Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 1 SC020610 Registered provider: Keys NHCC Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home is commissioned by Shropshire County Council to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties and are vulnerable to exploitation. The manager registered with Ofsted in 2015.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 December 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: SC020610 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2018 Full Good 14/11/2017 Full Good 17/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 29/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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). 29/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 4 When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person.

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Recommendations

 As set out in Regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) This is with reference to managers ensuring that warnings on Disclosure and Barring Service checks are explored prior to potential staff members commencing their employment  Please see Regulation 23. Care must be taken to ensure prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who are knowledgeable and caring. Staff are nurturing in their everyday practice. This nurturing approach helps children to feel valued and listened to. As a result, children feel safe and secure and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped with their independence through a comprehensive programme. This bespoke programme helps to improve children’s confidence and prepares them well for their adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to develop their skills and interests. For example, children are encouraged to attend youth groups and are helped to learn to play musical instruments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought through well-planned key-work sessions and house meetings. However, children’s views are not always captured in their care plans. This represents a missed opportunity to help children to feel part of the decision-making process. Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 5 Children moving into the home are given time to visit and to make decisions about how they would like their bedroom arranged. This helps to ensure that children feel valued and respected from the point that they are introduced to the home.

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

Good staffing levels help to keep children safe. Risk assessments and behaviour plans clearly set out the risks and strategies that staff should follow. However, staff do not always sign children’s risk assessments to show that they have read and understood the contents of the assessment.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When a child does go missing from the home, the staff are quick in implementing the home’s missing from care protocol.

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

When a child is subject to a Deprivation of Liberty order, the staff make sure that they follow the details of the order to ensure that the child remains protected from harm.

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

Children’s prescribed medication is stored appropriately. However, on occasions, staff have failed to make a record to show when a child’s prescribed medication has been administered or when the child has refused their medication. This failure to maintain an accurate record could result in children’s health conditions not being managed appropriately.

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

Managers follow safe recruitment procedures for permanent staff and others working at the home. However, on one occasion, the manager had not recorded how she had satisfied herself that an agency worker who had a disclosure on their Disclosure and Barring Service check was of good character to work at the home. This could have resulted in unsuitable adults working with children.

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

The home is managed by a committed and ambitious registered manager. She has a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare and has extensive experience.

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

The manager is aspirational for the children and is keen for them to be provided with the best opportunities so that they can thrive physically, emotionally, socially and educationally.

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

The manager has systems in place for monitoring the home. However, her monitoring of children’s care planning has not had enough scrutiny to pick up that not all staff routinely sign records to confirm that they have read the report or assessment and that staff do not include children’s views when care plans are updated.

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

Permanent staff receive frequent supervision. These sessions focus on children’s needs and on the staff member’s own training and development. However, agency staff who Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 6 regularly work at the home do not receive supervision. This represents a missed opportunity for agency staff to benefit from reflecting on their practice.

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

The manager is proactive in ensuring that children are not disadvantaged. The manager and staff have carried out research and received additional training to help them better understand how to care for children who have specific needs. This has resulted in an increased awareness of the challenges faced by children and how to best support them.

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

The home’s locality risk assessment is regularly reviewed. However, the assessment does not identify all the potential risks associated with the area or provide evidence that the manager has consulted stakeholders to help to assess the level of risk. This failure to seek advice could result in children not being appropriately protected from harm.

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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: SC020610 7

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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

Debbie Bond: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC020610 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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