Children's Home run by Keys Cwc Limited in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 1 SC374640 Registered provider: Key‟s Group

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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 look after and care for up to three children. The manager was registered with Ofsted to manage this home in January 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 31 October 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2018 Full Inadequate 16/06/2016 Full Good 21/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 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 enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— develop the child‟s interests and hobbies; participate in activities that the child enjoys, and which meet and expand the child‟s interests and preferences; and make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child‟s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person should enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous 31/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 4 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)(h)) In particular, ensure that there is effective monitoring, scrutiny and evaluation of records relating to restraint, behavioural incidents and sanctions. 35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (case records) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Scheduled 3 in relation to each child. The registered person must ensure that all case records are kept up to date. 31/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 5 (Regulation 36 (1)(a,b) In particular, the registered person must ensure that all records do not stigmatise children and are accurate, detailed and factual. 46: Review of premises

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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)) 31/05/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all children in the home have access to a wide range of leisure and social activities in the community. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 33, paragraph 6.10)  Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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improvement to be good

The overall experiences and progress of children are variable and require improvement to be good. There are currently two children living at the home. In recent months, both children‟s attendance and behaviour at school have declined. One child has been reported as truanting, and the refusal to attend education has been an increasing concern for the second child. The manager is working closely with education providers and is taking appropriate action to deal with these educational concerns. Children are offered a wide range of activities that promote their personal interests. Despite these offers, staff have not been successful in helping one child to engage in activities with them. As a result, this child is missing opportunities to develop his social skills and self-esteem. Children are starting to have a better understanding of boundaries and expectations. Incentive plans and targets have been introduced since the previous inspection.

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improvement to be good

However, these plans are generic and not effective. They do not focus on the children‟s current and individual needs and behaviours. This does not provide children with Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 6 opportunities to maximise their potential. Sanctions imposed for unwanted behaviours are not effective or restorative. They do not help children to learn from their behaviours or explore alternative ways to manage their anxieties. Staff help children to develop the skills they need for adult life. For example, one child is learning to administer his own medication. He can now accurately identify the medication and understands why he is prescribed it. This same child is also learning to cook, and he confidently helps staff to plan, prepare and cook evening meals. Since the last full inspection in October 2018, children have received continuity of care from a stable staff team. Relationships between children and staff have improved.

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improvement to be good

Children said that staff are kind to them and they can identify a staff member that they enjoy spending time with.

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improvement to be good

Children are, in the main, helped and protected effectively. Weaknesses identified at this inspection relate to the effectiveness of the manager‟s oversight and monitoring of children‟s records. Records completed by staff lack critical information. For example, physical intervention records do not always detail the full name of the persons using the measure and for how long. The manager‟s monitoring does not comprehensively detail what actions she has taken to ensure that these records are always completed fully and in accordance with the regulations. Although children and staff are provided with an opportunity to discuss incidents, staff do not specifically ask children how they felt about being held and staff are not encouraged to reflect on what alternative actions they could have taken. The manager has reviewed the home‟s locality assessment. However, weaknesses in this assessment remain. This document does not include the response times and contact

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improvement to be good

details of the emergency services. The manager has not assessed the impact of all local amenities on the home and the children it provides for. The management of medication has improved. New recording systems have been introduced and, overall, they are being implemented effectively by staff. There have not been any medication errors since the last inspection. The manager has not considered recording medication balance totals. This means the quantity of each prescription held within the home is not known in an emergency. As a result, when medication audits take place staff have to calculate the medication dispensed against the medication remaining.

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

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed and has successfully registered with Ofsted. In the short time since her appointment, she has worked tenaciously to improve the quality of care and support that children receive. Improvements have been made to the living environment and new reporting and recording systems have been introduced. However, further work is required. Monitoring by the manager and the independent visitor requires improvement to be good. They have not identified omissions in the records completed by staff, nor challenged entries that are not child-centred or that stigmatise children. There is insufficient evidence that the manager scrutinises records thoroughly. This includes Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 7 records of restraint, sanctions and key-worker sessions, and minutes of house meetings. Not all records detail what actions have been taken and too many records are not

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

accurate, detailed and factual. The manager and staff team have established good working relationships with safeguarding agencies, schools, social workers and parents. Feedback provided from a visiting social worker was positive. Staff say that they value the support and guidance given by the manager. Staff are up to date with basic mandatory training and receive specialist training to help them to meet the specific needs of the children. All staff have completed or are nearing completion of the level 3 diploma for residential childcare. These training opportunities enhance staff‟s knowledge, skills and practice. Team meetings and formal supervisions take place regularly. The agenda is broad and includes discussions about organisational requirements and children‟s changing needs. However, these meetings do not consistently provide an opportunity for staff to reflect on their own practice or learn from others. The staff team works well together, and

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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. 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC374640 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC374640 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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