Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Lincolnshire

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 registered manager does not communicate effectively with education providers, which has meant a young person may have missed more education than was necessary.  On one occasion, a young person paid staff costs for an activity that was expensive. This may prevent young people from accessing activities that particularly interest them.  Young people have access to contaminated waste that has not been properly cleared away.  For young people who are not in school, the activities throughout the day lack the structure and routine of being in education. This means that young people may find it more difficult to return to school when an appropriate placement is found.  Food hygiene is not good as food is stored incorrectly in fridges, the lid of a chest freezer was dirty and freezers are iced-up.  Young people complain about the pungent smell that remains in and outside the home despite investigations and attempts to correct the

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The children's home strengths

 The registered manager is passionate about providing a good service for young people.  Practice to promote the safety of young people is good in this home.  Young people are happy and they feel safe and secure. They make good relationships with staff and their peers. They do not take illegal substances or drink alcohol.  Behaviours such as going missing and self-harm are significantly reduced. Therefore, young people with a history of this behaviour are less likely to put themselves at risk.

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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

8. In order to meet the education standard, with particular reference to ensuring clear communication with schools prior to making decisions that may affect a child’s education, the registered provider must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(vi) maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement. 07/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

9. In order to meet the enjoyment and achievement standard, with particular reference to children paying staffing costs for activities, the registered provider must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. 07/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to ensuring children are protected from avoidable hazards such as contaminated waste, the registered provider must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(d) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. 07/12/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 28 paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should meet staffing costs for activities in order for them to support children to take part in school trips, out of school and other clubs, volunteering and leisure activities. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 31 paragraph 6.5)

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Information about this children's home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private national provider of registered children's services.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

15/01/2014 Interim Satisfactory Progress

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Requires Improvement

Young people are happy in this home. They have good relationships with staff and each other. A young person said: ‘When I got here it felt like it was home. It was the right place for me. Young people were friendly and welcoming.’ Young people make good progress in this home especially with regards to their emotional wellbeing, confidence and resilience. Staff help to promote the physical and emotional health of young people. A young person said: ‘They look after me really well. They always know when I’m upset. They will spend hours talking to me.’ Staff receive therapeutic guidance from a therapist employed by the organisation. This helps staff to respond therapeutically to the emotional needs of the young people. Young people are actively encouraged to attend education. Some young people are not in education currently due to placements deemed to be inappropriate or not found yet. These young people report that they do educational type activities with

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Requires Improvement

staff and staff will seek work from education providers for young people to complete. However, activities are not planned in a structured way to ensure young people do not get out of the routine of education. Staff value the views of young people. Their views are sought and young people feel listened to. Young people have recently chosen the décor for the house and the Christmas decorations, which look lovely in the lounge. Young people feel able to talk to staff about any issues or concerns they have. Social workers and other safeguarding agencies report that staff communicate well with them. However, an incident at a school meant that the registered manager made a decision to keep a young person away from that school. This decision was made without first discussing with the school about how they planned to ensure the incident was not repeated and the school were going to properly safeguard the young person. Consequently, the young person missed some education time than

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Requires Improvement

may have been necessary. Young people are encouraged to be fit and active. They enjoy a range of activities such as swimming, the gym, going to the cinema, walking or going to concerts. However, on one occasion young people have been asked to pay for staff where tickets have been expensive. This is unacceptable and the young person was refunded during the inspection. Young people are currently visiting a range of religious institutions, supported by staff, to see which one suits their needs. This is a very homely and welcoming environment for young people to live. Young people have lots of communal space as well as the privacy of their own bedrooms. They say they love their bedrooms and enjoyed putting up the Christmas decorations in the lounge. The home has been recently decorated and carpeted to a good standard. However, food hygiene requires improvement as food is stored incorrectly in fridges, the lid of a chest freezer was very dirty and freezers are iced

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Requires Improvement

up. Furthermore, young people have complained about the pungent smell both inside and outside the home. This is an ongoing situation although the source of the smell is being investigated and attempts have been made to rectify this.

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Good

Practice to promote the safety of young people is good in this home. Young people say they feel safe. Staff are competent in their knowledge of the home’s safeguarding procedures and implement these well. Young people rarely go missing from this home because they feel safe and secure. Missing events reduce dramatically upon entering this home. Staff follow good procedures if they do go missing. Staff work closely with the placing authority to ensure young people do not continue to put themselves at risk by running away from the home, developing joint proactive strategies to prevent and manage missing events. Young people do not take illegal drugs or misuse alcohol. Self-harming behaviour in young people has significantly reduced in this home as they have more self- belief and confidence. They have aspirations for their future and staff support them with these. Staff have a positive approach to young people and use effective strategies when

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Good

young people are angry or frustrated. They work closely as a team and use consistent firm boundaries to support young people. Staff rarely use physical intervention but know how to do this safely should they need to use it. However, staff prefer to talk to young people about what it is that is causing them to be upset. Staff have positive relationships with young people which enables them to use talking and humour effectively in most situations. Staff work closely with the youth offending team to support the young people who have previously offended prior to moving into the home. A number of new staff have been recruited recently. Vetting systems help to ensure unsuitable adults do not have access to young people. Health and safety procedures are generally good in this home. However, contaminated waste was left on the grass next to the septic tank after it had been emptied. This was removed as soon as it was highlighted during the inspection.

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Requires Improvement

The registered manager is an experienced and qualified manager. She is passionate about providing good outcomes for young people. On the whole, she achieves this. However, the staffing within the home has changed which has meant staff have been recently promoted and new staff are arriving and, therefore, a number of staff are new to their role. Some longstanding staff have left or recently been promoted within the company. This has caused some issues of communication within the team meaning young people have not received the same quality service that they have been accustomed to, hence the identified weaknesses highlighted in this report. All staff who are not on their probation, are appropriately qualified or completing an appropriate qualification. Staff are caring and passionate about providing a good service for young people. They are supported well by the management team and have access to a good level of training. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge

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Requires Improvement

of how to keep young people safe, which helps to minimise risks for young people. The registered manager received one recommendation at the last inspection with regards to the décor and carpets. This has now been completed. The registered manager is quick to address identified weaknesses and demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of the strengths and weaknesses about the service provided for young people. The statement of purpose clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the home. The document is regularly reviewed to ensure it continues to be up-to-date and an accurate reflection of the home.

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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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