Children's home run by Keswick Care Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 1 SC067865 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

A private organisation runs the home. The home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home.

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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: 20 September 2021

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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: SC067865 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2021 Full Good 20/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making age-related progress at this home. A fundamental reason for this is the registered manager’s ability to network with key professionals. This has enabled key professionals to better understand and support the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children are making progress in their respective academic pursuits. The registered manager ensures that children receive the necessary level of support in a timely manner. This means that children remain focused on their education and maintain good attendance levels.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported by a staff team of carers. Carers nurture children to become confident in developing important life skills. Examples include children being able to safely manage their time in the community and having driving lessons. Children have achieved these milestones due to their increased ability to manage age-appropriate risks. In doing so, their opportunities in life have become broader.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers work hard to establish trusting relationships with children. Children enjoy spending time with their carers and share memorable experiences with them. Carers create memory books for children which vividly tell a story of the child’s lived experience at the home. This enables children to look back on cherished memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s placement plans are child-focused and personalised. Carers write children’s placement plans using clear language that sensitively explains the child’s circumstances. However, one child’s placement plan was outdated and did not reflect the child’s current situation. This has diminished the carer’s ability to offer consistent support for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers hold a variety of discussions with children. Conversations range between personal topics pertinent to that child and general current affairs. Carers record key conversations on the child’s file. This practice illustrates that carers are carrying out their responsibilities akin to any good parent. It also provides the opportunity for children to recount powerful messages that carers have conveyed to them.

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

The registered manager ensures that carers establish an understanding of children’s activities and networks in the community. Carers are responsive when they are concerned about the child’s welfare and take immediate action. Additionally, the registered manager works closely with children’s families to effectively gauge and manage risk.

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

Children’s risk assessments are current and frequently reviewed by the registered manager. However, some risk assessments lack clarity due to ambiguous and Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 4 contradictory language. This has the potential to impact the carer’s ability to effectively manage risk.

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

Carers do not consistently support children to maintain a clean, safe and comfortable bedroom. In one instance, a child burned part of an electric fan unbeknown to their carers. The inspector noted and reported the damage to the registered manager. Worryingly, neither the registered manager nor the team leader had knowledge of the incident. The lack of management and carer vigilance in this instance was out of sync with the wider inspection findings. The registered manager took immediate steps to address this shortfall.

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

Children’s bedroom doors have fitted alarms to alert carers when children exit their bedrooms. The registered manager could not provide a rationale for this level of monitoring. Furthermore, this significant area of practice is not highlighted in the home’s statement of purpose. Carers monitoring children’s movements to this degree in the home is disproportionate in the absence of a recognised risk factor.

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

The home uses a consequence system to address undesirable behaviour in children. Carers mainly impose restorative consequences, which enable children to reflect and learn. However, regarding one child, imposing monetary consequences has been ineffective. Although the registered manager has noted this in her oversight, there has been no active attempt to explore and implement other alternatives.

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

The registered manager has established good working relationships with safeguarding agencies. The registered manager has instigated professionals from the fire department and the police to undertake direct work with the children in the home. This has increased children’s understanding of personal safety and better enables them to take measured risks in line with their age and understanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced in the role. She has clearly identified strengths and areas for development for the home, her team and the children. She has an action plan in place and is using this to drive forward improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been various changes in the team of carers. Consequently, the number of qualified carers in the team has reduced. Although the team offers children a varied amount of experience and skills, only one carer is qualified for their role. Although the organisation has plans to address this vulnerability, limited experience in the team has affected the continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has various inaccuracies throughout the document. The inaccuracies include the presentation of the home, the independent visitor’s identity and failing to note key areas of practice. Therefore, the current statement of purpose is not an accurate reflection of the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 5 The registered manager understands the benefit of completing a six-monthly review report on the quality of care. The registered manager effectively uses this process to appraise areas of strength and areas that require development. However, the registered manager has not submitted the most recent report to the regulator. This reduces the regulator’s ability to monitor the care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation has a thorough safer recruitment process. The organisation makes it compulsory that carers register with the Disclosure and Barring Update Service before starting their role. Additionally, the organisation pursues verification of all prospective employees’ references. These efforts keep children safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When carers have acquired employment elsewhere, the organisation is keen to learn the carers’ reasons for doing so. The organisation undertakes exit interviews with the aim of learning whether they can improve the retention of carers. These efforts are more likely to provide continuity of care for children in the long term. Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to carers supporting children to maintain a safe, clean and comfortable bedroom. Additionally, the manager must ensure that children’s placement plans reflect the child’s current situation. 28 October 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 28 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 7 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d)) 28 October 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review. The home’s statement of purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in its care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should send the review of the quality of care report to Ofsted and the placing local authority of all children in the home who are looked after. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3) Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 8

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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: SC067865 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

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC067865 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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