Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Hertfordshire

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 feel safe in the home as the staff have a good understanding of their individual needs and implement the home‟s policies and routines.  Young people have made good progress since their admission to the home. In particular, engaging in education, increasing their confidence and self- esteem and decreasing challenging behaviour.  The staff support young people with contact with their families, in line with their care plans.  The registered manager is proactive in his approach to safeguarding young people. He identifies potential safeguarding concerns and takes robust action to keep young people safe. He is child centred in his approach and has strong aspirations for the young people.  The young people are very positive about the care they receive from the staff team. They feel staff genuinely care about them and help them to overcome individual difficulties and challenges.  The manager works positively with placing authorities and professionals

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The children's home provision is good because:

within the organisation, to enable young people to have a holistic care package in line with their individual plans.  Staff provide an environment where young people can express themselves and explore and develop their awareness of diversity and equality.  This inspection identified some shortfalls and areas for improvements. These are in relation to the young people‟s risk assessments and case record shortfalls, monitoring of potential bullying incidents within the home and staffing. These matters are not currently having an impact on the safety and well-being of young people.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular regard to risk of harm, the registered person must ensure: (2)(a)(i) that staff 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. This is with particular regard to individual risk assessments. 31/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) 15/01/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Ensure staff are able to recognise and address different types of abuse such as peer abuse, cyber bullying and bullying in day to day relationships in the home. This is with particular regard to implementing the bullying policy and monitoring all bullying incidents. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 39 paragraph 8.16)

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Recommendations

Ensure staffing levels meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. This is with particular regard to ensuring the home has a consistent and stable staff team, and rotas are designed to meet the needs of the children. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 54 paragraph 10.15)

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Information about this children's home

The children‟s home is managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for 4 young people of both genders aged between 10 and 18 years, who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

This is the first inspection since registration.

p.5

Good

A focused, competent and enthusiastic staff team, who have a strong knowledge of the young people‟s vulnerabilities and needs care for young people. The young people enjoy good relationships and interact positively with the staff and managers, who are warm and supportive of them. All young people spoke positively about the staff and said they enjoy spending time with them. They feel valued because they are encouraged to express their views, feelings and wishes. They feel listened to because key workers and staff make time to talk to them about their interests and concerns, support them with family contact and take them to appointments with other support agencies. One young person said: „The staff team help and give positive encouragement. The staff are really nice. All of them.‟

p.6

Good

The young people participate in the running of the home. They understand and feel part of the home; they are able to chair weekly house meetings, where they discuss what has been happening, receive praise for their achievements and are involved in planning the week ahead.

p.6

Good

Young people have transitioned with the staff team to this home, in a planned move from another registered children‟s home managed by the same organisation. The registered manager involved the young people in the move through visiting the home, choosing their bedrooms and proactively involving placing authorities. Young people experienced consistency and stability because they already had good relationships with the staff who moved to the home with them. Therefore, this move had minimal impact on the young people. However, some of the staff will be required to return to the previous children‟s home and some staff have already moved to other homes within the organisation. While this is a gradual process the manager is aware of the need for a permanent and stable staff team dedicated to this home in order to further develop the work with young people.

p.6

Good

Young people make good progress with their educational attendance and achievement. Some young people who had minimal attendance prior to their admission now access and engage in a full time education package. A professional reported: „When he first went his education wasn‟t good, he was constantly being excluded. Now, his tutor is fantastic and he learns more. The tutor is imaginative around helping him to learn outside of the classroom.‟ This is because the staff work in conjunction with the organisation‟s school to meet individual needs and they design tailored individual timetables. Incidents within education placements have decreased as young people‟s needs are well assessed. Staff support young people in their education. As a result, all young people are in full time education and have significantly increased their attendance and achievement.

p.6

Good

Young people are encouraged and supported to eat healthily and in line with their cultural preferences. Some young people engage with the organisation‟s therapist, to support them with their emotional and psychological needs. The therapist involves the staff through monthly consultation meetings and drop in sessions. This enables discussion around additional training and promotes more in depth knowledge of individual needs. This means young people are cared for by staff who understand their needs.

