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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 1 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 is one of several homes owned and operated by a large national provider. It is registered to provide care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were consulted with during this inspection and gave their views on the care they receive.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced. They were present for the whole inspection.

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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: 1240397 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/05/2021 Full Good 04/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and have positive experiences in the home. They are being provided with warm, nurturing and consistent care and have good relationships with the staff team. Children said they felt safe and happy, and trust the adults to listen and care for them. One child said they felt ‘loved’ by the team. Professionals spoken to give positive feedback about the care and progress children are making. They described the home as ‘fantastic’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have suitable education arrangements in place and, overall, they are settled and making progress. The manager has been a strong advocate for children to ensure they have suitable education arrangements. The manager has provided support and guidance to schools, and this has helped children to make progress. Some children who have been out of mainstream education are now re-engaging and their attainment has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported to move into the home in a constructive way. Thoughtful planning has helped children to settle and to start building positive relationships with each other and the staff team. One child’s time at the home has recently ended, as the home became unable to continue to ensure that the child was being kept safe. There was an increase in risk-taking and self-injurious incidents, which led to medical intervention being needed. Staff at the home showed good resilience in supporting the child and ensuring that they were provided with consistent care. The decision to end the child’s placement was made with the child’s best interests in mind and considering the impact on other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay in touch with those who are important to them. As a result, children have reconnected with family members and are being helped to build on these relationships. Staff work well with families and keep them updated about children’s progress and incidents. Children have opportunities to engage in a range of activities in the home and community. One child has been allowed to have pets and this has had a positive impact on them. Staff and children enjoy spending time together and this contributes to the family feel in the home. Children have a sense of belonging to the home and their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met, and additional support has been accessed from specialist agencies. Training and guidance have been given to staff to help them develop knowledge around children’s specific needs. This has helped staff to have better awareness of managing some difficult behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a clear voice in the home and are regularly consulted. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their own likes and interests. Children have been consulted with about the redecoration of their home. They are given options and choices in all areas of their lives, and this has helped children to feel safe and settled. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 4

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

Incidents are well managed, and staff and children are encouraged to reflect and learn from incidents. The manager’s evaluation of incidents is reflective and supports a culture of learning and development. Allegations of harm have been investigated thoroughly and shared with relevant external safeguarding professionals. Clear and detailed chronologies for all incidents and allegations mean that all information is kept together and helps the manager have good oversight.

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

There has been an increase recently in children’s self-injurious and risk-taking behaviours, which have led to additional medical support being needed. The manager has worked cohesively with a multi-disciplinary team to implement and contribute to safety planning. As a result, children have been kept safe and additional support has been put in place to prevent serious harm from occurring.

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

Risk assessments are clear, individual and detailed. They provide staff with a range of strategies for supporting children and managing difficult behaviours. They are regularly reviewed. However, it is not clear how this information is shared with the team to ensure that all staff are aware of any changes.

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

The manager has implemented new systems to improve oversight of agency workers in the home. Additional rotas and detailed inductions mean that the manager can clearly identify who is working with the children, and has ensured that casual staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs. This contributes to children being safely cared for by a consistent and knowledgeable team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong and committed leader with high expectations of the staff team. They all have aspirations for the children and strive to improve their outcomes and opportunities. The manager and the team role model nurturing and child- centred care and know and understand the children well. They have implemented a range of systems to improve management oversight. These have been used to good effect and have improved the monitoring and quality assurance of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One of the strengths of the manager is their ability to use reflective practice. This has created a culture of learning and development and has led to careful and considered care planning and risk management. The manager works well with other professionals as part of wider multi-agency teams and communicates and contributes well to meetings. Professionals spoken to were positive about the impact the manager has on the good care being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported and have regular and reflective supervision. Staff benefit from annual appraisals and are set targets designed to help their professional development. The manager provides additional individual support for the team when needed. This gives staff further opportunities to discuss and reflect on their practice Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 5 and debrief from difficult incidents. Staff say they appreciate this extra support and, as a result, staff morale is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a wide range of training courses. The manager has been proactive in accessing additional training to upskill the team in response to a child’s additional needs. The majority of staff have a relevant childcare qualification. This means children are being cared for by a team that has a good understanding of the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 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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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: 1240397 7

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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, Second Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240397 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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