Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 1 SC067561 Registered provider: Keys 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

The home is run by a private company that has other children’s homes in the surrounding area. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Good 29/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1)(2(a)(i)(iv)) 03/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

If the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)) 03/08/2018

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. In Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 4 particular, ensure that language and terminology used in reports and when spoken to the children is child friendly and age appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is well decorated and homely. The staff and children take a pride in the home and work together to keep it safe and well maintained. In particular, children are helped to personalise their bedrooms and play areas. Their bedrooms reflect their personalities and characters.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children have lived in the home for more than two years. The staff team has remained consistent and stable throughout this period. As a result, positive and caring relationships have developed. Children are looked after by adults who they trust and who understand and know them exceptionally well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in all areas. They attend school and college regularly, make friends and have a choice of fun activities that help them to socialise outside of school time. As a result, the children grow in confidence and self-esteem, and develop age-appropriate independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to helping the children live a healthy lifestyle. Balanced home- cooked meals feature strongly, and all meals, with the exception of picnics and BBQs, are eaten around the dining table. This means staff and children spend lots of time together each day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behaviour support plans are in place. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of these documents and are skilled in supporting the children when they are upset or worried. Records are detailed and mostly written well. Improvements can be made in relation to the terminology and language used in reports to ensure that they are child friendly.

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

Children live in a safe and well-maintained home. A range of detailed risk assessments help staff understand how to keep the children safe. Most of the time the staff help the children manage their behaviours, enabling them to take age-appropriate risks. One child’s behaviours were not managed well, and for a period of time these behaviours negatively impacted on both the children and the staff team.

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

Records include a level of detail, analysis and reflection by staff. Following all serious incidents and complaints, the registered manager has completed a thorough investigation, shared information and reported appropriately. Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 5 Children rarely go missing from the home. On the few occasions they have, staff have acted swiftly, and in line with procedure, ensuring their safe return. Children are supported appropriately on their return.

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

Staff work effectively with children in helping them manage their own worries and anxieties. There is a significant reduction in the use of physical intervention because the staff help children to develop coping and calming strategies. As a direct impact of the staff’s hard work, one child has made such progress that he has been assessed as no longer requiring therapeutic intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is relatively new to the role. Nevertheless, she is experienced in working with children and has a good understanding of how to improve children’s outcomes. To continue her professional development, and in line with regulations, the registered manager is undertaking a qualification in leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are qualified and receive regular good quality supervision. Staff speak positively of the support they receive and the learning opportunities that are available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and uses the systems in place to monitor and review. Feedback from children, social workers and the independent visitor is used by the registered manager to further drive improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has positive relationships with professionals and parents, and ensures that communication and information is regularly shared. A social worker reported communication to be good. However, on one occasion the registered manager failed to challenge the decision-making of the local authority. As a result of this delay in action, one young person remained living in the home despite notice being served. The young person’s behaviour during this time impacted negatively on the other children living in the home, and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an excellent advocate for the children. Their views and wishes are routinely sought, captured and integrated within the development plan. Children spoke extremely positively of how they are respected, valued and listened to. One child spoke of the use of terminology used by staff, for example handovers and key-worker sessions. The registered manager is working with staff and children to address the routine use of institutionalised language, both spoken and written.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A number of shortfalls were identified during the course of the inspection. The registered manager is aware of these and has made attempts to address them. As a result of this inspection a number of requirements are made. Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 6

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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: SC067561 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys 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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Inspector

Linda Bond, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC067561 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 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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