Children's home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report children's home: SC363393 1 SC363393 Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a large national private provider of care and education for children. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since May 2020.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2020

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC363393 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2019 Full Good 16/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 14/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC363393 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like living at this home, and they looked relaxed and comfortable in their environment. The registered manager and staff team are strong advocates for children. Their child-centred approach has helped children develop confidence and trust in the adults who care for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress because of the respectful relationships the adults who care for them have developed with them. All three children took part in this inspection. They were very positive about the adults who care for them and could each identify an adult they enjoy spending time with and say why. One child told the inspector that she would grade the quality of care 8/10.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s personal interests, talents and hobbies are considered and promoted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have provided children with good opportunities to develop new interests and learn new skills. These include animal therapy and garden design and development.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The education arrangements for two children are not satisfactory. The manager has taken appropriate action to escalate her concerns with the education provisions, and the placing and hosting authorities. In response, an alternative education provision is being sourced for one child and a broader range of alternative education opportunities have been offeredfor the second child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said they feel listened to and could identify an adult who they would speak to if they were concerned or worried. Staff ensure children have good opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings. These include informal discussions, house meetings and one-to-one discussion. Despite this, records of these meetings do not evidence the children’s contribution or if actions agreed at the previous meeting have been met.

p.3

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

The management of safeguarding concerns is effective. The registered manager has ensured that a multi-agency approach is used to manage the children’s complex needs and behaviours. She has developed and maintained a positive and cohesive working relationship with all safeguarding agencies. Since the last inspection, there have been seven reported safeguarding concerns. Professionals confirmed that all seven have been dealt with appropriately. Records are well maintained and detail the concern, the actions taken and the outcome.

p.3

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

The registered manager ensures that children’s behaviour management plans and risk assessments are regularly revised and updated. These plans provide information for staff on how to identify and respond to most behavioural incidents. Despite this good practice, impact risk assessments and individualised behavioural risk Inspection report children's home: SC363393 4 assessments do not consistently detail the severity or the impact of risks.

p.3

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

High-risk behavioural incidents have been a common occurrence. However, in the last two months, incidents have reduced. This is because staff know the children well and take appropriate and proportionate action in response. Following incidents, the registered manager completes supportive discussions with the staff. However, these discussions lack the necessary exploration to establish if the incident could have been managed differently to prevent it from escalating. As a result, the opportunities for the staff to learn from their actions and decision-making are inconsistent.

p.4

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

The manager ensures that those adults looking after each child are safe to do so. Safer recruitment checks are completed. The manager has verified the suitability and safety of all new staff who have been selected to work in the home. The registered manager carefully matches the skills and experience of casual staff to the needs of children. Consequently, children enjoy spending time with these staff and benefit from continuity of care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a new registered manager who has high standards and expectations of herself and the staff team. Feedback from professionals is unanimously positive. A social worker said, ‘The registered manager has very strong leadership skills and manages her team well. The progress [child] has made is attributable to the care provided.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team benefits from strong leadership and support. Children are looked after by a core staff team who have the skills, experience and training to meet their diverse and complex needs. The registered manager has ensured the team has continued with essential training during the COVID–19 restrictions. Face-to-face refresher courses have recently been reinstated following the easing of government restrictions.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures all staff receive regular formal supervisions, which they confirmed that they find supportive. Team meetings take place regularly and attendance is good. Despite this, these meetings do not always provide the staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice or learn from each other.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of the home takes place routinely and external audits are of a good quality. The registered manager shares the information and recommendations made by the independent visitor with her team. This helps them all to improve the quality of care and services they provide for children in their care. Inspection report children's home: SC363393 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

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)(b))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the compatibility risk assessment considers the severity of risk and the impact one child’s needs and behaviours can have on other children living in the home. 11 June 2021

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when seeking children’s views, children see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure a record of supervision provides evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. In particular, ensure formal supervisions and team meeting provide staff members with the opportunity to reflect on their practice individually and as a team. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC363393 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC363393 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7