Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 1 SC063883 Registered provider: Bettercare Keys Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 19 December 2016

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager has high aspirations and is extremely motivated. The therapeutic approach taken by her team ensures that young people receive the very best care leading to excellent outcomes.  Young people have well-established and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Young people respond exceptionally well to the therapeutic care offered to them. This improves their emotional resilience and helps them to get on with their lives.  Staff strongly advocate for young people when there are shortfalls in the support provided by other services.  Wide-ranging scrutiny and thorough monitoring systems ensure that any areas for development are quickly detected and addressed. This maintains the high standard of care provided to young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The level 3 diploma should be completed by those currently undertaking this training.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Good 30/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people thrive in this home because they enjoy long-term stability with staff who provide them with highly nurturing care. Young people said: ‘This is a great place to live. Staff care for us. I’m doing so well, I’m really proud of myself’, and ‘The manager and the staff support you. They make you feel better. They care, and sort things out and this helps a lot.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people respond exceedingly well to the highly personalised support and care provided. They make tremendous progress because of the strong, established and trusting relationships that they have built with the staff, and particularly with their key workers. Staff are passionately committed, wanting the very best for them. A social worker said: ‘[X] (young person) said to me that she has very good relationships with staff, and, while living here, she has had her happiest times ever.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The frequent review of young people’s progress ensures that their specific needs are fully met, through consistent daily routines and agreed boundaries within a nurturing and therapeutic care approach. This means that young people make great and continued progress. This includes progress in feeling safe, keeping safe, educational attainment, gaining independence and life skills, and maintaining family relationships and friendships. Young people have successfully grown and developed into more self- confident and emotionally resilient young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A young person said: ‘All the staff are great; I can talk to any of them, but will go to certain staff to discuss certain things.’ These positive relationships enable young people to listen, and take on board guidance and advice that improve their daily lives and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people understand the importance of keeping healthy and have improved health outcomes. Young people now attend all routine health assessments and check-ups. Staff support them to keep active and maintain a balanced diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All young people have gained significant achievements by their regular attendance at school and college. The home’s culture promotes the importance of learning. This has enabled young people to sit their exams and attain qualifications. This extends their opportunities to access further education and the world of work as young adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The active pursuit of young people’s views and opinions enables them to give staff daily feedback about the care they receive. This includes menu planning, activities that they wish to participate in, when they would like to see family and friends, and the plans for their future. Young people know their rights, including how to make a complaint if they need to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Parents said that they have very positive relationships with staff and that they are kept up to date about their child’s care. Young people enjoy contact with their families and Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 4 with others who are important to them. Staff have persistently advocated, addressing shortfalls when there have been delays in the placing authority agreeing family overnight stays and visits. This has ensured that young people maintain and rebuild positive relationships with significant people in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people said: ‘We a have a lovely home’, and ‘It’s [a] homely house, and my friends come round sometimes.’ The home is well furnished and maintained, decorated and comfortable. This provides young people with a happy, secure and safe environment to live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people develop good independence skills that greatly improve their ability to be able to care for themselves. They undertake household chores, plan menus and cook meals, arrange health and other appointments. This work is ongoing and some young people are learning to manage their finances.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people thrive due to the calm, nurturing approach, positive role modelling and the strong importance and emphasis given to their positive behaviour. They respond to frequent praise and the incentives put in place to help them achieve and succeed. Physical interventions and sanctions are rare. When these do occur, they are appropriate for the behaviour presented. In turn, young people respond well to clear and consistent expectations, care, rules and boundaries delivered by staff. This assists young people enormously to feel safe and secure.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people now understand and recognise the possible consequences and dangers of going missing. This is due to the work that staff have undertaken with them. Staff implement safe practices and strategies in line with the missing from care protocols, liaising closely with other agencies to keep young people safe. In addition, safe and well checks and return home interviews take place routinely. Therefore, risks of child sexual exploitation and missing from care episodes have significantly reduced. For several months, there have been no missing from home events.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

A young person said: ‘There is no bullying. We do fall out sometimes; this is normal. Bullying is not allowed.’ Staff know explicitly the risks that relate to each young person in their care. They have worked closely with young people to recognise the dangers to themselves. Young people have responded extremely well to the guidance provided by staff to reduce these risks. Consequently, risk-taking behaviour has reduced and this keeps young people considerably safer. A professional said: ‘The work staff have completed has made a massive difference. [X] is so much safer.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a wealth of experience in management and in caring for children. She has been registered for this service since 2013, holds a degree in psychotherapy and transactional analysis and a level 4 management qualification. She leads by example and conveys to the staff team her high aspirations for the young people in her Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 5 care. This culture extends to all and is an integral part of the home’s aims and objectives. This approach makes certain the continued progress of the young people living in this home, ensuring that they achieve their care plan aims and targets.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals reported that communication with them is excellent. A social worker said: ‘The home has been proactive to contact me regularly to advocate for [X]’’ and ‘This placement is positive for [X]. They are proactive in sending me information.’ Excellent collaborative working with advocates, police, education, social care and a clinical team that includes a psychologist and therapist supports the provision of first-rate care. This is evident in the young people’s accomplishments and substantial progress during their stay at the home, after a turbulent and unsettled past.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A stable, experienced, child-centred and well-trained, staff team works consistently together to meet the needs of young people. Staff access a wide range of training. The majority of staff hold the diploma level 3 in caring for children and young people, and all mandatory training areas are kept up to date. They access more specialist training, which includes child sexual exploitation, and safe and sound approach to care. This equips staff exceptionally well to meet the needs of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with excellent-quality supervision that includes the extensive use of reflective practice relating to the therapeutic approach used. Staff learn from experience and this prepares them exceptionally well to meet the needs of young people. In addition, detailed daily shift handovers and the review of incidents through thorough debriefs look at lessons learned. This informs the changes that need to be made to the care of young people and assists in preventing similar events recurring. Staff have vigorous communication systems, keeping them fully informed on the care to be provided to maintain young people’s successful outcomes from an enlightened and supported staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home meets the needs of young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties, working in line with its statement of purpose. The implementation of the one previously made requirement ensures that there is a full staff team that is suitably trained. Robust and wide-ranging monitoring systems exist internally and externally. This includes the review of young people’s progress on a monthly basis. The manager knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She ensures that the home’s development plan is a live document, in which the goals set are frequently reviewed to make sure that they are being implemented. This continual reviewing of the quality of care supports young people’s positive care experience and ongoing progress and maintains the outstanding standards of care.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 6 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bettercare Keys Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Keys Group, Laganwood House, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5NW

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Inspector

Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063883 8 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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