any potential issues.

p.9

good

Staff have a clear understanding of young people’s behaviours and triggers. They support young people in understanding and managing their behaviours with input from the therapist, this has led to no physical interventions being used since the last full inspection.

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good

There is a robust medication policy in place, staff store, administer and record medication appropriately. There are consent forms on file from parents or social workers but no consent from GPs for household medications which can be given to young people.

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good

There is a robust recruitment procedure in place with evidence on file that all checks have been completed and verified prior to staff starting to work in the home ensuring that only appropriate staff are recruited and young people are kept safe.

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requires improvement

The manager has been in post since May 2015 and has the relevant qualifications to manage the home. There has been a good induction programme in place supported by managers from the other homes and the operations manager; this has enabled him to build positive relationships with young people, staff and other professionals.

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requires improvement

There is a dedicated stable staff team in place, if extra staff are required they are drawn from other homes within the group, this means that the agency staff are rarely used and the young people can build positive relationships with staff that they know and trust. The manager and deputy regularly monitor the homes practice. Although safeguarding issues are appropriately reported it is difficult to track outcomes. The manager is aware of this and looking at how this can be made clearer to ensure that all actions are followed and outcomes recorded.

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requires improvement

One social worker reported that, ‘at times communication was not always good and I had to chase to make sure things had been done. Since the new manager has been in post he has taken this on board and things are now much better.’

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requires improvement

The young people are supported to attend their reviews and staff enable them to contribute to their meeting. Care plans are then updated.

p.10

requires improvement

The manager has started to develop relationships with professionals involved in the young people’s lives. He has challenged professionals appropriately when needed, for example, a young person was due a visit from the Youth Offending Service which had not taken place, he contacted them and a visit was set up for the following day.

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requires improvement

Staff receive regular supervisions and appraisals. There is a robust induction plan in place for new staff and a comprehensive rolling training programme in place for the staff team. A new member of staff spoken to was demonstrated sound knowledge of safeguarding and confirmed he had completed his mandatory training.

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requires improvement

The manager completes an impact risk assessment as part of the referral process, which ensures compatibility and management of risk are considered in advance. The local authority and police are also informed of all admissions to and discharges from the home.

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requires improvement

There is an area risk assessment in place with input from police and is regularly reviewed to help staff to know how to keep young people safe.

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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

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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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