Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 1 SC067561 Registered provider: Keys Education Ltd 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. It is registered to provide care for up to three children and young people aged up to 18, who may have social or emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 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 28 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring 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: 14 January 2019

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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 for children’s home: SC067561 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/06/2018 Full Good 24/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a settled and caring home. Staff work hard to understand children’s individual interests and help them to visit friends, or have them back to the home. Children enjoy being active, going to the gym or ice skating. Their friends and family join them for trips to the theme park or quad biking. Staff support children to nurture relationships with people who are important to them. Staff keep in touch with children when they stay out with friends or family, and will make sure they have something to eat while they are out. This shows children that they and their welfare are important to staf. Staff encourage children to undertake age-appropriate tasks such as washing. Staff teach children how to cook their favourite meals and build other independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education and are aspirational for children. One child was supported to achieve their GCSEs and to progress to college and another child was supported to develop confidence and self-belief in their own abilities. Staff respond and adapt to children’s changing needs and interests, quickly identifying when there is potential for disruption.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are trained in specific health matters enabling them to understand and meet children’s health needs well. Staff recognise the impact of children’s early life experiences on their current physical and emotional well-being and advocate for mental health support where needed. . Children spend time with staff and benefit from meaningful conversations to promote their social, emotional and physical well- being. Staff take precautions to reduce the risks of COVID-19 spreading. For example, when children were unwell, staff supported them to isolate safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children personalise their rooms and take pride in their space. Most communal areas are homely and welcoming, and are decorated to a good standard. However, the kitchen and bathroom are noticeably tired and worn in comparison to the rest of the house. Window restrictors used are noticeable and obtrusive within an otherwise homely space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been one complaint from a parent, which the manager investigated fully and took action to resolve. Although the manager provided the outcome to the parent, this was not recorded.

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

Children feel safe in the home and can identify who they would speak to if they had any worries. Staff have supported a child to significantly reduce the risks of criminal exploitation. A thorough understanding of contextual safeguarding means that staff adapt plans according to new information. The manager identifies opportunities for specialist support for the child, promoting mentoring sessions and work around knife Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 4 crime. The manager applies their knowledge of the local area to develop safety plans with staff. Staff balance the known history of risk with the aspiration that the child is seen as more than their past.

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

Staff understand risk assessments and the action they must take to keep children safe. Staff show curiosity about children’s friendship groups in order to inform safety assessments. Responses to incidents follow plans, and staff complete thorough records. The manager ensures that independent return home interviews are requested from the local authority when a child goes missing.

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

Behaviour in the home is well managed and understood. Staff know children well and foster open communication. This means there are few negative incidents. Any sanctions applied are proportionate and are explained to the child, with management overview. However, the managers completion of records in relation to sanctions is inconsistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an enthusiastic manager, who has a clear vision for the home. The manager provides training and learning opportunities for staff, with a focus on meeting the needs of the children. The manager makes effective use of team meetings, to encourage reflection and develop knowledge. This contributes to the quality of care children receive. Supervision takes place regularly. However, it does not consistently offer staff individual reflective space. Staff enjoy working in the home and feel empowered to make use of their skills and experience. Staff are recruited safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains positive links with professionals involved in the children’s care. Information is shared in a timely manner. Professionals reported that communication with the home is excellent. The manager leads strong, multi-agency working to achieve improved outcomes for children. Both children’s social workers described their children as settled and as having made progress since being in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reviews incident reports and provides clear evaluation. The manager identifies where staff recording does not meet her standards and follows this up with additional training or supervision. Placement plans contain the information staff need to care for children. However, the documents are long and there is scope for further clarity. Risk assessments outline individual risks and tell staff what they need to do. However, the way each assessment links to others is not always considered. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 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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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the planned redecoration of the bathroom and kitchen are completed within the already identified timescales in order to provide the children with quality living space throughout the home. The registered person should also consider how to make window restrictors less obtrusive if their use is considered necessary. ( ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that risk assessments in place all link cohesively together to inform staff practice. Consideration must also be given to ongoing review of documents to ensure they contain relevant information to provide clarity for the reader. ( ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the opportunity for reflection

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Recommendations

during formal supervision meetings. ( ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that there is a record of how the outcome of a complaint was fed back to the complainant. ( ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that clear and consistent records are kept of sanctions given to children. ( ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 for children’s home: SC067561 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 7 regulates and inspects 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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