Children's Home run by Keys Specialist Residential Children's Services Ltd in Worcestershire

Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 1 SC481312 Registered provider: Keys Specialist Residential Children’s Services Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who have been subject to early-life trauma, causing attachment disorder and social and emotional difficulties. Ofsted registered the current manager in July 2017, and she is completing her level 5 qualification.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2018 Full Good 28/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/08/2017 Full Good 15/02/2017 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(3)(d))

p.3

Requirement Due date

When a person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, verification so far as reasonably practicable of the reason why the employment or position ended should be obtained. 20/12/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide good individualised care for children. They are nurturing and responsive to children’s needs. Staff work hard to develop relationships with children in their care and stay committed to this even when children’s behaviour is challenging. As a result, children develop trusted relationships with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with parents to support positive family time for children. This is a strength of the home. Where appropriate, parents are encouraged and welcomed into the home. One parent commented: ‘For the first time in months, we have glimpses of Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 4 our boy coming back.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s needs well. They work closely with therapists to support children’s emotional and behavioural needs. As a result, children begin to make good progress in many areas of their development. This helps children’s self-esteem to develop.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where children are not in school, staff engage them in structured activities in the home. They make effective use of daily situations to reinforce education targets. The manager challenges local authorities and virtual school headteachers to ensure that children have access to education. As a result, children can progress educationally.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Staff maintain a high standard of cleanliness and repair. There are a range of age-appropriate toys, games and books to stimulate children. One child has created a small herb garden. Staff recognised this as calming for that child. This individualised approach helps children to feel valued in the home by staff.

p.4

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

Children currently living in the home do not go missing. When children have previously gone missing, staff have acted appropriately to ensure their safe return. However, return home interviews did not always take place. This means that children’s views were not independently heard.

p.4

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

Risk assessments in the home are comprehensive. These ensure that staff are fully aware of the risks for children.

p.4

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

Staff work well in partnership with parents and other professionals to ensure that children are safe. For example, staff and parents work jointly to ensure that internet use is well monitored. This gives a clear and consistent message to children and helps to keep children safe.

p.4

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

Staff have a good awareness of safeguarding. Allegations and complaints are well managed. The manager has good oversight and evaluates all incidents. The manager ensures that staff learn from incidents, which then leads to changes to practice.

p.4

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

Staff use rewards and incentives well. They have a clear understanding of the appropriateness of consequences based on the emotional stages of children. This enables staff to make good decisions about consequences that make sense to children and aid learning.

p.4

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

The home follows safe recruitment practice. However, there was one occasion when reasonable steps were not taken to evidence why the employment of a member of staff who had worked with vulnerable adults ended. This meant that managers did not have the full information about his employment history. Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and skilled manager leads the home. She has a clear vision for the home and realistic plans for how this will be achieved. Monitoring activity and management oversight are strong. This enables the manager to be fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision from the manager and feel well supported by her. Staff develop their knowledge using supervision, team meetings and training. These learning opportunities enable staff to meet children’s needs and support their progress.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although there have been significant changes to staffing since the last inspection, there is now a stable core staff team in place. This results in children having consistent adults caring for them.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work well with other professionals, including teachers, social workers and clinical support staff. The manager has strengthened procedures to ensure that partnership work with local authorities better supports children when they first move into the home. Feedback from professionals about the home’s practice and communication is positive. This demonstrates effective partnership working.

p.5

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.

p.5

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’.

p.5

Children’s home details

Unique reference number: SC481312 Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 6 Provision sub-type: Children’s home

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Specialist Residential Children’s Services Ltd

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspectors

Sue Young, social care inspector Karol Keenan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC481312 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.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7