Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report children's home: 1224093 1 Registered provider: Keys BR Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children with complex needs who require specialist support.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered for this home in June 2021.

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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 5 October 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: 1224093 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1224093 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and enjoying positive experiences. The core staff have remained consistent and demonstrate that they have high aspirations for the children. A parent said, ‘I’m very happy with the care. The staff encourage and support my child. His progress has been brilliant. He is very open now with everyone.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Weekly children’s meetings are productive and enable the children to express their opinions and choose their favourite activities. When a child showed an interest in doing something for his favourite charity this was enthusiastically supported and encouraged by the staff. It resulted in the staff and children completing a 100 push- ups-a-day challenge and successfully raising money to donate to the charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who previously struggled to engage in education are now achieving high attendance and making significant progress. A headteacher said, ‘The child has made a dramatic turnaround over the last 10 months, especially with the new manager’s involvement. The staff also advocated for support from a therapist, which made a massive difference.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain good relationships with those who are important to them. During this inspection, staff invited a friend of one of the children to join them on an activity. This positively supports the children to develop healthy relationships and strong friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that the children have a memento of their time spent living at the home. Each child has an extensive book containing photographs and reminders of their achievements and special moments. This ensures that when a child moves on, they have a record to keep of this important part of their life story.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has undergone much improvement and is now homely and well maintained. The children’s bedrooms are personalised. The lounge has been refurnished and redecorated, a new bathroom has been fitted and new flooring and carpet has been laid. The children were included in the process and are proud of the choices in decor they have made.

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

Staff work very hard to establish trusting relationships with children. This is achieved through consistent responses and genuine warmth. As a result, children who present with self-injurious behaviours experience fewer incidents of distress and they learn to manage their emotions in more positive ways.

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

Detailed individual risk assessments provide staff with the necessary strategies to minimise potential dangers and protect children. These assessments are Inspection report children's home: 1224093 4 comprehensive, updated regularly, include the child’s views and recognise improvements in behaviour. The manager ensures that staff are aware of any new guidance to follow to reduce risks further.

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

Staff recognise any changes in behaviour and are skilful at de-escalating incidents. When physical intervention is required for safety reasons, the manager ensures that the child’s opinion is heard and that staff are debriefed. This enables a period of reflection and helps to develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring.

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

When a child goes missing from the home, staff follow procedures well. They are proactive in locating the child and work in partnership with police to ensure the child’s safe return. Staff speak with the child to help them recognise the dangers associated with this risky behaviour. Independent return home interviews are generally offered; however, there are gaps in evidencing that these have consistently been requested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered in June 2021 and before this was the deputy manager of the home. She is very child focused and is well respected by the staff team. Staff describe her as bringing strong and supportive leadership to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well organised and the manager’s monitoring of the home is robust. She regularly oversees practice and records to ensure consistency in all aspects of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly staff team meetings look at all aspects of practice throughout the home and how to develop the staff further and use their existing strengths. Staff say that they feel valued and listened to and that they appreciate the many training opportunities they are encouraged and supported to access.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good, transparent relationships with professionals have been developed. Social workers receive detailed reports regularly and there is no delay in the reporting of any incidents. A social worker said, ‘Communication is very good. The manager is exceptional.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a review of the home. The review report is detailed and is a useful tool for development of the home. However, the manager has fallen behind in completing six-monthly reviews of the home. This does not ensure that the continuous development that the home is achieving is evidenced effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the three requirements and two recommendations that were reset at the assurance visit in October 2020. Inspection report children's home: 1224093 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a)) 28 January 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 1224093 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Lynne Drage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1224093 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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