Children's home run by Keys Active 8 Care Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report children's home: SC064428 1 SC064428 Registered provider: Keys Active 8 Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by a private organisation and offers care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The children are supported by an experienced registered manager who has been in post since July 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 14 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

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not judged

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC064428 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2020 Interim Not judged 17/09/2019 Interim Not judged 07/02/2019 Interim Not judged 15/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: SC064428 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From their initial starting points, children make good progress in this children’s home. They are happy and settled and form trusting relationships with the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Residential care planning is good. The staff team work closely with children and the clinical psychologist to ensure children are receiving the right help and support to meet their emotional and developmental needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational attendance and attainment are variable. Some children have excellent attendance and make good progress in their school or college placement. However, some children have had their placements delayed because the placing authority has failed to provide the required information to the host authority. Although the registered manager raised a formal complaint, this matter requires further escalation to aid a suitable resolution.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In situations when children’s education is delayed, tutors has been provided. However, due to the children’s complex attachment needs, their engagement with tutors is inconsistent. This means that some children do not receive support to meet their educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with family members. The staff provide suitable support and supervision to ensure that the children have positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consistently consulted about the care that they receive in the home. They regularly complete the children’s home surveys, attend children’s meetings and have regular one-to-one time with their key workers. The information obtained is used to shape the individual care that each child receives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and supported to try out new activities and develop hobbies in accordance with their individual interests. For example, children enjoy go-carting, swimming and trampolining. One child attends football camp, and another child has developed friendships in the community that are suitably supported by the staff team. A staff member said, ‘Because the children are young, we want them to have appropriate friendships and do the things other children of their age would do. We understand that play and friendships are very important.’

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

Comprehensive safeguarding arrangements are in place. Children’s risks are routinely assessed, and effective measures are in place should a concern arise.

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

Behaviour management strategies are developed using the psychologically informed care planning intervention (PICI). The staff understand how particular life Inspection report children's home: SC064428 4 experiences have an impact on children’s emotions and how, in turn, this can be displayed through children’s behaviour. From children’s initial starting points, disruptive and challenging incidents have decreased. This is because of the clear and consistent guidance provided by the staff team.

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

Most of the staff are trained in de-escalation techniques and the use of physical intervention. They have formed positive and trusting relationships with the children, and this supports them to defuse episodes of escalating behaviours. When a physical intervention has proved necessary to safeguard a child, the intervention is brief and considers the strategies agreed in the child’s behaviour management plan. Records of physical interventions taking place are suitably detailed. However, when physical intervention has been necessary on more than one occasion during a single incident, these must be recorded separately.

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

Children rarely go missing or absent themselves from the home. Since the last assurance visit in September 2020, there have been two brief absences recorded in the home. On both occasions, the staff followed the agreed strategies and responded swiftly to ensure that the children were returned home quickly.

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

Children are provided with suitable information regarding how to make a complaint. Records demonstrate that children’s complaints are taken seriously and acted on straight away. Children receive a formal acknowledgement of their complaint and the outcome of any investigation that has taken place.

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

The home is well presented. However, the lack of obscured windows in children’s bedrooms means that some children’s privacy is compromised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children live in a home that is managed in their best interests. The home meets the aims and objectives of the statement of purpose, and children, social workers and families are clear about the service and support that the home provides. The staff team are provided with an annual training package. Overall, mandatory training is regularly refreshed, and additional training based on PICI is the foundation for all planned work with the children. The team also benefits from regular input from the psychologist employed by the home. These sessions provide essential guidance to the staff in the work they undertake with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the assurance visit in September 2020, the stability of the staff team has been significantly affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the registered manager has utilised staff from other homes and used agency staff to maintain the care of the children. However, not all staff covering the home have completed the mandatory physical intervention training. Although incidents requiring physical intervention have significantly decreased, the registered manager must ensure that children are cared for by staff with the appropriate training and skills to meet their complex individual needs. Inspection report children's home: SC064428 5 The staff team are provided with suitable support and constructive supervision. One staff member said, ‘The manager is great. She is very supportive. We can contact her at any time if we need any advice or guidance.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff now work in partnership with the home’s psychologist to ensure that all referrals to the home are suitably assessed for their compatibility.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems provide the home with a clear approach to the overall monitoring of care. Detailed information highlights areas for development, and the manager’s action plan details the methods used to enhance the service. Likewise, external monitoring takes place in accordance with regulation. The independent visitor’s report provides a positive insight into the progress children make. Overall, views and opinions of external professionals are included to provide a holistic analysis of the care provided in the home. Inspection report children's home: SC064428 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 education standard is that children that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)) 18 February 2022

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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

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 18 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each individual physical intervention is recorded separately. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report children's home: SC064428 7  The registered person should ensure that staff have an understanding of how schools’ function, the role of designated teachers for looked-after children and the role of the Virtual School Head. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.10)  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to express themselves as individuals and should be given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day-to-day arrangements for their care. Where a child’s preferences are unreasonable or cannot be met for safeguarding reasons, staff should discuss this with the child and help them to understand why. This is with

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Recommendations

particular regard to personal privacy in children’s bedrooms where blinds have been removed. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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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: SC064428 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Active 8 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

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC064428 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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