Children's home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Southend-on-Sea

Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 1 SC028174 Registered provider: Keys Direct 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 owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She registered with Ofsted in 2018.

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/07/2019 Full Good 09/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. They have warm and nurturing relationships with the staff. Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of how best to support the children’s emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are attending education provisions, have good attendance and are making progress. The manager has advocated well for one child to be given a different school placement, more suited to his needs. The home has put an adapted timetable in place to support the child in the interim.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. This has led to children reconnecting with family members and starting to rebuild relationships. Family members give positive feedback about the way that the staff communicate with them and share information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to attend clubs in the local community to develop their interests and build friendship groups. Children are involved in a range of activities, including army cadets and gymnastics clubs. Some of the children have pets and are supported to care for them. Children enjoyed a summer holiday to the seaside.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child with a specific health need has been well supported. This has empowered her to manage her condition independently. Staff ensured that her views and wishes were taken into account when devising her treatment plan. Another child has a diagnosed learning need. However, this information has not been shared with relevant professionals or staff. It has not been recorded in relevant plans. This has limited staff’s understanding of the child’s needs and has prevented additional support and advice from being accessed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are not clearly set out and do not always contain the most current information. They have not been regularly updated and do not cross- reference to other plans. This does not ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the care needs of the children.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls have been identified in this area which have the potential to have an impact on children.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, staff and the manager did not act quickly enough in response to an allegation made by a child. This led to an unnecessary delay in reporting the matter to external safeguarding agencies. This concern was investigated, and no Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 4 further action was required. Additional training was undertaken, and senior managers now have better oversight of incidents in the home.

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improvement to be good

The home has CCTV covering external areas. There are no policies or risk assessments in place around the function and purpose of using this monitoring and surveillance tool. Staff have not received clear guidance about its use. On one occasion, staff used CCTV to monitor children in the garden rather than supervising them as agreed within the relevant plans. Children subsequently left the garden area and left the home without authority. However, staff quickly and safely returned the children to the home.

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improvement to be good

Three fire doors in the home have not been working well for several months. Although the manager has reported this potential risk to the organisation’s maintenance staff, repairs have not been carried out. During the inspection, the maintenance team attended to carry out the necessary repairs.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and up to date. However, some information about risk management is not kept up to date in other documents. This could be confusing for staff because conflicting information is recorded in some plans.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management incidents have significantly reduced recently and are generally well-managed. Staff have helped children to identify more effective strategies to manage their emotions. This has led to children being more settled. Staff have regular meetings with the organisation’s therapy team to discuss concerns. This helps to improve their understanding of the underlying causes of children’s behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff protect children from exploitation and are working with a multi-disciplinary team to identify additional strategies to manage this risk. Additional support has been accessed from specialist agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager role models child-centred practice and has a warm and positive relationship with the children. Leaders know the children well and have a good understanding of their needs. They are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have realistic plans to ensure continual improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been low staff turnover in the home. This means that children are cared for by a stable care team. The manager provides supportive management to the staff, who benefit from good-quality supervision and mentoring. Staff attend regular team meetings where they have the opportunity to share their views about the care of children and the operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have all completed mandatory training in key areas such as safeguarding. Additional training has been provided by external professionals in response to children’s specific needs. Staff also have opportunities to undertake a range of additional training to further develop their knowledge and understanding. Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 5 The manager works well with other professionals and as part of multi-disciplinary teams. She has formed positive professional relationships with other agencies, particularly health professionals who are regular visitors to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 6

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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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to an identified health need not being included within relevant care and health plans. 30 October 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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to children’s risk assessments being updated and, if a concern arises, staff following the home’s safeguarding policies in a timely manner. 30 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 30 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 7 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the use of external CCTV at the home without a policy or risk assessment in place around the purpose and function of its use.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to repairing three fire doors at the home. 9 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to children’s placement plans. 30 October 2021

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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: SC028174 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Direct Care 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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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC028174 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 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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