Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

Inspection report children's home: SC066469 1 SC066469 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since April 2020 and is yet to register with Ofsted.

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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 3 and 4 March 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC066469 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Full Good 19/02/2019 Full Good 07/06/2017 Full Good 30/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC066469 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making progress from their starting points. They are now more able to talk about their worries and fears with staff, which helps them to cope with their anxieties. One child said, ‘Staff do help me when I’m struggling and know what to say to make me feel better. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, staff help me here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The outside area offers lots of space for children to play and have fun. Parts of this space are well maintained. However, one part of the outside area is overgrown and is not maintained. This area cannot be accessed by the children, which limits their space to explore the garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The clinical team prepares assessments before children move into the home. These assessments continue throughout their care. They are reviewed every 12 weeks and necessary changes are made. This means that staff adapt their practice to support the child’s individual needs. As a result, staff understand the children and can apply care that meets their needs. This results in the children being settled and feeling safe in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Living at the home is allowing children to have positive experiences. Children choose where they want to go on holiday and enjoy their time away with staff. This helps children to develop trusting relationships with the adults around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continue to promote the importance of education. This has helped to improve one child’s school attendance. When children struggle in school, the manager ensures that a multi-agency approach is undertaken. This helps children to progress in school. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘[Name of child] is so settled, so happy, and doing a lot better in school.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are fit and healthy and are supported to attend all their routine health appointments. Staff educate the children around health concerns and, when needed, appointments are made for the children to ensure that their health needs are met.

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

Door alarms are in place to help manage the risk of children leaving the home at night. However, this is not an identified risk for the children currently living at the home. The use of the alarms is intrusive and gives an institutionalised element to living at the home. This does not create a homely environment for the children.

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

The manager completes a detailed impact risk assessment which helps to match new children with existing children in the home. This means that children’s risks can be managed and that their placements are suitably matched and more likely to be successful. Inspection report children's home: SC066469 4 Risk assessments are detailed and provide staff with strategies to reduce risk to children. These documents are regularly reviewed and updated following an incident. This helps to ensure that staff have clear strategies to follow to reduce the risk of harm to the children.

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

There are well-documented plans in place that staff follow should a child go missing from the home. Missing-from-care incidents are well documented and staff understand what action to take. Children who have been missing have spoken to an independent person on their return. This gives the child the opportunity to speak to someone in confidence should they have any worries.

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

Recruitment processes ensure that staff employed are suitable to care for children. There is a six-month induction programme in place, where new starters are mentored by leaders and managers. Strengths and areas of development are identified and documented in induction plans. The manager then determines their suitability for employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has experienced a change in leadership. The current manager is yet to register with Ofsted. The new manager has naturally progressed from the deputy position of the home and has a detailed understanding of the children and the dynamics of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is actively involved in the running of the home and knows the progress that the children make. The home has a strong management team, which includes a deputy manager and two seniors. Staff spoken to say that the team is consistent in its approach to the children, and they feel supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and team meetings. These provide staff with the opportunity to reflect and share their practices to better care for the children. Staff spoken to say that the manager discusses areas of support and follows up on these discussions. This provides the staff with confidence that the manager is aware of the support staff need to help them in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and development needs. The monitoring systems in place are effective. These systems continually support health and safety in the home, which ensures that the children are living in a safe environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with other professionals from the children’s placing authorities. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘The manager advocates well on [name of child]’s behalf, and during the last review where [name of child] wasn’t there, the manager ensured that all professionals who attended understood [name of child]’s wishes and feelings.’ Inspection report children's home: SC066469 5

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Statutory requirement

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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)) 14 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the children’s needs. Children’s homes will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all parts of the garden are accessible for the children to use. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC066469 6

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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

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC066469 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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