Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 1 SC450994 Registered provider: Keys Direct Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children with complex needs. The children may have had traumatic experiences that have left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in March 2022. There is a new manager in post who has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: SC450994 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2021 Full Good 27/11/2019 Full Good 13/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/08/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection. The home is settled. Children have daily routines which suit them well. Children enjoy their lives and are making good progress in their steps towards adulthood and independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children regularly attend school. This has been a positive change from previous experiences, including school exclusions. Children are working towards or have recently gained qualifications and are looking forward to starting college placements. The manager and staff have actively worked with schools to help children to develop positive behaviours. The manager and staff share their skills and learning with education staff. For one child, this work prevented the breakdown of a school placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff reinforce the importance of a healthy lifestyle to children. Staff encourage them to learn about healthy eating, regular exercise and engaging with health professionals. When children take part in and enjoy regular and active exercise, this is celebrated and embraced by staff. Staff encourage this positive behaviour and discuss its benefits with other children as a good example.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are anxious about attending appointments or engaging with specialist health professionals are given reassurance and guidance by staff. Local authority professionals said that the manager and staff have been instrumental in advocating the benefits of engaging with professionals to children. This work resulted in some children receiving specialist support for the very first time, including for two children to successfully stop smoking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children lead active lifestyles, including being members of community clubs and teams such as Army Cadets and cheerleading squads. Children have taken part in national competitions and residential events as part of this, bringing enjoyment and building confidence. Children have been able to make friends at school and at their clubs. Staff welcome this and provide opportunities for children to meet regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their families are treated with dignity and respect. Children’s family and friends connections are embraced by staff, who work closely with them. The manager is determined that children’s life journeys are captured with photos and reflections. Children who have limited recollection of their early childhood and identity are supported by staff to explore these. Therapeutically trained and qualified staff provide specialist oversight of this work and understand the potential impact on children of previous trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move to the home have previously experienced multiple placement breakdowns. Since moving to the home, they have remained settled. Placement breakdowns at the home are rare, and children move on at natural stages in their Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 4 development. Staff work closely with children and their social workers to prepare and plan for these moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house has recently benefited from extensive refurbishments of the kitchen and lounge areas. Children’s room are personalised, and they enjoy planning for their redesign and decoration. However, improvements are needed to ensure that the garden and outdoor spaces are regularly maintained and remain litter-free.

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

Children said that they feel safe. Staff undertake extensive training in safeguarding and understanding the risks to children who have previously been exposed to criminal or sexual exploitation. Staff understand the risks associated with gang culture and are vigilant to the signs of this. Staff know how to raise concerns.

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

The new manager uses a recognised therapeutic model as a cornerstone of the home’s approach to encourage positive behaviour. They see this as essential in reducing physical interventions and negative incidents. External specialists have given very positive feedback about this work and the impact it has had on preventing a placement breakdown. Staff said that the manager’s influence has been an important change in helping to restore positive relationships between one child and the staff.

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

Risk assessments are regularly updated to reflect any change in children’s needs and to keep pace with children’s success and steps towards independence. Children and staff work closely together, building trust for further independence in key-working sessions, setting out expectations and developing their sense of safety.

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

Children engage in restorative work when they make mistakes. Children who find this difficult to do are shown patience and understanding by staff. Staff know that previous adverse experiences can lead to a feeling of failure for children, and understand the importance of taking this into account when putting things right.

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

Care plans clearly identify the importance of boundaries and expectations for children to follow. However, improvements are needed to ensure that staff are consistent when using consequences for behaviour. Staff have not always considered proportionality when applying time frames to consequences. When children have positively changed their behaviours, meaning that the consequence ended early, this has not always been recorded. Therefore, the effectiveness of the measure could not be accurately reviewed.

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

There are very few incidents of children going missing from the home. Suitable plans and strategies are in place should an incident occur. Staff respond quickly to these incidents and use learning from them to reassess risk and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the home and has applied to register with Ofsted. They had a comprehensive handover from the previous manager and feel well supported by the provider. The manager has quickly established positive working relationships with professionals from local authorities and education provisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well led, enthusiastic and flexible. They enjoy working as part of a supportive and motivated team. Staff are willing to learn and be challenged to improve their practice to provide the best support they can. They value learning new skills and seeing children make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the home is settled, the staff are ambitious for children to have high- quality care and support. Since starting in post, the manager has completed a review of the support provided to identify priorities for improvement. The manager works closely with the provider’s regional manager and established managers at the provider’s other homes for support and consistency in approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented the provider’s preferred therapeutic model of care. Staff say that this has led to improvements for children and staff. Staff have gained confidence in the additional skills that they have learned from combined training in autism spectrum disorders and therapeutic support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values the views of children and seeks to understand the impact that the care has on them. The manager has quickly established new forums to gain their input, including meetings and questionnaires that also include the views of children’s families. Staff have regular opportunities to share their views or ask for support, which they say gives them confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a good induction and receive very comprehensive supervision sessions with the manager. These in-depth sessions challenge staff to think creatively about the impact that their daily work has on children. Staff explore with the manager how their practice affected a situation and what they may do differently in future. The provider has an extensive training programme in place for staff to access. However, one member of staff has not achieved a relevant level 3 diploma within two years of starting work in a care role. Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff use behavioural consequences consistently and in line with each child’s support plan. Staff should take action to review the effectiveness of consequences, ensuring that they are proportionate and reviewed within the required timescales. 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 7 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1 April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1 April 2014, 1 April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 31 October 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is well maintained. In particular, they should ensure that the garden area is well maintained and is free from litter. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC450994 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Direct Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Jamie Cousins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC450994 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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