Children's home run by Keys KIN Ltd in Wealden

Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 1 Registered provider: Keys KIN Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2019.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/05/2021 Full Good 10/09/2019 Full Good 06/02/2019 Full Good 18/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from individualised care and a staff team who are sensitive to their needs. Staff get to know children quickly. As a result, children settle in the home and start building secure relationships from the outset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team uses a nurturing and caring approach. They are invested in the progress of, and strongly advocate for, the children. Managers and staff share positive relationships with professionals and parents. This has promoted effective planning of family visits and how children move back to their family home. As a result, children have either positively settled back with families or enjoyed their family visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and make progress in their education. For some children, there has been exceptional progress. For example, one child now attends despite having had a disrupted history of education. Another child, who previously struggled to take part in class, now does so with success. This means that children enjoy school and understand the benefit of education for their future. A parent said that their child ‘has made great progress academically and has made close friends at school who he spends time with both at school and on sleepovers at their homes’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive regular therapy and mental health support from the internal therapists who work alongside school and other external health specialists. The staff team provides therapeutic-based care guided by professionals. This means that children respond well to adults’ playfulness and can show emotion and seek staff’s nurturing support and affection. This comprehensive approach ensures that children’s physical and mental health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the impact of change on children. When the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were implemented, staff noticed the impact this had on children and quickly put in place structures to manage this. Children who struggled with sleeping were supported through highly planned sleeping patterns which involved one-to-one settling time with staff. Those who were anxious about accessing the community were slowly reintegrated to their favourite places. They were supported to resume independent visits to local parks and shops. As a result, children have regained their confidence and are taking charge of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and their views influence the running of the home. Staff actively explore different ways to obtain children’s views and opinions about their care. Excellent one-to-one and group discussions are held with children. Staff use creative approaches to help children talk about issues that matter. These include puberty, body changes and experiences they may have as they develop into young adults. Therefore, children confidently express their feelings, thoughts and desires. Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 4 Children attend a wide range of creative and innovative activities at home and out in the community. They have fun playing with peers and staff in the garden and the local park. Children also enjoy going away on holiday, attending clubs, going to friends’ birthday parties and sleepovers and taking part in local council meetings and activities. This has resulted in them meeting peers and making friends, and some

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

children receiving council awards for their participation and achievements.

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

Staff can identify and manage risk. Good relationships between staff and children mean that children can openly discuss their worries, concerns or emotions. As a result, children do not place themselves at risk of harm, and confide in staff when needed.

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

Children do not go missing from home. Staff follow clear missing person protocols. If children walk off from the home, staff immediately follow, support and encourage them to safely return home. Children are made aware of their local community and encouraged to access places in a planned and safe manner while maintaining contact with staff.

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

Children know the rules and boundaries of the home. Staff use therapy-guided approaches to support children to calm and self-soothe when they struggle with their feelings and emotions. The use of de-escalation techniques, and the provision of calming and reflective space for children, has resulted in a decrease in incidents. This has also empowered children to take ownership of their emotional needs. When incidents occur, reports and assessments are well documented, showing actions taken to support children. However, some of these reports lack the manager’s oversight.

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

The home environment is kept safe. Regular health and safety checks are completed. However, fire evacuation documents do not show if and how children were involved in taking part. Completed checks also lack manager’s oversight.

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

Leaders and managers do not always adhere to safer recruitment processes. Interview documents do not show the quality of the interviews leading to the decisions made to recruit staff. The electronic systems used are not easily accessible to the registered manager to ensure that all required checks are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a vision to ensure that children are cared for in a homely, friendly and well-maintained environment. They have high expectations for the children and celebrate every achievement, big or small. As a result, children are keen to accomplish positive outcomes and embrace the care they receive from the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use a range of tools to identify and measure children’s progress. Children are provided with person-centred targets to complete and are Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 5 rewarded when they accomplish set goals. These processes support managers and the team in assessing the level of progress made by the children. This in turn helps children to take charge of their progress and encourages positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel listened to, cared for and supported by leaders and the registered manager. They are supported both professionally and personally. Staff and the managers receive regular supervisions, group meetings and training where they address practice issues and identify strategies for delivering high levels of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff promote equality and diversity effectively. Well- planned creative discussions are held with children to support their understanding of how ‘everyone is equal, despite their differences’. Staff use examples such as pebbles collected by children at the beach to symbolise people’s differences, but to reinforce that they are the same. Children are challenged and taught how to be fair, kind to each other and to treat peers with respect. Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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)(a)(ii)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 1 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(a)(b)) 1 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. They must ensure that proper recruitment processes are followed when vetting potential employees. They must also ensure that records that are kept electronically can be easily accessed when required by anyone with a legitimate need to view them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1226495 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Part 2nd Floor, Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1226495 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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