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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 1 SC389178 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & 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 owned and run by a private organisation and provides care for up to five children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is currently on parental leave and an interim manager has been in place since August 2022. He is not yet registered 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Outstanding 13/02/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children flourish in this home. Staff accept all children for who they are. Children receive care from many staff who have worked there for a long time. This means that there is a core group of staff who know the children well. Consistent agency staff also know the children well. Because of this, children can build warm and trusting relationships with staff. Children receive care that is individual to them, and staff provide good support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff know the impact of the care that they provide. They use regular progress monitoring to understand this. Children have excellent experiences. They cook and bake with staff and access activities in the community. Staff and children celebrate birthdays and go on holidays. Staff help children to plan their weekly activities and, for some children, this is a highlight of their week. Children are confident in requesting changes, and know that staff will consider them. This helps children to feel respected and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in all areas of their life. They do well in school. Regular reviews of their education, health and care plans mean that staff know their progress. This also means that they know what to do to improve a child’s opportunities. Staff track children’s health needs, some of which are complex. They work with a range of health professionals to ensure that they understand the complexity of some of these needs. Consequently, they manage children’s health well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with goals and targets relating to their emotional needs. One child receives extra support to regulate their emotions. In recent months, there has been significant improvement in this. The involvement of other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, further supports children’s development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the views of the children, which they gain in several ways. Regular house meetings and extensive one-to-one sessions provide opportunities for children to give their views, make suggestions and contribute to plans for the home. The children also express their views outside of these meetings. Staff support children to use a range of communication aids to express their views. This further demonstrates the relaxed and open culture within the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the value of continued family relationships. This is a particular strength of this home. They work with families to ensure positive experiences for children. Staff welcome families to the home. They promote their involvement in activities that make the environment feel more homely. One parent cooks meals with her child and happily shares them with the other children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 4 There is fun and laughter in this home. Trusting relationships are clear. The home is warm and welcoming. However, there are some areas that need attention. For example, pipes are visible, and this affects the presentation of some areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are effective in managing the moves of children in to and out of the home. The matching process and assessment of risk relating to a new child moving in is thorough. This ensures that staff know children’s needs and consider them. Staff are active when supporting children to move on. They prepare children well and stay in touch. Staff welcome children back for meals and socialising. This is a further example of the family feel of this home.

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

Staff have a good understanding of risk and work to keep children safe. Detailed risk assessments are in place for each child. Staff review and update them as required. They are specific to each child and identify the range of risk as well as the control measures to reduce the risk. Staff read the risk assessments and sign to say that they have done so. However, this practice is not consistent.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. However, each child has a missing profile. This consists of critical information about the child should they go missing. Staff know how to support children who self-harm, and receive regular training on how to manage this. One child who displays self-injurious behaviour receives support from staff who understand their needs. Staff are effective in their response to minimise serious harm. Incident reports are comprehensive, and children and staff receive debriefs after any incident.

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

Clear and consistent boundaries contribute to a feeling of well-being and security for children. Positive behaviour plans are in place and staff know these well. Because of this, they are effective. Staff receive training in de-escalation and behaviour management. They receive bespoke training for individual children to ensure that they meet their behavioural support needs. Consistent boundaries are in place and staff help children to understand them.

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

Good safeguarding arrangements protect children. Staff understand the processes for the management of allegations. Staff report safeguarding incidents to relevant agencies as required and have a good understanding of this process. Children have limited screen time. They use the computer, which is in a communal area where staff can check them. Improved processes are in place to reduce medication errors. This includes reviews of medication administration competence and regularly updated training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is currently on parental leave and an interim manager is in place. The interim manager is not yet registered with Ofsted, although they have been in position since August 2022. They are completing their application. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 5 The registered manager made themselves available for this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good leadership and management team in place. They are ambitious for the children and have high expectations for what they can achieve. Leaders and managers have good oversight of what is happening for children and promote good standards of care. Leaders and managers ensure that children receive personalised care, and that staff know the children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strong process is in place to track the progress that children make. Leaders and managers provide opportunities to establish how children are feeling. They monitor children’s progress to ensure consistent and positive development in all areas of their life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide a good and supportive environment for staff. Staff receive regular supervision, which also provides opportunities for reflection. Leaders and managers review practice, and staff benefit from this time to talk. Leaders and managers promote a learning environment for staff. Training is of a good standard and consistency. Leaders and managers recognise the value of having access to clinical staff to support the work that they do at the home. They have employed an occupational therapist and a speech and language therapist. As a result, children receive excellent added support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the areas for development in the home. They work to improve these areas and make continued improvement in the living environment. Leaders and managers have taken the decision to limit the number of children that they currently take. This is to ensure that they have the level and standard of staffing needed and to stabilise a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are inconsistencies relating to staff reading and signing documents, including supervision records. Leaders and managers have not always ensured that they do this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good relationships with a range of professionals. The manager liaises with them to ensure that there is all-round support to children in all areas of their lives. They ensure attendance at all meetings about the children and host meetings at the home. This is to make them more accessible to professionals and families. This multi-agency work means that there are a range of professionals involved in the provision of support to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong feeling of inclusion in the home. Leaders and managers are clearly committed to this. Leaders, managers and staff support children to take part in all aspects of the plans for them. They welcome families and help them to remain part of their children’s lives inside the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Any person who carries on or manages an establishment or agency of any description without being registered under this Part in respect of it (as an establishment or, as the case may be, agency of that description) shall be guilty of an offence. (Care Standards Act section 11 (1) 20 May 2023

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 7 as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Children’s case records must be kept for 75 years from the date of birth of the child, or if the child dies before the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of his or her death. This particularly relates to ensuring that all documentation is signed and dated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. In particular, ensure that these records of supervision are signed by the staff member. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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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: SC389178 8

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 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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Inspector

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