Children's Home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Southampton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 1 SC389174 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 run by a private organisation that operates other registered children’s homes in the area. It is registered to provide care for up to seven children with learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, six children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The acting manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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: 20 January 2022

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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: SC389174 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2022 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Good 25/09/2018 Full Good 14/11/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive informed and nurturing care from dedicated and committed staff. Children are happy and content, and they enjoy the playful nature of the staff who provide their care. The stability of the staff team enables children to experience a sense of security and routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and meets children’s physical needs. Adjustable furniture and appropriate specialist equipment assist children to improve their mobility and independence around the home. Children’s bedrooms are decorated in themes and colours of their choice. As a result, children enjoy spending time in their bedroom and feel proud of their individualised space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to achieve age-appropriate tasks, such as self-care and cooking. This means that some older children have a sense of independence in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is supported and encouraged by staff. All children attend school and are achieving their expected goals. Children thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to spend time with their peers. The manager and staff advocate well for the children. Children move on to the next chapter of their lives positively and successfully due to the determination and firm stance of the manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of this home is the opportunity that children are afforded to engage in activities and organised events. Proactive staff are creative in gathering children’s views and wishes. As a result, the children have experienced many celebrations in the home and in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Compassionate staff understand the children’s emotional needs and their history. Proactive and child-focused practice ensures that children spend time with people who are important to them, such as previous carers or siblings. This means that children can strengthen and maintain positive relationships with those they cherish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Attuned staff anticipate and respond well to the individualised needs of the children. Unwanted behaviour and challenges from children are managed effectively and consistently by staff. Consequently, incidents have reduced for one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend all medical appointments. The recent appointment of specialist professionals, such as a speech and language therapist, will further improve the dedicated care that is provided for children. However, not all necessary documents are on the children’s file. Although this has no direct impact on the physical care of children, the lack of information prevents staff having a clear and informed overview of the child’s care planning. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 4

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

The staff know the children well. For example, staff recognise when children are feeling overwhelmed, upset or angry. Staff help children to explore and learn from the environment. Therefore, children can take appropriate risks and are supported in a safe way to do so.

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

Staff are appropriately qualified and have received necessary training to provide informed and empathetic care to children. The responsible individual has invested in some training, including physical intervention training, for all agency staff who regularly care for the children. This means that all staff are consistent in the management of incidents, and children do not experience a disruption in their care during times of emotional difficulty.

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

The manager has effective and timely oversight of all physical interventions. Although the number of interventions is high, a significant number of these prevent children from harming themselves due to their disability or lack of awareness of their surroundings. Therefore, staff respond effectively to prevent harm or injury to children.

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

Children’s risk assessments are comprehensive and identify strategies to support children to stay safe. However, these are not always updated following an event or incident and are not consistently recorded throughout the records. Nonetheless, verbal communication throughout the staff team is good. When the inspector spoke with staff, they were knowledgeable and able to articulate the known risks for all children.

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

The administration of medication has improved. However, some recording errors have been identified. Although there has been no direct impact on children, managers are further improving the process and environment to ensure that staff are not interrupted when managing and administering medication.

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

Recruitment of staff is thorough, and suitability checks are recorded well. Therefore, children are not exposed to adults who may pose a risk to them. The staff team is diverse and has a range of experience. Staff provide the children with support and care that meet their needs. Children seek out specific members of staff for comfort, conversation and assistance. They know that the response will accommodate their requests and meet their emotional or physical needs.

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

Health and safety processes, including fire evacuations, are good. However, during a tour of the house, the inspector noticed a fire extinguisher was missing from the allocated position upstairs. Likewise, the fire blanket in the kitchen was out of reach for some staff. This was rectified immediately by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted. However, this requires immediate action to ensure that the home has a registered manager. Nevertheless, the manager is dedicated and fully committed to improving areas of practice identified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by two efficient and knowledgeable deputies. Collectively, there is a clear vision for the home. However, the lack of delegation by the manager for some administrative tasks, such as filing documents or recording information, can create a disorganised environment. Nonetheless, the leadership team is conducive and productive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s development plan is up to date. The manager has a clear vision for the home and has already introduced processes to reduce the daily tasks for staff. Therefore, staff spend more time supporting children, especially during the morning routine.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff’s performance does not meet the high expectations of the provider, the manager takes swift and appropriate action to address this. Appropriate and balanced actions are followed through to ensure that staff learn from experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive practice-related supervision by an experienced senior member of staff. This means that staff can reflect on their practice. The manager carries out quarterly supervision sessions for all staff. This supports staff’s well-being and ensures that the manager is satisfied that the care and safety of children are effective. Staff receive annual appraisals which provide clear and directive support to assist in their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has a good understanding of the needs of looked after children and of local authority care planning duties (and how children’s homes should support these). They know the staff team and children incredibly well. Their visibility in the home offers staff the opportunity to raise any issues and gives the senior leadership team a good insight into the care provided. Managers and leaders understand the home’s strengths and acknowledge the shortfalls found during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor offers additional monitoring. However, the views of professionals and parents are not consistently gathered. This lack of information prevents effective scrutiny to support the recommendations and inform their decisions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 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 registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s care plans must be available and in the child’s file, and risk assessments must be updated electronically and verbally following new information. 30 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should submit a full application to register with Ofsted. 30 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records are kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good

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Recommendations

practice. In particular, the independent person should obtain the views of professionals and parents to scrutinise and analyse evidence to inform their decisions, for example that children are safeguarded effectively. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation, such as alarms and food hygiene. In particular, fire safety equipment should be accessible to staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC389174 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care and 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC389174 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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