Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Wolverhampton

Inspection report children's home: 2513340 1 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 owned by a private company and was registered in January 2020. The home cares for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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 2 December 2021 to carry out a monitoring inspection. 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate Inspection report children's home: 2513340 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 18 and 19 October 2021, a full inspection was carried out and the home was judged inadequate. Three compliance notices were issued: under regulation 11, the positive relationship standard; regulation 12, the protection of children standard; and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. A notice restricting the accommodation was issued on 21 October 2021.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 2 December 2021. During this visit the compliance notice under regulation 12 was considered met. The compliance notices under regulation 11 and 13 were not met and were reissued. The notice restricting accommodation remained in place. Inspection report children's home: 2513340 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: 2513340 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall care requires improvement. In recent months, there have been significant changes in the home. Two children have left the home. This was because staff were unable to keep them safe and meet their needs. These children left quickly and in an unplanned way.

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improvement to be good

At the time of this inspection, there was one child living at the home. Since the last full inspection, three members of staff have left. New staff have since been recruited. As a result, the staff and child are still getting to know each other.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has shared care plans and risk assessments with the child to help him understand his care. However, staff have not yet obtained his views to contribute to these documents. This does not demonstrate that staff always obtain children’s views to inform the care that they receive.

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improvement to be good

Despite the shortfalls, there are areas of improved practice. Staff are now supporting the child to build on his independence skills and to become more confident. He regularly attends college, and there is good communication between the staff and the college. This ensures that the child feels supported and is making progress in his learning.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage the child to attend health and other specialist appointments. This means that he is receiving support for his physical and emotional well-being. As a result, the child is settled in the home.

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improvement to be good

The child told the inspector that he is happy living at the home and gets on well with the staff team. Staff are approachable and the child knows he can talk to them if he has concerns. Staff have also ensured that he knows how to complain if he is not happy about any aspect of their care.

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improvement to be good

The home has been redecorated and provides a homely and welcoming environment for children. The child told the inspector that he is very happy with how the home now looks.

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improvement to be good

When a child went missing from the home overnight, staff informed the police and searched for the child. However, on two occasions, staff did not make adequate attempts to contact the child through the night. Risk assessments in relation to children going missing do not sufficiently advise staff of what they should do should a child go missing at night. These shortfalls mean that staff do not have all the Inspection report children's home: 2513340 5 information they need to take sufficient action to help children return to the home safely.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments for the current child living in the home have been reviewed and are now up to date. However, staff do not always supervise children effectively. On one occasion, the child was able to gain access to the staff office without staff knowledge. In addition, staff have not carried out the required daily checks on the child’s phone. These oversights have the potential to compromise the child’s safety.

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improvement to be good

There has been a significant reduction in the frequency of physical interventions. When physical interventions have been used, they have been necessary and proportionate. The manager has reviewed the records of physical interventions. However, sometimes debriefs with staff and children are delayed. This compromises the registered manager’s ability to address any learning points with the staff and children at the time of the incident.

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improvement to be good

Staff reward children for their achievements and positive behaviour. This helps children to learn to make more positive choices. However, one sanction, that staff issued for poor behaviour, has not been recorded. As a result, the registered manager has not reviewed this sanction to assure herself that it was appropriate.

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improvement to be good

There has been a significant reduction in the number of serious incidents since the last full inspection because two children have left the home. The registered manager has reviewed the incidents that raised significant concerns at the last full inspection, regarding the staff’s ability to manage children’s behaviour. From this review, the registered manager has identified shortfalls and is taking action to improve staff’s practice. As a result, the compliance notice in relation to regulation 11 has now been met.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has ensured that new staff working at the home are safely recruited. All relevant checks have been made before new staff start their employment. This means that staff have been suitably vetted to work with children.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has updated the home’s location risk assessment to capture potential risk in the local area. The manager has put in place strategies to mitigate any risks for the child and any future children that will come to live at the home.

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good

The registered manager’s monitoring and oversight of the home have improved since the last full inspection. However, there are still some documents that do not contain accurate information or that have not been completed in a timely manner. This could compromise the quality of care that children receive.

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good

In recent weeks, the registered manager has covered shifts to ensure that the home was safely staffed when staff were isolating due to COVID 19. This has taken her Inspection report children's home: 2513340 6 away from her management tasks, which has reduced her ability to drive improvements in the care children receive.

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good

The registered manager has failed to ensure that there is an accurate roster in place that records the planned and actual hours worked by staff. As a result, these documents cannot be relied on to identify when staff have been at work or to determine if children received suitably staffed care.

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good

Staff have access to a variety of training courses to support them in their roles in caring for children. However, the staff team is new and inexperienced. Some staff have not completed important training. As a result, they do not have the essential skills and knowledge to care for children who have complex or challenging needs.

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered persons have applied to reduce the number of children they provide care for. As a result, the home now has enough staff to care for two children, and the compliance notice in relation to regulation 13 has been met. The notice restricting the accommodation of the home has now been lifted.

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good

There is an appropriate induction and probation process in place for new members of staff. This has helped new staff understand their roles and responsibilities in caring for children. Staff feel supported by the registered manager. They have had access to team meetings which have covered a range of topics to help staff reflect on and improve their practice.

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good

The frequency of staff supervision has improved; however, the registered manager has not ensured that all staff receive supervision within the timeframes stated in the home’s statement of purpose. In addition, supervisions are also not consistently used to challenge staff’s practice. This is a missed opportunity to help staff to further develop their practice.

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good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has ensured that Ofsted is notified of all significant incidents. This ensures that the regulator has oversight of practice within the home.

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good

The registered manager has a good knowledge of the child in placement. She has completed a review of past incidents and shared this learning with the staff team. This helps the team understand what worked well and what practices need to to develop to ensure that the care provided to children continues to improve. Inspection report children's home: 2513340 7

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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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff follow all risk assessments put in place to keep children safe. 14 March 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff complete training for their roles and the needs of the children they care for.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 14 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2513340 8 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they only admit children whose needs they can meet. In addition, the registered persons must ensure that children have planned admissions and discharges from the home.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff supporting children to access and contribute to their records and plans.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 14 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision as stated in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 14 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2513340 9 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must complete a full review of any physical intervention or consequence within the required timeframes.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 14 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the staff rota shows planned and actual hours worked by all staff.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 14 March 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered persons should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature and are documented and reviewed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’ page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children's home: 2513340 10

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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: 2513340 11

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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

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2513340 12 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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