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

Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 1 SC389178 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children and young people with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 February 2018

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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 outstanding

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 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

 Staff are child centred and work to understand children’s communication needs.  The staff and the leadership team firmly advocate for children’s right to receive appropriate support.  The staff are warm, empathic and committed to the care of the children.  Children receive consistent and responsive care to meet their needs.  The registered manager is aspirational for the children and leads by example.  The registered manager continually seeks to improve the quality of care.  Staff are provided with specialist training to meet children’s individual needs.  The responsible individual continues to take the right steps to further develop the service.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/10/2016 Full Good 03/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/12/2015 Full Good

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Through staff working collaboratively with the child’s family and professional network, the registered manager has a comprehensive understanding of each child’s identified needs and risks. Staff and managers plan children’s transitions to the home extremely well, and this helps children to settle in well. Staff provide a welcoming home for children, and their families are supported to visit them regularly. Children consistently know who is supporting them each day through the helpful visual aids that the staff use. A firm belief that this is the children’s own home underpins the way in which the home is managed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff team is very child centred in its approach and focuses on each individual child’s strengths. This supports the development of children’s independence. Staff seek to understand what children communicate through their speech, body language and behaviour. By utilising Makaton and other communication aids according to each child’s needs, staff support them to communicate as well as they can. Staff develop positive Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 3 relationships with each child and enable them to express their individuality. This is a real achievement, given the different ages of the children, their individual personalities, and the nature and range of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Key workers have a thorough understanding of each of the children whom they support, and seek specialist support where needed. Through the relationships that they build with the children, key workers help children to develop a sense of stability and to find ways to manage their difficult feelings. Children develop trusting relationships with the staff, who are consistent in their care and treat the children with respect and dignity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children to participate in cooking and day-to-day household activities, which the children enjoy. This promotes children’s independence and contributes to a positive sense of self through the individual contributions that they each make to their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff enthusiastically plan activities with the children and assertively seek their views. These are then listened to and acted upon. Staff advocate for the children’s right to education, offering additional resources to enable them to participate in their learning, receive a good education, including additional staff to support children in the classroom when this is needed. Staff support children to access an independent advocate when this is needed. This is fundamental to the ethos of the home. Staff support children to adjust to their individual and changing health needs, finding creative solutions to help children to achieve this through child-centred planning and work with the relevant specialist professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff team has made good use of the children’s ideas in providing a bright and welcoming home. The children personalise their bedrooms to reflect their interests and preferences. Children access all the different communal spaces at the home, including the sensory and games room. The dining/living area is a popular main focal point at the centre of the house. The home has plenty of books and games that the children can access readily. Overall, staff and managers have achieved a warm and child-friendly feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The feedback from parents and professionals reflects the outstanding care provided, and one parent commented that they are ‘very happy with the placement’ and feel that their ‘very complex’ child is well supported. Another parent wrote: ‘It is very difficult to say in words all the gratitude I feel’. Professionals give excellent feedback on the care that children receive, and one social worker described the ‘dramatic change’ that they had observed in the child’s behaviour since being in the placement. Another social worker praised the care provided by staff, saying that they feel that staff go ‘above and beyond’, and added that this is the ‘best placement the child has ever had’.

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

Children’s needs are comprehensively discussed at team meetings to inform the care that children receive and to agree support plans for each child. Staff work very effectively as a team to learn what works well for each child, and they adapt practice to meet children’s changing needs. The team continually reflects on its practice and strives Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 4 to ensure that consistency of care is closely linked to its shared learning. This is supported by a programme of staff training that is specifically designed to meet the needs of the children.

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

Staff supervision is a particular strength of this home, and regular planned and ‘responsive’ sessions are provided. This ensures that the needs of the children and staff are continually monitored and that additional support is put in place whenever it is needed. Responsive supervision is undertaken either by team leaders or the registered manager, depending on the practice issues to be discussed. This model, promoted by the registered manager, supports the culture of professional accountability. It is an example of excellent practice. Staff supervision is sharply focused on relevant issues, and demonstrates a clear understanding of what is to be discussed to support the staff to care for the children well.

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

Safer recruitment and vetting practice for all new staff supports the safe care of children. New staff are provided with a clear induction and training programme, including safeguarding training. This includes additional guidance that has been developed by the registered manager following the recommendations from the last inspection. Managers have sourced external safeguarding training in addition to that already provided by the organisation. There is clear guidance in respect of whistleblowing, and staff understand the relevant policy, which is visible in the office. Staff are comfortable speaking to the registered manager, the registered individual or senior leaders if they have any concerns. They believe that their worries will be appropriately addressed.

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

All staff have a clear understanding of their safeguarding role in the context of each child’s needs. The staff team has undertaken specialist safeguarding training that is tailored to the particular needs of the children in their care. This includes speech and language therapy, epilepsy, attachment and Makaton. It is being developed further to include specific Makaton training in safeguarding, which is an example of excellent practice. Training is designed to help staff to develop their skills in supporting children who do not communicate verbally to understand and share any worries or fears that they may have. This demonstrates a firm commitment to the child’s views being central, and the priority that is placed on the welfare of all the children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear vision for the home and how the team as a whole contributes to this. Managers have a thorough understanding of the strengths of the staff team and the areas for development. The registered manager empowers team members in their respective roles and supports constructive challenge. Staff are provided with the right individual support to enable them to learn and to develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Strong leadership of the home is evident through the practice expectations set by the registered manager. Leaders enable staff to develop their understanding of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and how these apply to their role. There is an established system that ensures that staff are kept fully up to date with any changes to practice. This approach contributes to a culture of accountability across the whole Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 5 staff team. The responsible individual has a positive relationship with both children and staff, and firmly supports this approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is a strong advocate for all the children and has successfully ensured that children receive the level of support that they need. This has involved constructively challenging placing authorities to ensure continuity of one-to-one staff support, where this is needed. With the support of the responsible individual, the registered manager has arranged for specialist health assessments to be undertaken when these were not available through universal services. This ensures that the children receive the support that they need in a timely way and that they do not have to wait too long to receive it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager responds efficiently to practice issues in a timely way, informing all relevant agencies and ensuring that any learning is clearly identified and that system changes are put in place immediately. Managers ensure that there is an appropriate reflective response to individual practice issues through performance management procedures. The registered manager is continually seeking to improve the outstanding quality of care provided, for example though achieving the foundation-level Makaton kite mark. The staff team is now working towards the next level, which will include advanced training for staff. The registered manager monitors the quality of care in a variety of different ways and strives for excellence in the practice of the staff team. The responsible individual also seeks ways to continue to develop the service, and this includes plans to consider how assisted technology could help to improve the care that is

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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. 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: SC389178 6

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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: Maybrook House, 2nd floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Maria Lonergan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC389178 7 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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