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

Inspection report children’s home: 1249031 1 Registered provider: Bettercare Keys Ltd Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have learning disabilities. It is owned and managed by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness. This home is currently operating as a solo placement. There have been no admissions or discharges since the last inspection. The young person in placement has made exceptional progress in all areas of his development, due to the well-planned, individualised and consistent care he has received from the staff team. A social worker commented that, ‘Honestly, I can’t sing their praises enough. [Name of young people] has completely transformed in his confidence, personality and ability to now take turns. His presentation has improved and physically he has put on weight. He is now developing his own interests due to the support he has had.’ The young person has made excellent progress in his physical and emotional health since being in the placement. Staff support the young person’s progress at school. They

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

use incentives to encourage him to attend and they support him on the journeys to and from the school placement. As a result, his attendance at school is at 100%. Staff take an interest in his educational progress and support this at the home through reading with him and undertaking activities that support his education. Consequently, the young Inspection report children’s home: 1249031 2 person is making progress in his education. Staff promote the young person’s health and well-being by ensuring that he attends required health appointments. Staff liaise effectively with all health professionals and utilise support from other agencies, such as the looked after child nurse, to support the young person’s progress. Staff encourage a healthy, varied diet in the home. As a result, the young person now eats a wider range of healthy foods, which has contributed to him gaining weight. The young person has made significant progress in other areas of his

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

health, such as toileting, and he is now up to date with most of his immunisations. His progress was recognised at a recent looked after child review, the minutes of which state that he ‘has made great improvements in terms of his hygiene, diet and overall health. He has now learned to use the toilet and will run himself a bath. His experience of night terrors has lessened and he has an established bedtime routine.’ The young person is safe in the home due to a high level of staffing and good risk management. Staff ensure that written risk management plans are in place. These clearly identify known risks such as self-harm, and contain clear written guidance for staff to follow to reduce this risk. Staff understand and follow this guidance consistently. As a result, there has been a reduction in the young person’s self-harming behaviour. There has been a reduction in behavioural incidents and restraints for this young person.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This is due to the consistent approach employed by staff in managing his behaviour, which is underpinned by guidance from the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Consequently, the young person is learning to self-regulate his behaviour and manage his emotions better. When restraint is used, it is as a last resort to ensure the safety of staff and others. The manager has good oversight over restraint practice and challenges staff practice when necessary. However, recording of restraint is not always clear; this is something the manager has identified from his own monitoring and is taking action to address. The young person does not go missing from home due to the high level of staffing in place. Staff are, however, clear about the protocol they must follow should the young person go missing from home. The manager plans to revisit this with staff to ensure that practice remains up to date should this become an area of concern for the young

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

person. There has been a medication error during the period since the last inspection, which the manager identified though his audits. He now ensures that daily audits take place, as well as weekly and monthly audits. This error was addressed with staff at a team meeting and there have been no further errors since. All staff are trained in the administration of medication and new staff are assessed on their competency before they are allowed to administer medication. The home is managed by a child-focused and experienced manager. He has robust internal monitoring systems in place to track young people’s progress. He takes an evaluative approach to monitoring and has good systems to monitor incidents and staff practice. The manager has made good progress in meeting the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. External monitoring continues to be a shortfall. The independent visitor reports lack evaluation and are not always provided to

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

HMCI in a timely way. This hinders HMCI in fulfilling its monitoring duties. Inspection report children’s home: 1249031 3 There were further shortfalls identified in how staff are following the home’s fire policy, in that weekly fire and door checks have not been consistently carried out. Two of the fire doors in the home were not working adequately at the time of the inspection. This leaves young people, staff and visitors at risk of harm. Furthermore, there continue to be delays in repairs being carried out in the home; for example, repairs to the front door have been delayed.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/05/2017 Full Good 23/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered provider must ensure that staff ensure the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)) 20/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b)) This is in respect of fire drills being carried out. 20/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to HMCI. (Regulation 44(7)(a)) 20/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Records should include sufficient detail to enable the reader to identify what staff do to monitor and support young people’s well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 1249031 4 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

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

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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bettercare Keys Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Melanie McGuinness

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Inspector

Sarah Billett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1249031 5 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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