Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Halton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 1 SC487488 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 9 December 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2021 Full Good 26/02/2020 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good 08/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child and staff have positive relationships. Staff provide the child with individualised care that meets her assessed needs. The child benefits from suitable daily routines, structure and consistent boundaries.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s admission to the home was well planned. The manager and staff took the time to find out the child’s likes and dislikes before she moved in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and monitor the child’s health needs, ensuring that the child receives safe and effective advice, support and treatment. As a result, the child is developing a healthier lifestyle and there has been an improvement in their physical health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before the child moved into the home, the manager ensured that all staff completed additional training with specialist healthcare professionals relating to her specific health condition. To support the child’s needs at night, the staff have started to use a baby monitor. However, the manager has failed to implement guidance in the child’s plans around the expectations of how staff will use this additional form of surveillance and monitoring.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported to spend time with family members and maintain relationships with those closest to her. When there are difficulties in the child seeing those who are important to her, the manager and staff make every effort to resolve these issues to support her.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys activities in the home and in the local community. The staff have encouraged the child to attend youth groups and gymnastics and dance lessons to support her in establishing friendships and developing social skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported to attend school. Staff understand the potential barriers to learning and support the child’s education by liaising with the placing authority and education staff to ensure that the correct educational resources are in place. Examples of this include arranging for a tutor to visit the home when the child was not confident going into school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views and wishes are taken into consideration and there is evidence of regular consultation and promoting access to advocacy. This support has enabled the child to settle into the home. She now refers to the house as her ‘home’ and has personalised her bedroom and living space.

p.3

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

Staff help the child to understand risk and how to stay safe and encourage alternative coping strategies when she is struggling with her emotional health. There Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 4 is a clear system of recording one-to-one sessions with the child to explore strategies that have previously been effective, and supporting the child to link her thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

p.3

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

There is evidence of multi-agency working by the manager to safeguard the child. However, the manager has not always ensured that Ofsted has been notified of significant incidents, in line with regulation.

p.4

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

Staff work hard to safeguard the child. However, not all plans in place are kept up to date, ensuring that they contain all relevant information. For example, the child’s medical condition was not included in their missing-from-home protocol or risk assessment. Also, following some incidents, the manager has failed to add details to plans of places the child may go to if she was to go missing from home, such as a local motorway bridge. This lack of information could impact on staff practice and their responses in the event of an incident.

p.4

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

Physical intervention has been used on a number of occasions to help keep the child safe. Records demonstrate that all physical intervention has been appropriate and proportionate. The recording of incidents is detailed and both the child and staff have been given opportunities for debriefs to discuss the measures. The manager’s oversight of these records is both detailed and reflective, with evidence of support and collaboration with external professionals to reduce future incidents.

p.4

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

There is evidence of positive consequences and appropriate use of praise for the child, and the staff have noted she responds well to this. Consequences are rarely used, but when they are used are necessary and proportionate.

p.4

good

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted. He has experience of the home and understands its ethos, having previously been the deputy manager.

p.4

good

Staff said the manager was supportive and demonstrates good leadership skills. This helps staff understand their roles. All staff have completed mandatory training and have also completed care-plan training specific to the child currently living in the home.

p.4

good

Monitoring and oversight are not yet robust. For example, at handover, medication should be checked by staff. However, records show that these checks are not always being completed. The manager has failed to identify this in his monitoring.

p.4

good

The child’s plans provide a detailed picture of her views, experiences, achievements and ability. Staff help the child to reflect on the progress made in the short time she has lived in the home, and her aspirations for the future. However, plans are not always updated to reflect changes, for example the recent changes to the child’s education. Plans are not always signed and dated by the person who has written them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 5 Team meetings are not consistently held. When they do take place, records of these meetings fail to show that staff have had the opportunity to reflect on practice and incidents collectively and discuss alternative behaviour strategies that may have been effective for colleagues. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to develop the practice of the staff team.

p.4

good

Not all staff have had a yearly appraisal to reflect on their practice, performance and development. Not all supervision records were available during inspection and records viewed were variable in quality and did not show that staff were supported to reflect on their practice with the child.

p.5

good

Staff duty rotas do not always accurately detail the actual hours when staff are on duty or contain the full names of staff covering absences or sickness. The manager accepted these shortfalls and acknowledged that the lack of transparency around who is on duty places children at risk and compromises the continuity of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that children’s plans give clear guidance to staff on expectations for the use of monitoring equipment, specifically, the baby monitor.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Children’s plans must contain details of any health diagnosis that may impact on their level of risk when missing from home. Plans must contain up-to-date information on incidents of risk-taking behaviour and give clear detail of places where they have been known to put themselves at risk, to support staff in the event of a missing-from-home incident. 26 February 2023

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 26 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 7 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that regular team meetings take place and minutes are recorded and detailed, evidencing reflective discussions around practice and incidents to support learning.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure robust monitoring and oversight of records. This specifically relates to shortfalls not identified in the handover and counting of medication by the staff team on a day-to-day basis.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1) (4)(b)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all staff receive regular supervisions and records of supervisions are available to be viewed. Also, that all staff receive a yearly appraisal. 26 February 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

p.7

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that children’s plans contain all relevant up-to-date information, reflecting changes such as education attendance and participation. The manager must ensure that all records give details of the author. 26 February 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. 26 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 8 The registered person must—

p.7

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

p.8

Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that the full names and working hours of all staff who work in the home are recorded on the rota.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 26 February 2023

p.8

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: SC487488 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC487488 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10