Children's home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 1 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care and Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have learning disabilities. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 9 June 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: 18 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: 1247491 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2022 Full Good 30/07/2019 Full Good 29/11/2018 Full Good 14/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 3

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improvement to be good

Three children live in the home. The staff build good relationships with the children. One parent said that the staff are ‘amazing’.

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improvement to be good

The children are attending school regularly. There is good communication between the staff and education providers. This is supporting the children’s educational outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical health. Since moving into the home, one child is now in a good sleep routine and engaging in physical activities. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and attend all their health appointments.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to engage in activities in the community. The children enjoy trampolining, roller-skating and going to the park. One child went on holiday in the summer, which was a great achievement. This is helping the children to develop their confidence and social skills.

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improvement to be good

Individual sessions are carried out with children on different issues, including significant incidents. Social stories have been used to help the children understand what is being discussed. However, the records do not always include the children’s views, their understanding of the topics and how the sessions help them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to see their family, and family members are welcome to visit the home. The staff maintain regular communication with parents. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to develop some daily life skills. However, the children need to be better supported to become more independent at home, in the community and on transport. This will help them to grow in confidence and prepare for adult life.

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improvement to be good

When children come to live at the home, matching is carefully considered. Children have a well-planned move into the home and are welcomed sensitively. This has helped them to settle on their arrival.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to an independent advocate. This helped one child to make a complaint about their plans to their placing authority. Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 4

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improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Staff members spoken to during the inspection were clear on what action they would take should a child go missing.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and care plans indicate the levels of supervision for each child, although it is unclear for one child when out in the community. Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are updated following significant incidents. However, not all assessments and plans have been signed by staff as being read and understood. This means that staff do not always have a shared understanding of how to implement the plans and keep a child safe.

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improvement to be good

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviours and feelings safely. De-escalation techniques are effective and physical intervention has not been used. The incident records are detailed and debriefs take place with the staff and children.

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improvement to be good

Medicines are stored correctly. A recent issue with the administration of some medication could have placed a child at risk of serious harm. Following the incident, the manager put strategies in place to prevent this happening again.

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good

The manager is new to the home. She is suitably qualified and has applied to Ofsted for registration.

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good

There have been several staff changes since the last inspection and there remain vacancies. Staff work hard to cover the gaps in the rotas. However, staff from other homes and agency workers have been used to cover the shortfalls, which does not ensure that children receive continuity of care.

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good

Effective monitoring and review systems are not yet in place for all children. This means that the manager and staff cannot always identify and act on shortfalls to improve the quality of care that all children receive.

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good

Managers do not always effectively challenge placing authorities in a timely way on matters that are impacting on a child’s well-being. Specifically, one child’s freedom was limited by managers and staff for several months with no legal framework in place.

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good

Safer recruitment is followed and new staff coming into the home receive an appropriate induction.

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good

Managers and staff receive training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have completed training in learning disabilities, Makaton and sensory integration. Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 5 Managers and staff would benefit from attending specific training in respect of deprivation of liberty. This would help to improve their knowledge and understanding of what this means for a person and those caring for them.

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good

Staff say that they feel well supported by the managers. However, staff are not always receiving regular supervision and some appraisals are outstanding. This means that managers do not have a clear oversight of all staff’s strengths and areas for development. Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that all children are supported to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. The registered person needs to ensure that this is detailed within the records of all children. 9 February 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 7 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person needing to have robust systems in place to monitor and review all the children’s assessments and plans and their progress in accordance with their relevant plans. 9 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 19 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 8 that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1) (2)(b)(ii)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that all significant issues about a child’s care are escalated to the local authority in a timely and effective way. Specifically, a person’s liberty cannot be restricted without authorisation from a supervisory body and/or a court order.

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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

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that children receive the medication that is prescribed to them in accordance with the dosage instructions. 19 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that all staff members receive regular supervision as this helps to safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 66, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 66, paragraph 13.5)

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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 Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 9 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: 1247491 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education 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

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1247491 11 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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