Children's home run by Keys Childcare Limited in Belfast

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . Since the last inspection, two young people have left the home. One of the transitions was a planned and positive move for the young person into a semi- independent placement. Another young person’s placement ended abruptly, when specialist provision was immediately sought to meet her complex health needs. During this transition, staff at the home were dedicated to meeting her increasing needs under very difficult circumstances. Two young people have recently moved into the home. The manager completed appropriate risk assessments to understand the impact on other young people and ascertain whether staff could meet their needs prior to their admission. Both young people have settled in very well and have already begun to develop positive relationships with staff and other young people. One social worker said ‘She has

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

settled well, communication with the home is really good. She says she gets on well with staff and they are doing a good job of meeting her cultural needs and supporting her to have contact with family.’ All young people are engaging in education. Staff facilitate positive activities outside of the home; this is assisting young people to develop social skills and a sense of belonging. Staff are prioritising the health needs of young people by promoting a healthy balanced diet and physical activity. Some young people are receiving in-house therapeutic support and are working towards improved emotional health. There has been an increase in incidents of challenging and risk-taking behaviour. Staff respond to incidents effectively and consistently and revise supervision levels where appropriate. Some young people have been missing from the home. Staff have taken proactive steps to work with other agencies to ensure that independent

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

return interviews take place, so as to understand this behaviour and prevent recurrence. There are minor shortfalls in some aspects of recording which are attributed to a period of instability in the home. This has now been rectified and has not impacted on the safety of young people in the home. Leaders and staff have maintained the quality of care provided under challenging circumstances. Since the two young people have left, there has been a reduction in frequency and severity of incidents. Two young people were recently subject to very high supervision levels following incidents of self-injurious behaviour. Any safeguarding arrangements that are highly intrusive and impact on the privacy of young people should be subject to regular review. This is to ensure that they are necessary and proportionate and strike a careful balance between the need to safeguard young people and their right to privacy.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Most areas of the home are modern, well maintained and provide comfortable surroundings for young people to relax and socialise. Some communal areas are locked and staff were unable to provide a legitimate safeguarding reason for this measure. The locks are due to the design of the home and consideration should be given to their removal or replacement with a more suitable solution. There are some high traffic communal areas of the home that would benefit from modernisation and general maintenance in order to provide a fully welcoming and homely environment for young people. Most of the requirements and recommendations arising from the last inspection have been met. The registered manager has put in place a new system to suitably vet and record visitors to the home. She has revised the process for administering medication to young people, which has reduced the potential for errors to be made. Notifications of serious incidents to Ofsted have continued to be subject to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

some delay on occasions and, therefore, this requirement is repeated. There is evidence that the manager is monitoring the quality of service offered to young people and is evaluating records to determine where improvement needs to be made. The independent visitor to the home has largely been unable to consult with young people about their experiences due to the time of day that visits take place. Feedback from young people is an important aspect of monitoring the quality of care provided in the home and a requirement is made to address this matter.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who may have emotional/and or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a large private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/11/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/08/2015 Full Good 18/02/2015 Interim Improved 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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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— (c) any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— (ii) is necessary and proportionate; (iii) is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and (iv) allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(c)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 28/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must notify HMCI without delay of any other incident relating to a child, which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 28/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— (a) if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44(2)(a)) 28/04/2017

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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

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. The registered person may consider this, in particular regard to some of the communal areas in the home requiring general maintenance. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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 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 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

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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

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