Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in Herefordshire

Inspection report children's home: SC062074 1 SC062074 Registered provider: Keys Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children aged 11 to 17 years with complex needs. A private provider operates the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has managed the home since August 2017 and is suitably qualified.

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC062074 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/05/2018 Full Good 08/01/2018 Full Good 28/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC062074 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, four children are living at the home. Two of the children have lived at the home for over two years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at writing personalised care plans for each child that capture their individual needs. However, occasionally staff forget to review the care plan. As a result, staff do not always have access to the most up-to-date information about a child’s changing needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. This support has resulted in one child dramatically improving their school attendance and another child being accepted onto a training programme run by the Princes Trust. Consequently, children are motivated and are aspirational about their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their life skills. For example, staff talk to children about feelings, relationships and healthy eating. Staff help children to build up their confidence to manage their money and to independently use public transport. As a result, children are better prepared for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have provided creative activities for children. These have included children learning yoga, building bird boxes and planting fruit and wildflowers. As restrictions have eased, staff have encouraged children to take up their hobbies and to pursue their interests again. This has led to one child becoming a member of the local cricket team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to stay in touch with people who are important to them. Consequently, children’s relationships with others are positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive relationships between the children. Staff are mindful that banter can sometimes lead to potential bullying. On one occasion, staff perceived banter between two of the children as being potential bullying. Although staff acted promptly and one child received a sanction, the staff did not record this action in the correct record. Furthermore, staff did not consider the value of completing a key work session with the two children involved. This was a missed opportunity to help improve children’s knowledge of the potential effects of bullying.

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

Staff ensure that risk management plans are in place for each child. These plans help staff to support children in a child-centred way to stay safe. In addition, staff carry out work with children about risks associated with drug misuse and child exploitation. As a result of this bespoke work, one child who was previously involved in county lines is no longer at risk. Inspection report children's home: SC062074 4 Children rarely go missing from the home. However, staff do not ensure that all missing from care protocols are kept up to date. This has the potential to compromise children’s safety if a child was to go missing.

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

Staff keep children safe online with parental controls on the home’s Wi-Fi. However, staff do not help children learn about online safety. This creates a missed opportunity to educate children about staying safe online.

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

Due to the age and construction of the home, there is an increased risk of fire. There is a generic fire risk assessment, fire detection system and regular fire evacuation tests. However, additional risks are not considered, such as children trying to smoke in the home. Consequently, the level of assessment is not sufficiently rigorous to ensure that all potential fire risks are adequately assessed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a confident and experienced registered manager. She is ambitious for the children and understands their needs well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager supports the staff team well through regular and consistent supervisions and appraisals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager carefully considers the matching of new children moving into the home. As a result, children feel welcomed, and there is minimal disruption to those already living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children said that they like living at the home and are aware of how to complain. Managers regularly gain children’s views through children’s meetings, key work sessions and discussions. As a result, children feel valued and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with a wide range of training opportunities. This ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the registered manager has monitoring systems in place, she does not always ensure that all her monitoring records are kept up to date. This creates a missed opportunity to be more proactive in making improvements to the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has updated the home’s statement of purpose. However, she has forgotten to send the revised version to Ofsted. This omission means that the regulator does not have the most up-to-date information about the home. Inspection report children's home: SC062074 5

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children’s plans being regularly updated. 30 July 2021

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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

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. 30 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC062074 6 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers assessing risks of smoking in the property and helping children to be better educated on online safety.

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Requirement Due date

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager reviewing and updating records. This includes the home’s development and workforce plan. 30 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Recommendations

 The registered manager must ensure that staff understand Regulation 11(2) which sets out the expectations on staff in helping the child develop skills to have positive relationships with others. Specifically, help children understand the banter between children which could be perceived as being inappropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6.) Inspection report children's home: SC062074 7  The registered manager must ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are recorded and monitored for appropriateness. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38.)

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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: SC062074 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspectors

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC062074 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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