Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

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:

 For some young people attendance and attainment in education has declined since the start of placement.  The welfare of young people has not always been adequately safeguarded as young people are taking risks with their health by using illicit substances and vacating the property from a second floor window.  Risk assessments have not been developed sufficiently and, furthermore, risks are not always known by staff in order to protect the young people and other staff working with them.  Records are incomplete, poorly written or not signed by staff members.  Supervision and lack of training of staff in drug awareness fails to give adequate guidance and support to staff.

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The children's home strengths

 Fellow professionals and young people’s parents and carers are very positive about the home. They commended the staff team on their commitment to the young people. They say that the team have good communication skills and parents and carers say that the staff also provide them with support.  Young people benefit from living in a comfortable, welcoming environment.  Investigations into allegations against staff have been tougher and detailed, ensuring that lessons have been learned.  Staff are stable and consistent and this allows relationships to develop with 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 education standard to enable children to make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential, the registered person must ensure that staff

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Requirement Due date

8 (2)(x) help each child to attend education and training in accordance with the expectations in the child's education and the homes care plan 10 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, with particular reference to identifying and treating health concerns, the registered person must ensure that

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Requirement Due date

(1) (a) the health and well-being needs of children are met. 10 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is met if the registered person ensures that staff

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Requirement Due date

11 (2)(c)(vii) are provided with supervision and support to manage and understand their own feelings and responses to the emotions and behaviours presented by children, and to help children to do the same 10 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to providing guidance and support, the registered provider must ensure that staff

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious 10 July 2016 concern about a child's welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a) (d) that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health with particular reference to the window restrictors and door alarms. 10 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard to enable children to be protected from harm, the registered person must ensure that

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Requirement Due date

12(b) the day-to-day care is arranged and delivered through effective care planning and risk management so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 10 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development, with particular regards to drug awareness (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 10 July 2016

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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)). 10 July 2016

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people. The young people may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, including attachment difficulty.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

3 February 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

27 January 2014 Interim Satisfactory Progress

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Requires improvement

Young people living at this home are new into placement and have been at the home for only a few weeks and are developing relationships with key staff. This helps them to build trust and feel more secure. Early indications suggest that some young people have made some progress in important areas of their life. This includes their behaviour and their education. For other young people, limited progress has been made since the move into the home. A social worker said that education attendance has decreased overall for her child from full time education to only one or two days a week, and, as a result, their attainment has also decreased. This affects their ability to be successful in their chosen career when in adulthood.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s health needs have significantly affected their ability to access education. Young people have been placed at risk by purchasing and using cannabis. This has impacted on their academic work and their ability to attend school. Staff failed to follow through on their initial challenge when young people were caught smoking cannabis in the house and subsequently no behaviour plan or update to the risk assessment had been made to ensure there is a consistent approach by staff to addressing this. Staff have been unable to encourage young people to attend the dentist despite requiring work on their teeth. Management oversight of this has not been robust. Consequently, the physical health and well- being needs of young people are not met. This also affects their emotional well- being and the quality of their experiences on a day-to-day basis.

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Requires improvement

Young people develop the independence skills they need as they approach adulthood. They grow in confidence and have clear aspirations. One young person helped the gardener to make improvements to the garden recently and talked very positively about this, saying he really enjoyed it. ‘I got some AQAs in the post the other day for the work I’d done’. He hopes that things like this will help him get on his college course, and was eager to do more things like this. This type of activity gives young people a positive focus.

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Requires improvement

Young people actively express their views. This is welcomed and encouraged by staff who ensure that they influence the way the home is run. Young people feel valued as a result. They talk positively about staff and the support they receive. Staff also develop positive relationships with young people’s families. This helps young people to see more of the people who are important to them, and in safe circumstances. 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 that young people are cared for by staff who understand their needs.

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Requires improvement

The home is located, designed and of a size and layout to meet the needs of all the young people placed there. It has a good standard of decor that young people and staff have made into a comfortable and homely environment, although there are some deficiencies with the window restrictors. Young people are proud of their individual rooms, which are personalised and of a good size. They have a good outdoor space, where they engage in activities or spend time with the staff in the garden.

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Requires improvement

Managers do not always take effective action in relation to potential safeguarding concerns. For example, on one occasion they failed to get clinical support and guidance from the organisation’s therapeutic team following a serious physical assault on staff by a young person living in the home. This hindered the effective assessment of risk, specifically in relation too he registered manager, who was subsequently very seriously assaulted again. This incident also caused distress to the other young people living in the home and staff who had witnessed the attack. The young person received a custodial sentence as a result and was discharged from the home. Subsequently, the organisation has arranged for counselling and guidance for staff and the registered manager to reflect on the incidents.

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Requires improvement

Risks relating to drugs, use of weapons and offending behaviour are poorly identified and as a result are not well manged by staff. For example, young people have been known to leave the property by the second floor bedroom window. While the issues of defective window restrictors and door alarms have been raised with the organisation, their repair has not been actioned. This potentially leaves young people to continue to vacate the property undetected. Young people who have a history of violence or threats to harm have not been managed effectively. This has seen an increase in complaints from the local community about young people living in the home, and includes racist and threatening behaviour with a knife towards members of the public. Prior to the particular young person’s discharge from the home, this left the staff and other young people living in the home vulnerable. The manager has subsequently failed to be robust in her

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Requires improvement

approach to minimise any future impact. For example, training in drug awareness has not been implemented or risk assessments and behaviour plans put in place to provide staff with strategies to manage poor behaviour.

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Requires improvement

The staff team have developed strong relationships with specialist policing teams, who talk positively about the home. One officer stated, ‘I work closely with the (home), who have an early action approach with any issues, calling multi-agency meetings, ringing for advice etc. I have no issues at this time’. This collaborative approach informs the robust response when young people go missing or are thought to be at risk of radicalisation. Young people are safe as a result and are rarely reported missing. This is a significant improvement. A social worker talks positively about this, ‘these concerns are reduced due to the response of staff and the relationships they build with young people.’

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Requires improvement

On occasion, where there have been allegations, or concerns raised regarding staff practice, the management has been proactive and has 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 that young people are consistently and effectively protected.

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Requires improvement

Young people are protected by sound recruitment processes that ensure that staff are carefully selected and checked to prevent unsuitable people working in the home.

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Requires improvement

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

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Requires improvement

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager who has been in post for some years. She and her staff remain child-focused, which results in a home that is run for the benefit of young people. Staff talk positively about the support they receive from the manager. Supervisions are irregular for some staff, particularly for new starters, but other staff supervision is generally regular and effective. The majority of staff access good quality, regular training. In contrast to this, a small number of staff are insufficiently trained. For example, they have not completed training on drug awareness, an issue that affects the young people living in the home. This has the potential to affect their confidence and competence in these areas. Consequently, young people may not receive the support and care they require.

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Requires improvement

The young people’s records, such as placement plans and behavioural plans, are not consistently up to date. Some are poorly written and contain inaccurate information. Others, for example, lack the young people’s current aims and objectives. This does not ensure that staff will have all the required information to meet young people’s needs or ensure consistency in staff practice.

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Requires improvement

An independent person visits the home every month. Their analysis and reports are adequate. In addition, the manager undertakes regular reviews of the quality of care provided by the home. This monitoring helps the manager identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, she can accurately monitor the progress that young people make.

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Requires improvement

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 that 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.

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Requires improvement

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

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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 children looked after 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 that 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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