Children's home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 1 SC016124 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 December 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2016

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is a lack of challenge and routine for one child specifically. This lack of Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 2 structure is not helping the child’s emotional, social and educational progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have not ensured that the games a child is playing on a games console are appropriate for his age and needs. Systems are not in place to ensure that all staff can confidently and regularly check games consoles.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The behaviour incentive plan for one child contravenes the local authority care plan directive regarding using games consoles.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager does not effectively challenge the placing authority’s responsibility to provide children with independent return home interviews when they go missing.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is a manager in post who has not yet submitted a complete application to register with Ofsted.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The outcome of one complaint investigation has not been concluded, with the member of staff needing to complete necessary training.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The visitors’ book does not contain a record of each individual’s reason for their visit.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is evidence of children making some good progress living at this home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have good relationships with staff, and enjoy living here.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Incidents of high-risk behaviours such as going missing and criminal activities have reduced. Staff address bullying behaviour effectively.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders and managers are aware of most of the strengths and weakness in the quality of care provided, and are addressing these areas.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/07/2016 Full Requires improvement 12/05/2016 Full Inadequate 12/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

(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. (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; (iii) treat each child with dignity and respect; (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; (v) help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; (vi) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare

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Requirement Due date

the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult.

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to ensuring that a child has suitable routines and structure in place, in line with his local authority care plan, in order to help him to make progress. 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure – (a) that staff – 31/01/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 4 (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the children’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that games that children play on games consoles are suitable. Ensure that systems are in place for all staff to confidently check and monitor children’s games consoles.

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Requirement Due date

(1) Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. (2) The registered person must— (a) maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; (b) ensure that the records are kept up to date; and (c) retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

(3) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 When a child is found, after going missing, they must be offered an independent return interview. Independent return interviews provide an opportunity to uncover information that can help protect children from the risk of going missing again, from risks they may have been exposed to while missing or from risk factors in their home.

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Recommendations

The interview should be carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to their home or care setting. This should be an in-depth interview and is normally best carried out by an independent person (i.e. someone not involved in caring for the Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 5 child) who is trained to carry out these interviews and is able to follow-up any actions that emerge. Children sometimes need to build up trust with a person before they will discuss in depth the reasons why they ran away. (‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care’, page 14, paragraphs 31 and 32)

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Recommendations

This relates specifically to ensuring that the home challenges the placing authority to ensure that return home interviews take place as required. In addition, information about the interviews must be obtained to implement risk reduction strategies.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy living in this home and have good relationships with staff. Children live in a homely, well-maintained and cared-for environment. Children are in a good situation to do well; however, the quality of the individualised care and support that staff provide varies.

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improvement to be good

One child is not making the progress he is capable of. This is because staff are not promoting his needs and well-being sufficiently. Staff use inappropriate incentives to reward the child that include allowing him access to use his games console all night. This contravenes the local authority care plan, which advises that these activities should be reduced. Staff do not provide the child with sufficient structure to enable him to develop a good daily routine. Consequently, the child routinely stays in bed until late in the day; his education provision is limited, and he is not challenged enough to engage in household tasks to help his independence skills to develop. The staff’s routines require more structure and reliably applied boundaries to help all children to develop improved emotional, social and educational well-being.

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improvement to be good

Children who were previously involved in gang-related and criminal behaviours are no longer at risk from this, and are now engaging in more appropriate activities. One child is doing extremely well. He is at college, has a part-time job and is maturing. His social worker reported that, ‘He’s done marvellously well’, and, ‘He is engaging in opportunities that he would never have had in his home town.’

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improvement to be good

Staff ably prepare some children for going home. One child has recently moved back into his family home. During his time at this home, staff helped to develop his relationship with his family. The child and his family spent more time together and reported back to staff that, ‘We have never been in such a good place before.’