p.7

Good

The therapist, placing authorities, education professionals and the manager meet to identify target areas of improvement for young people. The organisation‟s psychology team monitor and review individual targets through a robust monitoring system to chart progress. As a result, young people make good progress with regard to all areas of their health.

p.7

Good

The staff provide effective and clear structures for young people. They are successful at making these meaningful because they have a thorough knowledge of individual personalities and preferences. They understand and respect how young people‟s challenges and experiences have impacted on them. This knowledge and the positive relationships are key to managing behaviour. The staff promote a positive, proactive and respectful culture of care. As a result, young people listen to staff, make positive choices and have made positive progress in other areas of their lives. Examples include improved sleep patterns, attending medical appointments, improving their self-care, family relationships and reducing inappropriate language.

p.7

Good

The young people are consistently stimulated at the home. The staff support them to try different opportunities and develop new skills, such as martial arts. Young people‟s self-esteem increases because they are celebrated as individuals, supported, encouraged and praised throughout their day.

p.7

Good

Detailed care planning, risk management procedures and behaviour management plans are in place. They give clarity about how staff are to support young people and reflect the positive staff practice. There is a sufficient assessment and review of plans and all professionals and parents, where appropriate, are involved and a key part of this process.

p.7

Good

The young people benefit from building and maintaining relationships with people important to them. The staff support regular contact with families and significant others. A social worker said: „They are supportive with contact and stay with him until he wants to go back.‟ Therefore, some young people‟s relationships have improved with their families.

p.7

Good

Young people make progress in cooking meals, domestic skills and safe care skills. They continue to develop these skills in line with their age and ability and carry them into adulthood, which provides them with an increased level of independence.

p.7

Good

The home is located, designed and of a size and layout to meet the needs of all the young people placed there. It is well maintained and has a good standard of décor that young people and staff have made into a comfortable and homely environment. Young people are proud of their individual rooms, which are well personalised and of a good size. They have good outdoor space, where they engage in activities, such as using the trampoline, or spending time with the staff in the garden.

p.8

Good

The staff team take their responsibility for keeping young people safe seriously. The safety and well-being of young people is at the centre of practice. Young people report they feel safe and can talk to an adult when they have concerns. The staff are well informed of policies and procedures through induction and training. They know how to safeguard young people and the procedures to follow in partnership with other agencies. On occasion, where there have been allegations, or concerns raised regarding staff practice, the management has been proactive and worked with the Local Authority Designated Officer and thoroughly investigated these concerns. The manager is reflective in practice and takes action to prevent recurrence where this is identified. This means young people are consistently and effectively protected.

p.8

Good

Staff have a thorough understanding of and implement the home‟s approach to caring for young people. The quality of relationships between staff and young people is positive and reinforces the caring atmosphere throughout the home. The young people are motivated by and value the praise and rewards they receive for positive behaviour and achievements. Staff reinforce positive behaviour and base measures of control around restorative work, such as, helping to replace a damaged picture. Young people understand and accept the rules and incentives in place to support their behaviour.

p.8

Good

The staff take time to understand the background of each young person and have a good knowledge of how previous experiences impact upon and influence current behaviours. Detailed strategies and consultation meetings with the therapist assist staff in understanding the impact for young people and how they can support them. As a result, challenging behaviour, such as damage to the home, incidents leading to physical interventions, aggression to staff and verbal abuse significantly decreases. This supports young people to develop self-esteem, self-belief and respect for others.

p.8

Good

Young people do not currently go missing. This is because the staffing levels ensure that all young people are supervised, kept safe and receive appropriate support. Where there have been previous concerns, staff were proactive in their response. They implemented the home‟s missing policy and worked closely with external agencies to enable a quick return. The missing person police team reported: „Where there have been incidents of young people going missing, these appear to have been thoroughly managed by the staff.‟ On their return young people are consistently offered an independent interview to discuss the reasons for going missing. On occasion, where the manager has continued concerns regarding keeping young people safe, he has been proactive in arranging meetings with external agencies to ensure the episodes do not continue or escalate.

