Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 1 SC363403 Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A national children’s home provider privately owns this children’s home. The home cares for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 2011.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 November 2021

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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: SC363403 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/11/2021 Full Good 22/01/2020 Full Good 15/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, three children have successfully moved on. One child said, ‘I absolutely loved living there because of the relationships with staff and the other girls.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are well planned. Staff prepare children already living in the home before new children move in. Staff invite new children to visit prior to moving in. This enables them to meet staff and other children. Alongside this, the manager spends time with people who are important to the child moving in to gather information about them. The manager uses this information to ensure that children living together have common interests, and that staff have the correct skills and experiences to support the child. Staff stay in contact with children who have moved out. This practice means children who move on continue to have a safe support network and feel cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of building relationships with children. They understand that positive attachments are a protective factor for children. Staff prioritise spending time with children. They praise children, and organise activities that they know children will enjoy. Staff display photos of children’s experiences around the home. Children feel a sense of belonging in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging well in education. One child has recently been accepted into a construction college. One child found it difficult to attend school. As a result, the manager worked closely with school to offer the child a bespoke education package, which they now fully engage in. Additionally, the manager purchased an online course in psychology for the child, which they successfully completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children numerous opportunities to express their views and opinions. Regular house meetings help children to talk about what it’s like living together and plan activities. One child wanted improvements in the garden area, and so they created a garden design and presented this to the staff and other children. As a result, the manager has agreed the funding to implement the design. Staff meet with children individually to discuss how they are feeling and explore whether they have any worries. This helps children feel heard, valued and well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children participate in a range of exciting activities. Children have been to theme parks, water parks and go-karting. Staff actively promote children’s individual hobbies and interests. For example, one child attends cheerleading and street dance clubs. Another child attends a gymnastics club. Staff help children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health. They make appointments and referrals to specialist services to make sure children’s health needs are met. Staff help children to make Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 4 healthy choices to improve their well-being. As a result of the support provided by staff, one child who smoked from a young age has stopped smoking.

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

Children feel safe living at the home. One child said, ‘It’s good living here. The staff were with me at the worst time, and they stayed with me overnight. I feel safe living here.’ Staff understand each child’s vulnerabilities and how to support them. This is because children’s plans are well written and provide staff with clear strategies to keep children safe.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour plans are comprehensive. Staff are skilled at identifying, assessing and reducing risk. One child’s risk of sexual exploitation has reduced significantly since living at the home. Staff are consistent and curious about who the child is in contact with. They share information with relevant professionals. One social worker said, ‘Communication and partnership working is absolutely great. We are always in contact with each other, and staff share concerns quickly.’ Children are safeguarded because of the staff’s approach to help and protection.

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

Experienced staff support children who self-harm or have thoughts of suicide ideation well. Staff take immediate action to protect children and make referrals to specialist services. This approach means children experience consistent support with their mental health.

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

Since the last inspection, two children went missing together when in the community. Staff looked for the children, they rang them, contacted people the children knew, and reported the children missing to external professionals. Once found, staff welcomed the children home, and met with the children to discuss their experiences. As a result, the staff gained insight into why the children went missing, and there have been no further missing events since.

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

Managers and staff respond to any concerns about the safety of children immediately. They take their safeguarding roles and responsibilities seriously. Investigations are thorough and the manager promptly shares information with relevant external professionals. This ensures there is external scrutiny of safeguarding measures in the home.

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

On the rare occasions that staff have used physical intervention, this has been appropriate and used as a last resort to safeguard children. The manager meets with staff and the child after any incident. This helps staff reflect on their practice, and helps the child to understand why staff needed to hold them.

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

On the rare occasion when staff have used consequences as a form of behaviour management, the consequences are appropriate. However, staff do not clearly record the duration of consequences. This limits the manager’s capacity to monitor the proportionality and effectiveness of the consequence set. Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced. She has high expectations of staff and high aspirations for children. A deputy manager supports the manager well. During the inspection, staff spoke highly of the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Established management monitoring systems provide the manager with good oversight of the quality of care provided to children. The manager uses the information she gathers to identify areas for development. The manager is reflective and understands the home’s strengths. She regularly reviews the home’s development plan to promote continual improvements of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers undertake rigorous checks to ensure that anyone employed in the home is suitable to work with children. New staff have a detailed induction, and they are allocated a mentor to support them. This helps new staff develop skills and confidence in working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, child-focused supervision. This helps staff review the progress children make and discuss any concerns. The well-being of staff is prioritised. This is because the manager recognises that staff well-being is crucial to the quality of care they provide to children. This contributes to the positive and nurturing ethos demonstrated in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from the consistency of a stable and long-standing staff team. Staff demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the children’s support needs. This helps children to build trusting relationships with people who are consistent in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend well-planned team meetings. These meetings review children’s progress, plan activities in the home, and reflect on practice. The manager uses safeguarding quizzes and scenarios to review staff’s knowledge and identify gaps in their practice. The home’s therapist and behaviour lead attend these meetings. This encourages staff to be curious and expand their knowledge base for the benefit of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the importance of providing staff with the skills and knowledge they need to provide consistency of care to children. Staff have taken additional responsibility for specific roles such as a safeguarding champion, a well- being champion, an activity champion and a culture and diversity champion. Staff help each other to learn new skills. Staff are either qualified or working towards the relevant level 3 childcare qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the two requirements set at the previous inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, or discipline in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the duration of consequences being recorded in the relevant documentation. 21 April 2023

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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: SC363403 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Mandy Start, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC363403 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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