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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged to require improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This inspection was brought forward due to concerns raised by an external agency that the home is not adequately safeguarding young people. Some of these concerns had been previously shared with the home, which is conducting its own investigation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Because the current number of core staff falls short of the number of staff required to care safely for the children and young people, the home is heavily reliant on agency staff and staff from other homes with the organisation. This means that children and young people are not provided with continuity or consistency of care. A young person said: ‘It’s annoying, as people come in whom you don’t know, although it depends on which agency staff and if they are all right. Some are all right. At the moment, none are all right.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not effectively engage with children and young people. Children and young people feel resentment towards staff and, therefore, do not have positive relationships with them. For example, a young person related an incident when a member of staff had intimated that she planned to leave by saying that she intended to ‘update her CV’. The young person said: ‘We don’t want to hear that, we want to know that they are here for us.’ Poor relationships with staff contribute to the fact that children and young people continue to put themselves at risk by going missing from the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people do not feel nurtured or understood. For example, a young person said that she had been upset and wanted to talk to a member of staff: ‘Staff refused to talk to me, because it was settling time.’ Records written by staff confirm the details of this event. The young person said that this meant that she went to bed upset. She noted: ‘Some staff genuinely do care, but some staff are here just for the money.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people feel that their ethnic needs are not understood. For example, a child said that she needed more hair product, which has to come from a specialist shop. Staff wouldn’t take her unless she also went on an activity, citing that it was too expensive to go there just for the hair product. Furthermore, staff said that she was being racist, because she had complained that ‘staff treat me like I’m white’.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people also say that staff swear at them and talk about other staff and young people in front of them. A young person said, ‘The atmosphere in this house has been terrible.’ Although there is no evidence to confirm these allegations, they demonstrate the lack of nurturing, positive relationships between staff and young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is new to the home, but is an experienced registered manager having run good children’s homes previously. She is currently going through the registration process with Ofsted. The manager has a good understanding of the current difficulties in the home, but is struggling to find an effective solution in the short term, due to difficulties in recruiting staff. Half of the staff team is new and most staff are not qualified or experienced. This means that they do not have the skills necessary to provide effective care for the complex children and young people who currently live at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children and young people are considered to be at high risk of sexual exploitation. They continue to go missing from this home and are in risky situations while missing. Staff generally follow good procedures. The manager works closely with other agencies to plan strategies to keep children and young people safe. However, the ineffective relationships that staff have with children and young people hinder these efforts. Nevertheless, one young person has made some progress and is not currently going missing, which means that their placing authority is able to make the decision to move them to independent living accommodation. This is something that the young person wants and is working towards.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Because this inspection was brought forward, two requirements made at the last inspection, regarding leadership and management and quality of care, were not reviewed. These two requirements have been repeated, with the original timescale unchanged.

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care and accommodation for five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 24/08/2016 Full Requires improvement 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/10/2015 Full Good 05/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 within the given timescales.

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The quality and purpose of care standard

6. (1) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— (a) understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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The quality and purpose of care standard

This is with particular reference to reviewing the number of children admitted to the home, due to poor dynamics, the number of cars, staff sleeping arrangements and the understanding of professional boundaries.

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The quality and purpose of care standard

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; (b) ensure that staff— (i) understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; (ii) protect and promote each child's welfare; (vii) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; (c) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— (i) meet the needs of each child. 25/11/2016

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The leadership and management standard

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to retention of staff:

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The leadership and management standard

13. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (e) ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child. 25/11/2016

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The positive relationships standard

11.—(1) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— (a) mutual respect and trust; (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and (c) positive responses to other children and adults. 25/11/2016

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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 that the care meets each child's needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child's gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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