Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC419429 1 SC419429 Registered provider: Keys Care 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

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who have emotional and possibly behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2019

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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: 23 October 2018

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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: SC419429 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/10/2018 Full Good 12/12/2017 Full Good 06/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC419429 3

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Recommendations

 ‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care’ sets out the steps local authorities and their partners should take to prevent children from going missing and to protect them when they do go missing. Children’s homes should have regard to the relevant aspects of this guidance. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.25)

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Recommendations

 Children should be actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. They should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.6)

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (Regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

This specifically refers to ensuring that records are kept up to date, including the young people’s most up-to-date care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress and have trusting and secure relationships with the adults who look after them. These positive relationships have significantly contributed to the progress young people are making. Young people and adults respect each other. Young people are given clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries. They enjoy good routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend education. Their education plans meet their individual needs, and attendance has improved. The manager has advocated strongly for the young people to ensure that they have the opportunity to access education. Young people have improved their social skills and regularly spend time with friendship groups in the local area. This gives young people the opportunity to learn how to positively manage peer interactions in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are well supported with their emotional health needs. Staff at the home Inspection report children’s home: SC419429 4 work with external professionals, as well as their own therapist, to understand and support the emotional well-being of the young people. Staff have adapted the physical environment and provided extra resources to support the young people in regulating their emotions. This has led to a reduction in self-harm incidents in the home.

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

Young people live in a safe and nurturing environment. They have trusting relationships with the people caring for them. Safe recruitment practice is adhered to and all staff have undergone the relevant recruitment checks. Staff receive regular supervision.

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

Incidents are well recorded and detailed. They include debriefs for staff and young people. Additional work is carried out following an incident to help young people understand their feelings and actions. Young people have been given consequences in response to some missing-from-care episodes. Any consequences should be as part of a wider risk-management plan rather than as a response to going missing. The local police missing-from-care coordinator works closely with staff in sharing information and attending meetings when required. The missing-from-care coordinator also attends admission meetings to discuss any relevant risk factors.

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

Risk-management plans are detailed, individualised and link to behaviour-support plans. This means that staff have a clear understanding of how best to support young people. Risks are managed well in the home and staff work consistently with the plans in place. Where specific risks have been identified, such as child sexual exploitation, additional support and advice is sought from external agencies. These agencies have then worked with the young people and staff team in managing these risks. This has led to a reduction in incidents where young people have been at risk of exploitation.

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

Staff know the young people well and support them to develop skills and strategies in managing risks and keeping themselves safe. As a result, incidents in the home have reduced and there have been no recent missing-from-care episodes. One young person said she had learned to keep herself safe since arriving at the home.

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

There are robust safeguarding procedures in place. All allegations and concerns have been well managed. Young people have been well supported when raising any safeguarding concerns or disclosures. The manager is proactive in pursuing outcomes to any concerns raised, and then taking appropriate action in response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective and continually looks at ways of developing the home and the care provided. There is a lot of emphasis on the relationships between staff and young people, and this is one of the key strengths of the home. The manager is also undertaking a future leadership course. This will support her ongoing development, skills and knowledge base. Inspection report children’s home: SC419429 5 Monitoring systems in the home could be improved. This will enable staff to ensure that young people’s paperwork is kept up to date and contains all relevant information. Not all young people actively contribute to their care plans and risk assessments. Progress is not always being recorded within care plans. New paperwork is being used that will contain sections to record progress and outcomes. This will help young people to see where they are achieving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have received mandatory training in key subjects such as safeguarding and first aid. There is an extensive training programme in place to further support staff. This includes training in therapeutic practice and emotional health needs such as attachment and trauma. New staff have a comprehensive induction which includes a full week’s training package followed by shadow shifts. This means that new staff feel supported and confident to work with the young people from the start of their employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication between the home, families and other professionals is excellent. This means that all people involved with the young person are kept up to date regarding any concerns. The manager has good links with other professionals in the community such as the police, specialist services and education. This supports a holistic approach when looking at risk management and care planning for the young people.

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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: SC419429 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, 2nd Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Sophie-Louise Hallam

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC419429 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 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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