Children's home run by Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd in Wakefield

Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 1 SC482415 Registered provider: Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for no more than four children who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. She left her role on 30 September 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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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2018 Full good 20/06/2017 Full good 20/12/2016 Interim improved effectiveness 25/04/2016 Full good Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The progress made by the children in some areas of their lives has been quite remarkable. They have developed in confidence and made some measurable achievements. The children engage well with the staff and respond well to the praise and positive feedback. On professional said, ‘They are a million miles away from their starting point.’ The children said, ‘The home is amazing, and the staff are brilliant.’ Children have made very good progress since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from improved health. Staff encourage and support the children who have been reluctant to go to their health appointments. Children now attend these appointments and access the support they need. This has resulted in one child no longer needing medication to help them manage their sleep and behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to, and their views are understood and acted on. Staff advocate strongly for the children. Children say that they do feel listened to, cared for, and supported by the staff. The staff communicate and engage with children to gather their views, wishes and feelings. Examples include children having input into home meetings, their own care plans, and risk assessments. Children benefit from knowing that their views, wishes, and feelings are valued and acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff record regular good-quality key-work sessions with the children. There is a wealth of information recorded about the work that is completed on matters such as substance misuse, staying safe, education, and learning life skills. The records provide an insight into how the staff offer support to the children and the progress that is made as a result of this. The quality of the key-working sessions has resulted in the children making some excellent progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been a significant delay by placing authorities in making arrangements for the children’s education or training. The manager has challenged and escalated this with the placing local authorities to ensure that the children receive appropriate education. Staff at the home have provided lots of learning opportunities and experiences to support the children’s learning and prepare them to take part in their education. Although children are now ready to learn, they have yet to start in their education placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children with their hobbies and interests. There is a strong emphasis on providing a wide range of activities. This means that the children have plenty of opportunities to try new experiences and explore the world that they live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to understand and value their identity and their life stories. Staff are creative in how they capture the children’s experiences, which highlights the children’s unique and special qualities. This means that the children are more confident and feel accepted for who they are. Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 4 The home environment is welcoming, comfortable and homely. The children have personalised the home and their bedrooms. The children said that they love their home and that they are happy and feel safe.

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outstanding

The manager and the staff have a thorough understanding of the exceptional progress that the children have made in becoming increasingly safe.

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outstanding

The children do have complex needs and there has been some concerning incidents; however, these have been responded to well. Clear, measurable outcomes are evident in the key-work sessions that staff have undertaken with the children in relation to risks and safety issues. These records clearly highlight that the children are supported to be safe, and they have made excellent progress from their starting points.

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outstanding

Children’s risk assessments are live documents, which are kept up to date. They outline all the known risk factors and set out the strategies that the staff should follow to reduce these known risks. Clear risk evaluation is evident. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed, overseen by the management team, and are clearly understood by all the staff and the children. This clear guidance ensures that the staff respond to children at risk of harm.

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outstanding

There has been a notable reduction in missing-from-home incidents. The missing- from-home protocols are clear and up to date. Staff have a good understanding of what to do when a child goes missing, and they make extensive efforts to look for the children. Key-work sessions have taken place with children around their missing behaviour, which has resulted in significantly fewer incidents.

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outstanding

Staff know the children extremely well, and they can recognise changes in the children’s behaviour. The staff respond appropriately with care and support when children are in crisis. This means that physical interventions are not usually required. On the one occasion this has been needed, this has been managed effectively by appropriately trained staff.

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outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that regular health and safety checks are complete. General risk assessments relating to the home and activities are acknowledged by the staff and are regularly reviewed and updated. This means that the staff have all the necessary up-to-date information and strategies to keep the children safe in the home.

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outstanding

Recruitment processes are thorough, and the inexperienced staff are provided with appropriate support and induction. Adults are suitably vetted to ensure that they are safe to look after the children in their care. Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 5 Individual staff members have a good awareness of safeguarding. They have access to several training courses, which underpin their knowledge and understanding. Staff have the knowledge and skills to help keep the children safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has resigned as the registered manager but continues to work at the home until the home’s new manager is registered. Leaders and managers at the home are child focused, passionate, and committed to providing the best care and experiences for the children. The staff are motivated and feel well supported by their leaders and manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well prepared to care for children. Inexperienced staff receive very good support through their induction period. They receive good-quality, regular reflective supervision. Managers monitor the progress of the new staff and identify any areas for development to ensure that they are well equipped to meet the children’s needs. There are clear systems in place for monitoring training. All the staff have up-to- date training in relevant areas and the staff have access to regular training. Some training is tailored to the individual needs of the children. This ensures that the staff have the necessary skills that they need to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have excellent working relationships with other professionals and communication is good. All professionals consulted during the inspection spoke very positively about their good working relationship with the manager and the staff. Professionals described the home as ‘amazing’ and ‘very good’. Staff work well with other agencies in the best interests of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are very well supported in their roles by the leaders and manager, and they have regular supervision and team meetings. Supervision has a clear focus on safeguarding the children, the children’s needs, their progress and how staff understand and meet the quality standards. This ensures that the staff are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to ensuring that the children receive the best possible support. She challenges and escalates any concerns when professionals are not working in the best interests of the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 6

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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: SC482415 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Thompsons Yard, New Street, Ossett, West Yorkshire WF5 8BH

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Inspector

Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482415 8 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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