Children's home run by Keys Childcare Limited in Belfast

Assurance visit report: SC400219 1 SC400219

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of a number owned and managed by a private organisation. The home currently works with children and young people who may have experienced trauma through physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect, and who may have been involved in child sexual exploitation. It is registered to care for up to five children or young people.

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: SC400219 2

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The care of children

Not all children and young people have trusted and secure relationships with the staff who look after them. Staff have been unable to support them to feel accepted, happy, or live in a home where they are able to thrive. As a result, children and young people have had to leave the home as staff have been unable to meet their needs.

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The care of children

The staff have been unable to keep children and young people engaged. The children and young people took part in many activities, including keeping active by going for walks and bike rides. One child was also regularly attending a riding stables. Despite having these resources available, staff have been unable to keep the children and young people involved in these activities. This has led to children and young people developing unsafe relationships with one another.

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The care of children

Staff have ensured that family time has continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When able, staff have supported children and young people to meet with their family face to face in line with the local restrictions. This has helped children to maintain their relationships with those who are important to them.

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The care of children

Children and young people have their physical health needs met. They are supported to attend health appointments, such as the doctors, dentist and the sexual health clinic. In addition, there is also in-house therapeutic support provided by the home’s qualified therapist. Unfortunately, for some children and young people, their relationship with the therapist has been affected by the local lockdown restrictions. As a result, therapeutic progress has not been made.

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The care of children

Children and young people do well in education. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused minimal disruption to their learning. They attend the home’s on-site school, or the local college, following the local lockdown guidance. One young person achieved her GCSE qualifications and was being supported by staff to prepare for college. Unfortunately, this young person left the home due to safeguarding concerns before being able to attend. Another young person, who is already enrolled at college, is taking a hair and beauty course.

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The safety of children

Not all children and young people have been kept safe. Supervision by staff has been ineffective. Staff have been unable to protect them from dangerous and exploitative situations. As a result, children and young people have been moved from the home to protect them from harm.

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The safety of children

The management of aggressive and difficult behaviour is ineffective. The children and young people do not experience consistent guidance and boundaries from staff. Therefore, this has resulted in unmanageable behaviour in the home and the local community. Assurance visit report: SC400219 3 The manager has been quick to escalate safeguarding concerns for the children and young people to each local authority. The manager is in regular contact with the children and young people’s social workers and the police. Several strategy meetings have occurred in line with the local safeguarding procedures. This has enabled the manager, social workers and the police to plan for those children and young people at risk to move to new homes.

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The safety of children

The completed risk management plans inform staff about which behaviour management strategies to use to support children and young people. However, some risk management plans are duplicated. One child has two plans that describe different strategies for the same behaviour. This is confusing and could result in inconsistencies with the children and young people’s day-to-day care.

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Leaders and managers

The responsible individual and the manager have made the decision not to admit any more children and young people to the home. They are striving to improve the quality of care for the children and young people already there before new admissions are considered.

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Leaders and managers

The difficulty in caring for the children and young people has affected the staff’s morale. The responsible individual has created a development plan which is focused on re-establishing the effectiveness of the team. The manager and the staff have not worked collaboratively, which has negatively affected the aspirational culture of the team. The manager said, ‘It’s been a challenging time.’

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Leaders and managers

Children and young people have made various allegations and complaints about staff. When allegations and complaints have been made, the manager has ensured they have been investigated. This has been in consultation with the local authority designated officer, who has had oversight of the management of allegations. This is in line with the local safeguarding procedures.

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Leaders and managers

The manager was unable to provide the inspector with records which assess if children and young people are able to live together. The impact risk assessment does not consider the effect that the children and young people will have on one another. Also, the impact risk assessment lacks evaluation and strategies for matching and monitoring when there is an identified risk, for example, child sexual exploitation.

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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, the 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. Assurance visit report: SC400219 4

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have 29/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC400219 5 the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 29/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC400219 6 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)) 29/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 29/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC400219 7 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This particularly refers to the recording of risk assessments and key-work sessions.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Pinsent Masons Llp, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC400219 8 to 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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