Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Halton

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 1 SC487488

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Keys Child Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. The home provides care and support for one child who can no longer live at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned from this home in June 2020. There is currently no registered manager for this home.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of the visit was to explore the action taken by the home following several safeguarding incidents. The monitoring visit involved off-site inspection activity due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic restrictions. There is one child living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

There is currently no registered manager for this home. The home is being managed by an interim manager, who is in the process of applying to Ofsted to become the registered manager. He is assisted by a deputy manager and a service manager.

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This monitoring visit

A child has moved out of the home and another child has moved into the home recently. The child said that the transition into the home was good and that they got to meet and visit the staff prior to coming to live here. The impact risk assessment shows that careful consideration was given to the child’s needs and whether the staff team could meet them. The interim manager has been successful in acquiring all the necessary documents to care for the child well.

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This monitoring visit

Staff work closely with a range of safeguarding professionals to ensure that children are safe. When concerns arise, swift action is taken, everybody is informed, extra safeguarding measures are put in place and strategy meetings are arranged. However, the interim manager has not challenged the local authority for copies of the strategy meeting minutes from the previous child. This did not ensure that the interim manager had the most relevant information to update the child’s records. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 2 All the documents viewed by the inspector, gave clear information on the child’s needs, the actions that staff need to follow or the action that the staff have taken. For example, risk assessments are detailed, and show known and emerging risks, how to de-escalate a situation and provide clear information on the action for staff to take, if an incident was to occur. However, the documents viewed by the inspector

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This monitoring visit

lacked information around the child’s views, wishes, and feelings. For example, there is no information around how the child perceives the risk or how this informs practice.

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This monitoring visit

Internal and external monitoring of the home are effective. Any issues raised through the monitoring systems are quickly addressed by the interim manager, which continually improves practice within the home.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements and recommendations set at the last inspection in February 2020 were not assessed at this monitoring visit. Therefore, they have been carried over to the next inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Two requirements were made at this monitoring visit.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/02/2020 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good 08/05/2017 Full Good 31/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)) 30 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the interim manager must ensure that all documents are obtained from the local authority. 30 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 4 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—

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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;

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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

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 30 April 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to meet the child’s or young person’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. In particular, consider additional window dressings on the young person’s bedroom window and repair the self- closing device on the office door. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 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 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. In particular, consider the staff’s training needs in relation to Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 5 knife crime, criminal exploitation, and suicidal ideology. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that case records are 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

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information should always be recorded in a way that is helpful to the child now or in the future. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each young person represents a significant contribution to their life history. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of care provided by the home, the experiences for the children living there and the impact that the care is having on the outcomes and improvements for the children. In particular, that the review scrutinises the available information and provides an analysis of the care provided and considers the views of the young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Care Limited, Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC487488 7 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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