Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 1 SC474041 Registered provider: Keys NHCC Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for two children aged between eight and 17 years who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified.

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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: SC474041 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/04/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good 14/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home. One child transitioned into supported lodgings, and the other moved to a specialist home where their specific needs could be better met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff effectively support children who move into and out of the home. The staff team shows good levels of resilience when responding to and managing the challenging and complex needs of children who have struggled during the planned moves out of the home. Professionals have witnessed and commented on the strength of the team and its dedication in supporting the children unconditionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is registered for two children, but the provider has agreed to operate it as a solo home. This is enabling staff to focus on the needs of the child and individualise their care accordingly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work together to promote children’s safety, care and progress. This is evident in the child’s progression in their presentation, relationship-building, school attendance and the reduction in their enuresis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote the importance of family and friends. They develop close working relationships with the children’s families through their promotion and accommodation of family time, as well as their regular communication. One child’s parent spoke highly about the registered manager and staff team, who keep them well informed. The parent is happy with the level of care and support his child is being offered at the home and praised staff’s consistent approach, which has allowed his child to settle well and build positive relationships in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work together to respond to the changing needs of children and discuss ways in which they can support them. For the current child, and with previous children, this has included partnership working with others, such as the home’s therapist, schools, the youth offending service and allocated social workers. Working together in this way has been beneficial to the children, who have received a consistent approach from those involved in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage children to attend and progress at school. When a child is not in full-time education, they work with them to increase their attendance to full time. The staff work closely with teachers to identify manageable objectives that encourage and enable each child to make positive decisions around their education and attendance. This supports the children to enjoy and achieve. One child who has since moved out of the home exceeded the grades predicted in their GCSE exams. These improved outcomes provide greater opportunities for further education and employment in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 4 Staff actively listen to and record conversations held with the children in relation to their wishes and feelings, and they explore relevant topics connected to their care. However, the innovative and creative approach described by staff when planning and undertaking these sessions is not reflected in the records. As a result, this does

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

not support managers to evaluate the progress the children are making or ensure the children have an accurate record of their time living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take pride in creating a warm and welcoming environment, and they quickly replace items that get damaged, to maintain a good standard. There are minor aspects of the home’s environment that do not meet the homely feel aspired to by the staff team. Cigarette butts have not been tidied up in the back garden. Additionally, the garden to the rear of the house does not have a gate. Storage is also challenging, and the registered manager and responsible individual are currently looking to utilise the garage to increase space.

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

Staff always promote the children’s well-being. They attend regular mandatory training that ensures that they know the procedures to follow if a child is at risk of harm or being exploited. They work closely with partnership agencies, such as the police and the youth offending service. The registered manager confidently liaises with partner agencies and, when necessary, she is not afraid to give challenge to achieve appropriate change or access services for a child.

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

Children learn skills to keep themselves safe. Staff use the home’s chosen model of parenting to develop the children’s emotional stability and coping strategies. The use of physical interventions is rare, with only one incident since the last inspection. The number of negative consequences used is also low, with staff using discussion to help children think about their actions and develop coping strategies for the future. When a child goes missing from the home, staff respond promptly and take the steps necessary to ensure the child returns home safely.

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

The child currently living at the home has not gone missing from care. Physical intervention is not used, and the number of incidents is reducing month-on-month. The registered manager has completed some good analytical evaluations of these events, reflecting on the child’s continuing and changing patterns of behaviour and other contributory factors. These include anxiety regarding school, their new work experience placement and finding their place in the changing pupil dynamics in the school. Proactive actions have been taken in response to their behaviours. For example, because of their dangerous behaviour when in the car, the child is escorted by two staff and has to sit in the rear of the car when travelling with staff. This has given the child time to think about their actions while still being able to access education and leisure activities.

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

Procedures to manage a child’s enuresis and associated behaviours are in place, but they are not robust enough to ensure effective infection control. For example, specialist products to neutralise odours when cleaning floors are not available for staff to use. Procedures for sterilising and disposing of mop heads are not in place. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 5 The registered manager took immediate steps to address some of the inspectors’ observations during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager continues to develop the service. She invites and welcomes feedback through internal and external quality assurance processes. She uses this feedback to inform the home’s development plan, which clearly evidences areas for development and the progress that has been made. Since the last inspection, an extension to the home has been completed, and the home’s registration with Ofsted has been changed to enable them to provide care and accommodation for two children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and well-qualified management team. The registered manager, deputy and senior managers continue to expand their learning through professional development schemes run by the provider. For example, the registered manager is completing a future leadership course, the deputy has been enrolled on an emerging leader’s course and the senior manager is attending an aspiring leader’s course. This continues to develop and enhance practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager effectively supports and develops the staff team through regular training, team meetings, supervisions and appraisals. She ensures staff have the knowledge to meet the children’s specific needs by providing additional reading and training on topics such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. All staff have attended an online safety course, but this did not cover online gaming. The registered manager is currently sourcing training to meet this need, as well as training on enuresis and associated behaviours. This will enhance the staff team’s understanding and inform the strategies it uses to ensure the well-being and safety of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff team are also supported to develop their practice and understanding of the children’s needs by a clinician attached to the home. The company is in the process of introducing a new clinical model. All staff have attended an introduction day and are scheduled to attend a further two-day training course. The registered manager is proactively considering how she might adjust and develop staff practice using this model to improve outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Risk assessments are in place and include a running record of incidents that relate to the risk. However, the registered manager is not ensuring that these incidents are evaluated and used to update the risk assessment to inform staff practice in the future. Despite this, the child currently living at the home is making good progress, and there has been a reduction in risk-taking behaviours Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to staff following clear infection control procedures for managing enuresis and associated behaviours. 24 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their child. This specifically relates to: fitting a gate to secure the garden ensuring appropriate storage space for a child’s clothes and belongings ensuring there is adequate storage space in the home ensuring cigarette butts are tidied up. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and they should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This specifically relates to providing training on enuresis and associated behaviours and online gaming. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to

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Recommendations

communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. This specifically relates to staff recording Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 7 creative conversations and direct work with children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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 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: SC474041 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Second Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspectors

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Stacie Sharpe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC474041 9 inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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