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Good

Young people are protected by sound recruitment processes that ensure staff are carefully selected and checked to prevent unsuitable people working in the home. The young people are involved in the recruitment process, with suggestions of questions they would like potential staff to answer. Therefore, their views are taken into account in recruitment decisions.

p.9

Good

The environment is physically safe. Fire safety training and regular checks to the fire systems ensure due care is taken to ensure everyone is safe. Young people are involved in fire drills and are aware of what to do in the case of a fire.

p.9

Good

Young people have individual risk assessments. Staff regularly assess risks and take actions to limit these risks. However, risk assessment is lacking for some activities, such as martial arts and swimming. On some occasions, the risk assessments have not been updated, for instance where there have been concerns of isolated incidents of bullying. Therefore, not all potential hazards to young people have been identified.

p.9

Good

The staff receive training in countering bullying and the home has a written policy for the prevention of bullying. The young people do not identify bullying as an issue within the home. However, on occasion, staff have noted potential bullying between young people but they have not completed a bullying log as described in their policy to monitor these incidents. While there is minimal impact on young people due to the high level of supervision the young people receive, this does not ensure that incidents of bullying are monitored effectively. Judgement grade

p.9

Good

The registered manager has been in post since August 2015, has over six years‟ experience of working with children and young people and is currently completing the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management.

p.10

Good

The manager provides the home with strong and effective leadership. He ensures the home is providing young people with a child-centred environment where there are good levels of care and support in line with the statement of purpose. During the inspection, the nurturing, respectful and careful interaction between the staff and the young people was noted. This is because there are clear policies and procedures, effective organisation of staff and consistent implementation of behaviour and safeguarding strategies.

p.10

Good

All members of staff spoken with gave positive comments about the manager‟s supportive leadership of the service. They receive regular and effective supervision and all mandatory training is completed in line with the organisation‟s requirements. The staff feel that the training provided is of a good quality and has enabled them to put their skills and knowledge into practice. They attend regular staff meetings that provide a forum for them to share best practice and develop strategies to meet the needs of the young people. In addition, the organisation‟s therapist provides specialist training sessions to further develop the staff‟s knowledge in areas such as attachment. The therapist said: „Staff are responsive and creative and access the strategies and resources suggested to them.‟

p.10

Good

The statement of purpose describes in detail the ethos and aims of the setting. A children‟s guide to the service suitably summarises these aims for the young people. This ensures young people, parents and placing social workers are clear about the purpose and goals of the home. The manager is committed to ensuring the ethos of the statement of purpose is embedded into the day-to-day work with young people.

p.10

Good

The manager‟s communication processes are strong and effective. The close working relationships between the organisation‟s schools, therapist and placing authorities is effective in supporting young people and developing their placements. The head teacher of the school said: „The key is communication with the home, they work in partnership and are open to other professionals helping each other to manage the young people‟s behaviour.‟ The staff liaise with outside agencies in accordance with the young people‟s needs. A social worker said: „They update me on a regular basis and are working well with the school.‟ These processes contribute to the good outcomes for young people and demonstrate that all staff are consistently concerned with their welfare and progress.

p.10

Good

External monthly monitoring visits highlight areas for improvement. The manager completes monitoring reports quarterly and the organisation has an effective system to monitor young people‟s progress since their placement started. The evaluation and reflection on the quality of care described in these reports demonstrates a service that is looking for ways to improve. In addition, there is a comprehensive development plan in place. All of the monitoring systems work together effectively to identify areas for development and improvement.

p.10

Good

The manager provides good management of and clear reporting of significant incidents. The necessary professionals and agencies are notified and records demonstrate clear actions are taken and there is reflective learning from incidents.

p.11

Good

The manager ensures that the staffing levels are good. However, on occasions, some staff have to travel a considerable distance to the home. Some individuals‟ rotas are planned to work three consecutive days with no break in between, to reduce their drive to their workplace. Therefore, the rota is planned around individual staff members and not based on the young people‟s needs.

p.11

Good

The young people‟s records, such as placement plans, are not consistently up to date. For example, some lack the young people‟s current aims and objectives. While this has minimal impact currently, it does not ensure that the new staff recruited to the service will have all the required information to meet young people‟s needs or ensure consistency in staff practice.

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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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