Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 1 SC370949 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited 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 owned by a private organisation. The home provides long-term placements for up to three children who present with behavioural challenges and are emotionally vulnerable. The home has a registered manager who has been in post for five years.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/08/2017 Full Good 06/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/09/2016 Full Good 15/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 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

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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities in general, and that there are clear and evaluative reviews of staff performance and practice during their probationary periods. 20/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 20/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 30/06/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a)) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1)(2)) 30/06/2018

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have very good relationships with the staff. They enjoy spending time with the staff and joining them in activities such as cooking and trips out. This helps the children to feel that they are cared for. The staff also have good relationships with placing social workers and the children’s parents, so that they can all work together to ensure that the children’s needs are met well. A social worker said: ‘My child has made great progress since being at the home. She had little confidence and low independence skills when she arrived. Now she is very settled, loves the home, likes the staff, is better at communicating her wishes and feelings and is doing very well at college.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good progress in their education, which will help them to increase Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 5 their opportunities in later life. Some of the children have little or no engagement in education when they arrive at the home but go on to take part in an education programme. Other children go on to further education. They enjoy their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to get ready for independence. One child looks after the home’s cat. This is helping the child to learn about taking responsibility. The children develop independence skills such as shopping and cooking. The staff encourage the children to express their views and to learn about negotiation and making decisions. For example, the children are discussing where they will go on their annual holiday this year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children get opportunities to take part in a range of activities in line with their interests. These activities include fishing, trips to the cinema and holidays. In previous years, the children have been to Disneyland Paris and British seaside resorts. These activities provide normal childhood experiences for the children, and give them opportunities to have fun and enjoy themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health improves while they are at the home. The staff encourage the children to make healthy choices. For example, they encourage the children to engage in smoking cessation programmes and to seek specialist advice for issues such as substance misuse.

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

The children say that they feel safe at the home. They feel that the staff manage behaviour properly, that any sanctions are appropriate and when it has been necessary to restrain them, that the staff have done this properly. The children’s confidence in the staff helps to ensure that they respond well to the staff members’ attempts to help them to manage their behaviour and to keep them safer. A social worker said that her child’s relationship with the staff is highly positive, and supports the child’s behaviour.

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

There have been some incidents of bullying at the home. The staff have identified these concerns and responded well. The child involved said that the staff had dealt with the incidents, and that she feels safe. When the children have gone missing from the home, or attempted to, the staff have taken appropriate action to help safeguard them. These steps have included looking for the children and challenging the adults who were planning to help the children go missing. The children have reduced the frequency that they go missing. Consequently, there has been a reduction in the risks to children.

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

The staff know the children well; they understand and, consequently, reduce the risks that are posed by the children’s behaviours. The children become safer over time, although there may be fluctuations in their behaviours. One child said that things had been up and down but are ‘very up’ at the moment.

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

The location risk assessment is not comprehensive. It does not include some of the significant issues associated with the location of the home. This prevents proper assessments of the suitability of new placements and limits the work that the staff do to make sure that the children are safe in the local area. Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 6 The staff are trained in safeguarding, and they say that they are confident and know how to respond to any issues. However, in one recent case, two staff members who had undertaken the training failed to pass on information quickly enough. Because managers failed to make sure that all staff knew how to respond there was a delay in responding to one concern and this limited the protection for that child. In other cases, the staff and managers have responded appropriately and cooperated fully in any investigations. In general, there are appropriate responses to ensure that the children are safeguarded.

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

When the staff have to use physical intervention, they record these incidents and the children are encouraged to give their views and to sign the records. However, there are not always discussions between staff and managers to look at what happened and to help amend practice to reduce the frequency and duration of interventions.

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

There is a permanent, experienced registered manager in post. She is working towards her level 5 qualification and, although there has been a delay due to having some time off work, it is nearing completion.

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

There are several records which are not readily available. These include records of the investigations and outcomes of complaints and supervisions. Not having these records makes it difficult to ensure that complaints are fully investigated, to monitor the processes and to learn from previous issues.

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

New staff have inductions and go through a probationary process, but the records of the end of probation reviews are very brief and do not show that a clear, evaluative review has been undertaken. This can potentially lead to staff who are not suitable to work with children, or who may require additional support, passing their probation.

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

The manager undertakes assessments of the suitability of children to move into the home, but these assessments are not in enough depth to ensure that children only move into the home if their needs can be met along with those of the children already living at the home.

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

Some children have long-term placements, and the managers and staff know them well and understand their needs. There are regular reviews of the children’s progress that involve the organisation’s therapist. The outcomes of these reviews and any changes in the ways of working with the children are clearly communicated to the staff. This helps to make sure that plans are up to date and appropriate to each child. Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 7

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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: SC370949 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Clive Lucas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC370949 9 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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