Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Halton

Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 1 SC487488 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of several homes owned and managed by a limited company. The home provides care and support for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been in post since 28 January 2015.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 September 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/05/2017 Full Good 31/01/2017 Full Good 27/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the young person‟s home that— uses monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) and (2)(h)) 29/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain the records in schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)(b)) In particular, maintain a copy of the staff roster of persons working at the home and a record of the actual hours worked. 29/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person maintains records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) In particular, ensure the removal of conflicting information, that entries are detailed and that they are in relation to the young person. 29/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff recognise the importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice, for example through undertaking life story work or other direct work. Staff in children‟s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 16, paragraph 3.14)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan, which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 4 training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home‟s manager. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care provided by the staff is very nurturing, responsive and focused on helping the young person to achieve stability in her life. Change is supported step by step and at the young person‟s pace and ability. This approach allows her to develop confidence, as well as to build her self-esteem and trust in appropriate adults. A social worker commented, „[young person] is actively encouraged to branch out from her comfort zone to develop her confidence and independence.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a nurturing environment. They recognise that routine and boundaries provide stability and security. This has resulted in the young person becoming more able to manage her frustrations in a calmer way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is given a high priority. The young person living in the home had previously struggled to maintain full-time education. She has now embarked on a college course of her choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff monitor the young person‟s health and provide the necessary support to ensure that routine appointments and checks are up to date. However, the young person‟s health plan does not document all her current health issues. This is primarily a recording error as all health conditions are recorded in her separate medication file, and all staff are aware of her current medical needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has access to the organisation‟s therapist on a regular basis. The therapist is also available for staff consultation. A staff meeting was observed during the inspection during which the staff and the therapist had in-depth discussions about the young person‟s previous life experiences and how these can impact on her behaviour. This consultative approach ensures that the staff have a consistent and planned approach to meeting the emotional needs of the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and nurture the young person‟s relationship with her family. They facilitate and transport her to family contact visits. Staff members promote contact by providing the young person with both practical and emotional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home presents as a lived-in family home. It is warm, welcoming and comfortable. The quality of the furniture and decoration is very good. The atmosphere in the home is very warm and calm. Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 5

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

The young person said that she feels safe at the home. She knows that she can talk to staff if she has any concerns or worries. The young person benefits from high levels of support and supervision provided by a staff team that is trained in all aspects of safeguarding. Staff present as knowledgeable and confident in implementing the home‟s safeguarding policies and procedures and they take a highly proactive approach to ensure the young person‟s safety.

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

The young person has detailed and effective risk assessments that demonstrate the reduction in risk that has occurred over time. Strategies are in place to manage and reduce the risks that the young person faces, while still encouraging her to take age- appropriate risks to increase her independence.

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

The young person has not been reported missing from this home. However, there are clear individual protocols in place for staff to follow if young people are missing from the home or absent without permission.

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

Staff are considerate of the young person‟s individual needs and behaviours. They reflect on what may cause outbursts or negative behaviour and have produced detailed behaviour-response plans, with the young person‟s direct input. The young person‟s views are carefully considered by the staff when developing plans to encourage positive behaviour. Incentives are meaningful to the young person and assist with this. A social worker commented, „There has been a reduction in frequency and intensity of behavioural incidents.‟

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

Staff take photographs of the young person and these show activities and day-to-day achievements. However, these are not collated or used as ongoing life story work or to capture the young person‟s journey. This is a missed opportunity to not only create a lasting memory for the young person but the photographs can also be used very effectively to show the progress that she has made.

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

The physical environment for the young person and staff is safe and secure because it is checked regularly. This, along with the risk assessments which are reviewed and updated frequently, protects the young person and staff from the risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and has the experience to undertake his role and is supported by an experienced deputy manager. They both lead by example and are actively involved in all the home‟s operations. The young person and staff spoke highly of the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they feel supported in their roles. They say that managers are approachable and freely give advice and guidance, and that communication with the wider organisation is good. The registered manager undertakes good-quality practice- related supervision with staff. Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 6 There is a high level of commitment to developing and improving the service, and the registered manager is keen to listen to suggestions and advice. Staff take an active role in developing the service. Expectations of the staff are high, and the registered manager communicates this clearly to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the staff are suitably qualified for their roles, with others working towards gaining these qualifications. As a team, the staff are skilled and knowledgeable, with several years‟ experience of working with young people. However, the lack of an up-to- date training matrix makes it difficult for the manager to have an overview of the current training needs of his staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning documents held in the home are generally of very good quality. However, some records refer to the wrong gender of the young person presently living at the home. The registered manager agreed that these shortfalls had not been identified in the current auditing system. He committed to review and revise his systems to ensure that complete and accurate records are kept in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On occasions, staff duty rosters fail to reflect the actual staff on duty accurately and they lack transparency. This prevents a clear audit trail of who is working at the setting, when and where. Consequently, the home‟s records do not provide sufficient information and it was, therefore, difficult to establish which staff were always on duty. The lack of transparency of who is on duty potentially places young people at risk and compromises the continuity of care.

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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: SC487488 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspector

Elaine Allison: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC487488 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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