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improvement to be good

Children’s views and wishes are well understood and taken into account. Staff support their cultural needs and offer relationship guidance. Staff appropriately challenge children’s derogatory views of other people, and sensitively explore why they feel like this. Staff are required to record their discussions with children in key-worker sessions. Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 6 The manager has identified that these recordings need to be kept more regularly, and that the content can be improved.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that the needs of children who live a long way from home are met. Children are encouraged to build up their skills to independently return to their local area. Also, family members visiting this home are made to feel very relaxed and welcome. A social worker reported that, ‘The home is amazing. Staff go above and beyond to make mum feel comfortable.’

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improvement to be good

Independent return home interviews do not routinely take place, or within the timescales specified in statutory guidance. Leaders and managers have failed to challenge the placing authority about this shortfall. When interviews have taken place, the manager has not received the information obtained at the interviews. Consequently, the manager is not able to understand the reasons why children run away, and is unable to identify strategies that may prevent similar incidents happening again.

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improvement to be good

In one case of a child going missing from the home, staff’s negligence meant that they did not discover the child was missing from when he went to bed one evening until 2pm the next day. Since this incident, the manager has put in place strategies to ensure that staff know where the child is and regularly check on him in his room. Incidents of children going missing have since reduced because of their engagement with staff at this home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not monitor effectively the games that children play on a games console. One child spends a considerable amount of time each day isolated in his room playing on the console. Although staff check on the child, they do not limit the time he plays on the console, or regularly ensure that the games he is playing are appropriate. During the inspection, the inspector and staff checked the games together and found all of them to be inappropriate to the child’s age and current needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not used restraint in the last twelve months, and appropriately manage negative comments made between children. Children are supported to understand their actions and how they feel about each other. Staff are provided with training to help them to deal effectively with concerns about bullying. As a result, bullying incidents have reduced.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers report safeguarding concerns to the appropriate agencies. The current manager and the staff team have worked well with external agencies to deal with a concern about radicalisation. Staff speak openly with children about these concerns, and are helping them to understand the risks in these areas and how to stay safe. Staff help children to access external specialist support to help them with emotional and mental health.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers monitor effectively the use of sanctions. However, measures that Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 7 were used by staff in response to two children going missing have been identified as not being appropriate or helpful. The current manager has a more restorative view on the use of sanctions to help children learn from their actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is no registered manager at this home. The previous registered manager resigned in August 2017. A new individual was appointed to the manager’s role in September 2017. She has yet to submit a complete application to register with Ofsted. The current manager is providing effective leadership, which is having a positive impact on most children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Complaints received by the manager have been investigated appropriately, and included speaking to a child when they were involved. The outcome of one complaint investigation has not been finalised, and the staff member involved has not completed the recommended training. Neither has the manager followed this up as part of the staff member’s supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager does not ensure that the visitors’ book is maintained in line with the children’s homes regulations (2015). A record is not kept of each visitor’s reason for attending the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager ensures that monitoring of the home takes place regularly, and is used to improve the quality of care provided. The independent visitor speaks with children and professionals involved with the home to gather their views. Actions from independent visitor reports are addressed promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

It is clear from the monthly monitoring that children have made some good progress in relation to their starting points, and some high-risk behaviours are reducing. Staff are providing children with stability. One child informed the inspector that he is pleased that he has been here for almost one year, as this is the longest he has lived in a care home before.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision and good opportunities for professional development. They recently took part in training relating to understanding childhood attachment and protecting children who self-harm. Their safeguarding children training is also refreshed annually. Staffing is sufficient, and provides children with good continuity of care. Changes to the company that now runs this home, and changes of manager, have occurred three times in the past 18 months. Staff are positive about the current situation and comment that the new manager is good for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Generally, the manager links well with agencies and professionals involved in the children’s care. All significant events have been notified to Ofsted appropriately. A social worker reports that she is kept informed of the child’s progress, and that she would like to move another child into this home when the time is right. Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 8

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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 differences 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. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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: SC016124 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Attachment Centre, New Hall Hey Road, Rossendale BB4 6HR

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Inspector(s)

Guy Mammatt, social care inspector Paula Lahey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC016124 10 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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