Children's Home run by Keys Stepping Stones Limited in Tameside

Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 1 SC005567 Registered provider: Keys Childcare 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 is run by a large private provider. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2013.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection, and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/04/2018 Full Good 17/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/05/2017 Full Good 18/10/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 3

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Recommendations

 When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulation 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1). This is with particular reference to obtaining information from external services and the risk assessments of children’s bedrooms.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should

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Recommendations

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). This is with particular reference to handwritten records being legible and signatures being accompanied by a typed or printed name.  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: detail the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s

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Recommendations

Statement of Purpose; detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications); detail the process for managing and improving poor performance; detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33(4)(b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. 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 training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children flourish in an environment which provides them with nurturing and consistent care. Children experience warm and caring relationships with the adults who care for them. One child wrote, ‘I feel loved, happy and settled.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience, day to day, a home environment which is like an extended family. Relationships between children and staff mirror what would be expected in a nurturing family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children who have experienced significant adversity and instability in their childhoods make exceptional progress. They receive a consistently high quality of care from a dedicated staff team. As a result, children quickly develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children are attending and engaged with full-time education which meets their needs. There is regular communication between the home and schools. Staff have high aspirations for all children irrespective of their starting points. As a result, children are supported to overcome difficulties and build on their strengths.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities in the community and to develop interests within the home. Children attend groups with their peers, including Cubs and Guides. This means that children are supported to develop their social skills and build friendships with a range of people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to gain skills towards independence at a pace appropriate to their age, development and individual needs. For example, one child walks to school with friends. She is now able to manage her own dinner money at school and give herself a ‘treat day’ once a week. As a result of these small steps towards independence, children are encouraged to develop skills in effective decision-making. Their self-confidence is promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children receive specialist therapeutic input. Most children access this from the organisation’s own therapist. Children welcome this additional support. This contributes to the excellent level of care children receive in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 5

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

The risks and vulnerabilities of each child are known and well understood. Good risk assessments are in place, which are regularly reviewed. These support staff to keep children safe and help children to develop ways of keeping themselves safe.

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

Children at risk of sexual exploitation are supported by a clear multi-agency plan. Referrals are made to specialist services where this is appropriate. Regular, well-planned one-to-one work is undertaken with children. This builds trusting relationships between children and staff. These relationships help children to reflect on potentially harmful situations and support them to develop strategies to address these.

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

Risk assessments in relation to the home and the local area are in place. Aspects of these need further development. The location risk assessment lacks up-to-date information from some external agencies. As a result, evidence to inform a comprehensive understanding of risks in the community is not available. The internal environment of the home is generally very safe and secure. One child’s bedroom needs to be assessed in relation to the type and positioning of the bed and a resulting lack of privacy. Children in placement have not been adversely affected by this issue to date.

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

Staff are aware of their responsibilities to report concerns about the behaviour of colleagues and any potential harm this may pose to children. Staff are confident to escalate concerns where appropriate, and there is evidence of them doing so. This was a requirement of the last inspection. This requirement is met. No children have experienced harm as a result of staff conduct.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Children are therefore not experiencing the disruption caused by the periodic absence of their peers. As a result of this, the stability of the home is promoted, and relationships between children become stronger.

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

Restraint is sometimes used in the home. This is proportionate to the risk posed to a child or to the risks the child may pose to others. Records of restraint are well recorded and subsequently evaluated by the registered manager. The frequency of restraints has decreased for individual children over time. Children are aware they can speak to an independent person following a restraint. All children have independent visitors.

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

It was a requirement of the last inspection that the use of restraint and the implementation of the home’s behaviour management policy were reviewed and revised as necessary. This requirement is met.

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

Children’s records are, on the whole, comprehensive and well recorded. There are incidents where some handwritten records are not legible. It is not always clear who has signed records, as signatures are not accompanied by a printed name. As a result, some records lack accountability. This is also a barrier to children accessing and understanding their records. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home have been strengthened since the last inspection. Children and staff have benefited from continuity in the registered manager, who has now been in place for a number of years. He is passionate about his role in the home and about the progress and experiences of each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed a more systematic approach to his monitoring and oversight of the home. He uses internal and external consultations to inform practice. Quality of care reports demonstrate a good understanding of children and the wider functions of the home. As a result, the registered manager is able to build on the strengths of the home and quickly identify issues which are adversely affecting children or staff. A requirement was made at the last inspection in respect of leadership and management of the home. This requirement is met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a number of new staff have been recruited. These staff now form a stable and committed team that works well together to meet the needs of the children in their care. New staff have a good induction to their role in the home. Staff are expected to complete formal online and face-to-face training. In addition to this, they shadow a number of shifts before taking on duties themselves. This provides them with a well-paced introduction to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff at all levels of the staff team receive regular supervision of their practice and an annual appraisal of their performance. In addition, the team benefits from regular consultation meetings with the organisation’s therapist. As a result of this network of support and oversight, staff are provided with the help they need to reflect on their practice and their ability to meet the needs of children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The workforce development plan for the home lacks structure and detail. This reduces the usefulness of the plan to inform and drive progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works closely with local authorities to contribute to permanence planning for children. He advocates on behalf of children to ensure that their views are heard. The registered manager understands and shares the wish for each child to experience their childhood in a family setting. Alongside his staff team, he also demonstrates through the care afforded to children at the home that residential care can provide children with a loving and stable home. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 7

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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: SC005567 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Childcare Limited

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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

Dawn Parton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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