Children's home run by Keys QTC Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 1 Registered provider: Keys QTC Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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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 children’s home: 2595983 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children living at the home. Children are happy and settled. One child said, ‘I love it here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, and the manager and staff team have worked hard to create a family feel to the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, which gives children a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for and have individual plans that staff understand. This supports staff to care for each child’s complex needs. Children are supported by the home’s therapist. Staff are provided with regular support and direction from the therapist. This ensures that children’s emotional and psychological needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and have made progress from their starting points. Staff work closely with the school to share information. When plans from education have not been received, the manager has been proactive in escalating this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to attend clubs, which promotes their hobbies and interests. They enjoy various day trips and have all been on holiday. This broadens children’s life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with their independence skills. Staff have supported one child to travel independently to college. Children are supported with managing money and cooking. This equips them with life skills and gives them confidence in their abilities to move to the next stage of independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff manage children’s health needs. One child has diabetes, and one child has cystic fibrosis. Staff work with specialist health services to ensure that these complex health needs are met. Staff work hard to give children a healthy and balanced diet to ensure that their health conditions are well managed.

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

Staff are committed to keeping children safe. They understand the risks for children and are clear in how they manage them. Risk assessments are detailed and there are clear strategies for staff. Risks for all the children have decreased since living at the home.

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

Children do not go missing from this home on a frequent basis. However, on one occasion, protocols were not followed when a child went missing from home. This did not lead to the child being harmed and they were quickly returned to the home. A recommendation has been made in relation to this. Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 4 Positive behaviour is promoted through rewards. Consequences are given proportionately and are restorative. Staff challenge children’s negative behaviours, such as swearing. Incentives are put in place to reduce these behaviours.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalation, which has reduced the number of physical interventions used. When physical interventions are used, they are proportionate and necessary. Incidents are evaluated in depth by the manager to identify their effectiveness. Staff and children are given the opportunity to reflect on incidents.

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

There has been one incident when a child did not receive their medication as staff failed to escalate this when the medication was not received. The incident was dealt with swiftly by the regional manager, and staff now have clear processes to follow to escalate concerns. The child was not adversely affected by this incident and a requirement has been made.

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

Children are protected by the organisation’s effective recruitment practices. Staff are suitably vetted before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. The manager and staff team are ambitious for the children and have high expectations. The children’s achievements and milestones are celebrated in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is clear about the progress children make. He knows the children well and is child centred in his decision-making. The manager and staff team advocate for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are captured well. Children all have access to an advocate and their views are sought in relation to all aspects of their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager. They benefit from regular supervision, which is purposeful and allows staff to reflect on their practice. Team meetings allow staff to come together to share information and good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals gave positive feedback in relation to the care provided to the children. The manager and staff team have built good relationships with all professionals involved in the children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes are effective. The registered manager ensures that debriefs take place following any incidents, which provides the opportunity to discuss views of behaviours displayed. Good monitoring and oversight mean that learning is taken from incidents and ensure that plans accurately reflect the children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 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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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

Paragraph (2) does not apply to medicine which—

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Requirement Due date

is stored by the child for whom it is provided in such a way that other persons are prevented from using it; and

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Requirement Due date

may be safely self-administered by that child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all practices for medication are in line with the regulation. The recording of medicines must be correct and children must have the required medication available. 17 January 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are able to identify any risks and have the skills to safeguard children. This is specifically in relation to staff following missing-from-home protocols. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10) Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 6

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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 children’s home: 2595983 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Care Limited, Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2595983 8 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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