Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 1 SC423407 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to eight children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 October 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

There were eight children living in the home at the time of the 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: SC423407 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2021 Full Good 13/02/2020 Full Outstanding 17/10/2018 Full Good 17/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress because of living in this home. The home environment is settled. Children experience stability and increased safety. Most children live in the home for a long time. When they move on, this is in keeping with their care plan, such as a move to semi-independent living or reunification with their family. One professional said, ‘The outcome for [name of child] is amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of children’s care plans has improved. They are informative and include the actions from the children’s looked after review meetings. Children receive structured, well-organised care, which promotes their individual needs. Day-to-day care is personalised, and children have appropriate routines and activities that they enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make significant progress in education, and they are on target to achieve qualifications. Some children have returned to education after long periods of absence. Other children have progressed from alternative education to mainstream settings. Staff support the children to value their education, for example by helping them to attend additional tutoring lessons. Communication between the children’s schools and the staff is good. This ensures that any concerns about the children’s learning are addressed promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well to spend time with the people who are important to them so that their relationships improve. Irrespective of the distance, staff support the children well on family visits. When necessary, staff stay with the children to ensure that they are safe. Staff also help to plan for the children to have sleepovers and to visit their families on special occasions. Children’s families also visit the home, where appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive regular advice which helps them to develop self-confidence and skills for later life. This varies from learning to how to carry out household chores, such as tiding their bedroom and doing laundry, to going out alone in the community. One child spoke positively about learning how to cook, shop for food and manage money. This helps the children to develop essential skills for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong, enduring relationships with the staff. These lasting relationships enable the children to remain in contact with the staff and return to the home for visits after they have moved on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good routines and are encouraged to be active and healthy. The staff support the children to attend medical appointments and understand their health needs. Children enjoy home-cooked meals together at the large dining table, which creates a space where they socialise and discuss their day. Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 4 The property has large rooms with high ceilings. The manager endeavours to make the environment homely and personalised for each child. The refurbished kitchen and redecorated living room provide the children with comfortable spaces to spend time together with the staff. While the manager monitors the home conditions, some repairs are not dealt with in a timely manner, and the cleanliness of one bathroom was poor. The manager took action to address this during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint and are regularly asked for their views. An independent advocate visits the home regularly and when requested. When allegations or complaints are been made about the staff, the manager carries out an investigation that consistently involves the relevant professionals. However, in relation to one complaint, the child was not kept informed of the actions taken. This led to the child being unsure about how their complaint had been managed.

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

Risks to children significantly reduce because of living in the home. Through regular child-friendly workshops, the children learn about issues which may affect them and cause them harm, such as exploitation, drugs and alcohol. The staff encourage the children to have open conversations about these dangers and the risks of abuse. This helps the children to be safer and have a greater understanding of how to protect themselves.

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

When children are missing from home, the manager and staff respond quickly and take effective action. The staff look for the child and share information with other agencies. One professional said:

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

‘The difference with [name of home] is that the staff follow the protocol and go knocking on doors. They do everything and provide meaningful information to help in the search.’

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

The actions taken by the staff help the children to be found as soon as possible, which reduces the risk of harm.

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

Staff use the children’s individual risk assessments to identify their risks. The staff follow the agreed strategies in these assessments to reduce the risks for the children. These assessments are reviewed on a regular basis and reflect most of the children’s vulnerabilities and needs. However, in two examples, there were minor errors, and some information was not included.

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

Restrictions on the children’s use of mobile phones are used to safeguard children. These restrictions are agreed with the child’s placing local authority and, where appropriate, the child’s parents. The staff are alert to the signs that the children may be at risk of harm. They carry out regular checks of the children’s mobile phones, particularly when they are curious or worried that a child may be at risk. However, the frequency of these checks and findings is not well documented in the children’s records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 5 Children are settled and supported to manage their emotions and behaviour well. The staff use de-escalation techniques, incentives and encouragement to help the children to behave well. Occasionally, consequences are used in response to poor behaviour. However, there is no clear guidance to show the staff when or how they should use a consequence. When they are used, some are not recorded well. This

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

means that the children do not receive a consistent response from the staff. This also affects the manager’s ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the consequences used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent and stable management team. The manager is committed and has led the home for several years. She provides nurturing care to the children and has good relationships with them. The manager invests time in improving these relationships, which results in the children speaking highly of her. Some children identify her as a significant person in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing pressures have led to the manager exploring alternative ways of recruiting new staff, such as via a recruitment agency. Safer recruitment checks are carried out. Temporary staff are appointed and receive a good induction and support. The manager uses their temporary employment to consider their suitability for permanent roles. This has helped to manage staff vacancies and appoint suitable staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff team meetings are well attended, and discussions reflect most issues that affect the home, staff and the children. The manager responds well to issues which are brought to her attention and takes appropriate action. For example, she reminds staff of their roles and responsibilities, the ethos of the home and the necessity to use appropriate language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say that they feel well supported by the management team. They say that the manager is a good leader who motivates them to deliver good care to the children. Staff receive regular management advice and practice-related supervision sessions. However, the records of these sessions do not show that staff reflect on their practice or the individual needs of the children assigned to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager advocates well for the children. She challenges other professionals and services to ensure that they respond to the children’s needs. Professionals speak positively about the quality of communication from the staff. Weekly reports are sent to children’s social workers and, where appropriate, the children’s family. One professional described the home as ‘brilliant’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records showing children’s moves into and out of the home and other documents are not easily accessible. This is due to the poor-quality internet connection for the information technology system in the home. Although all necessary required evidence was provided, the system affected the manager’s access to children’s records and the home’s information. Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner—

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Requirement Due date

children’s case records (see regulation 36);

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Requirement Due date

other records (see regulation 37). (Regulation 38 (i)(j)) 1 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home meets the children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the bathrooms are clean and repairs are addressed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.17)  The registered person should ensure that the children see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are kept informed of the progress of the investigation and outcome of any complaints they make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are fair and subject to regular scrutiny. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the staff understand when and how to use a

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Recommendations

consequence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision sessions allow them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 7

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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: SC423407 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Pinsent Masons LLP, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspectors

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC423407 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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