Children's Home run by Keswick Care Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 1 Registered provider: Keswick Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides medium- to long-term care to up to four children. There are currently three children at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 12 May 2022.

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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: 25 January 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2022 Full Good 09/10/2019 Full Good 23/04/2018 Full Good 06/06/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 3

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improvement to be good

The staff team is stable and works well together to provide consistent care to children. Staff work one to one with children, and this helps build positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported one child with a move on from the home. Good communication with the child’s new home helped staff to support a child-focused move. A personalised memory book for the child captured key experiences of their time at the home. A positive ending for the child was promoted and celebrated. This helped the child to maintain positive relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

The child wrote to staff and said, ‘You helped me through one of the hardest things in my life and I’ll never be able to thank you enough. You guided me in the right direction in life and I will be forever grateful.’

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improvement to be good

Staff promote children’s education and children make progress. When a school place has not been identified, the manager is proactive in seeking appropriate education provision. Children are included in making decisions about their education. This has supported children to engage well.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to improve their health through regular check-ups and reviews. Key work is undertaken with children around specific subjects such as puberty, sexual health and the risks of smoking. Staff have a consistent approach which can help to educate children, for example around the risks of smoking.

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improvement to be good

The staff and children have access to specialist advice and support through the in- house psychotherapist. These discussions enable staff to reflect on their practice and gain further insight into children’s needs. This advice is incorporated into children’s plans so that staff respond consistently.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with those people that are important to them. This enables parents to feel included in their child’s care and promotes positive relationships. One parent said she was happy with the care provided at the home and that she has a good working relationship with the child’s key workers.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not always considered the impact of group living on all of the children. Risks to children from others are not always considered sufficiently prior to children moving into the home. This increases the risk of potential harm to children and can impact on placement stability. Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 4 Children know how to make a complaint. Staff know how to whistle-blow and understand their responsibility in keeping children safe. When concerns have been raised regarding staff practice, significant delay in the manager’s response resulted in investigations being delayed. This could result in children being placed at harm.

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improvement to be good

Not all known risks for children are reflected in their risk assessment. Information has not always been shared with professionals to ensure sufficient safeguards. This has led to some risks remaining unassessed. This exposes children to increased risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff use restraint when there is risk of harm to children and others. However, post- incident debriefs with children have not always occurred within the required timescales. The manager’s oversight was limited in relation to ensuring the appropriateness of timescales and the person conducting them.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home episodes are low. When children do go missing, the staff respond promptly and in line with policies and procedures. There is a clear record of action taken by staff. Staff make attempts to locate children before reporting them missing from home. Children are offered, and engage in, return interviews. This contributes to reducing the risks to children who go missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to develop independence skills in line with their age and ability. Staff support children with independent travel. They remain in regular contact when children are not in the home. When required, staff transport children to meet their friends and spend time in the community. This helps keep children safe and shows them that staff are committed to helping them.

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good

The manager consults with children and professionals regularly. However, their feedback does not always contribute to the manager’s review of the quality of care, as required within the Children’s Home Regulations. This reduces the manager’s ability to show how feedback influences practice at the home.

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good

The manager does not have a detailed understanding of how to respond to complaints and/or allegations. This led to some complaints being processed as allegations unnecessarily. This lack of clarity does not ensure staff are appropriately supported and can lead to poor decisions.

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good

Staff at the home feel well supported by colleagues and the manager. Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly. These provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and share their views. Managers also share information which supports staff practice.

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good

Children’s case records are updated and have management oversight. Key-work sessions capture the detailed work completed in line with children’s plans and risk Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 5 assessments. This ensures that children have a record of their time at the home and avoids duplication.

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good

The home’s maintenance plan enables the manager to identify and monitor repairs in the home. However, this is not up to date and does not show robust management oversight. Some repairs are not on the maintenance plan and some timescales have not been reviewed. This can lead to drift and does not support children to feel valued in their home environment.

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good

Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment practice. The interview and induction programme ensures that staff are recruited, trained and supported to work at the home. It also ensures that staff are suitable to care for children and meet their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 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, the 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

The impact risk assessment, completed to evaluate whether children are suitable to live together, should consider all 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 7 children in the home and the potential impact they may have on one another.

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Requirement Due date

When considering if children are suitable to live together, the management oversight should accurately reflect the information within the risk assessment.

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Requirement Due date

There is a proactive approach to risk management by the registered provider. Safeguarding concerns about a child should be taken seriously, shared appropriately with partner agencies, clearly recorded in the child’s risk assessments, and measures put in place to effectively safeguard.

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Requirement Due date

Concerns raised about a staff member’s conduct should be addressed quickly and proactively to prevent delay.

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Requirement Due date

When responding to complaints and allegations, the registered provider should be clear on the difference and follow the process in line with their policies and procedures.

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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)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 16 September Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 8 any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all consultation with children is considered as part of the review of the quality of care.

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure there is a clear plan in place and it is reviewed in order to monitor the completion of any repairs and redecoration. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: 1183197 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keswick Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 17 Cedars Business Centre, Barnsley Road, Hemsworth, Pontefract WF9 4PU

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Inspector

Sadie Mulkeen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1183197 10 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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