Children's home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report children’s home: SC386651 1 SC386651 Registered provider: Broadwood Education Services

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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 part of a large national organisation. It is registered to care for up to three children and young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since January 2018 and successfully registered with Ofsted on 26 June 2018.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2017

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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: SC386651 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2017 Full Inadequate 04/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC386651 3

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Recommendations

 Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.13)

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Recommendations

This in relation to children being told the outcome of their complaints in a timely manner.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

This is in relation to the manager’s delegation of staff’s supervision to senior care workers, which loses his first-hand oversight of their practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is safe and very homely. They personalise their surroundings and choose their bedrooms. The re-location of the home’s office has had a positive impact; more of the communal space is now used by children and staff together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress at this home. One child has done very well in education and is starting an apprenticeship soon. Another is learning to build relationships with staff. This has helped her sleeping pattern and reduced her incidents of distress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good individualised care and support. Staff help them to maintain appropriate friendships and develop the skills to make safe choices for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are regularly taken into account. Staff relate well to children, they can engage them and have created a warm and fun atmosphere. Children have not made many complaints; however, they are not always helped to understand how their complaint was resolved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good day-to-day experiences and benefit from living at this home. They have access to a range of social, educational and recreational opportunities. Children are provided with nutritious meals and take part in sociable mealtimes. Staff provide good support to help children remain in touch with their family. Inspection report children’s home: SC386651 4 Children who are new to the home are welcomed in with careful, considered planning. Children are helped to leave the home in a well-planned manner that fully takes account of their safety and future well-being.

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

Staff help children to understand risk and how to stay safe. The manager understands the need for children to become more independent and to take appropriate risks. Children receive the help they need, to learn to manage their behaviour and emotional responses.

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

Children rarely go missing from this home. One child has significantly reduced the frequency that she goes missing. When necessary, staff are proactive in their response to children who do not return home on time. As a result, children are safer at this home than when they first moved in.

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

Children receive good help and support to manage their behaviour and develop their resilience. The implementation of structured routines and boundaries helps children to feel secure and safe.

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

The manager has effective links with local authorities and designated officers. There is good communication about safeguarding issues. All allegations are reported within the expected timeframes and managed appropriately. Thorough investigations take place promptly and are reported back to the designated officer.

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

Staff’s use of restraint is appropriate. They use low-level restraints for the shortest amount of time possible. The manager’s monitoring and review of restraint is very good. Measures have been put in place that have reduced the frequency of restraint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post for six months. He has the required qualification for the role and is undertaking further professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has an achievable development plan to address its weaknesses. As such, improvements have been made to staff’s practice, children’s experiences, relationships with professionals and the decoration of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with the other professionals who are involved with the care of each child. Individuals from placing authorities recognise and comment on the positive difference the manager has made to the quality of the care provided at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made considerable improvements to the records in the home. A particular strength is the streamlining of children’s monthly observation records, which provide a more informed evaluation of how their month has been and any contributing factors. Inspection report children’s home: SC386651 5 Staff are provided with regular supervision. However, the quality of the supervision is variable. Where the manager conducts the supervision himself, the sessions are meaningful and focused. However, by allocating this task to others in his team, the manager loses first-hand oversight of the performance of his team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete the necessary mandatory training for the role. The manager has identified further clinical training that will help them respond to the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is sufficiently staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the children. Leaders and managers recognise the importance of a consistent staff team to help the children feel safe. The staff are dedicated and provide good opportunities for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use the actions from the independent monitoring report to improve the quality of care provided at the home. An example of this is ensuring that staff now receive annual appraisals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the progress children are making. He works collaboratively with the local authorities to advocate for the children and contributes to their plans of moving out of the home.

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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: SC386651 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Broadwood Education Services

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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

Guy Mammatt, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC386651 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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