Children's Home run by Keys Education Ltd in South Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 1 SC067561 Registered provider: Keys Education Ltd 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 provider and offers care for up to two children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that care is provided to children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since November 2020.

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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: 8 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/02/2022 Full Good 14/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been supported to move out of the home in a positive way. The child said that he was doing well in his new home and with his new job as staff ‘helped me to make sure that I could look after myself in every way’ before he left their care. The child continues to visit the home and seeks advice from staff on occasion. He explained that the home was his ‘home for a long time’ and it would be a shame for him not to keep in touch. This highlights the positive relationships and sense of belonging that children are supported to develop during their time living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved to the home. Careful consideration was given to the needs of the child and how staff could support her. Information was shared with both children’s social workers, which helped staff to consider how the child moving to the home may impact the child currently living there, and vice versa. The child moving to the home was supported to visit, meet staff and the other child, and personalise her bedroom before moving in. The child said that she liked living at the home, as she had ‘everything she needed’. The child already living in the home was supported to explore her feelings about a new child moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress. Children’s healthcare needs are being met, as staff provide positive messages and guidance to children about healthy lifestyles and choices. One family member agreed their child’s health needs were met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been supported to start at a new school. Staff worked alongside the school to support the child to meet her teachers before she started to attend. Peer- group support was also arranged for the child through a buddying system. This has helped the child to have a positive experience of joining a new school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked with a school to provide another child with a bespoke educational package, which is tailored around her interests and career ambitions. A school professional said that the registered manager of the home has been ‘relentless’ in advocating for the child and making arrangements to ensure that the best educational outcomes are achieved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with positive experiences to enjoy time with their family members and the staff. One child is being supported to pursue her ambition to become an ice-skating professional. Another child is supported to spend time with her family members to re-establish relationships and develop new ones. Children have enjoyed time with staff at the beach and walking along nature trails.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The interactions between staff and children are light and friendly. Staff are interested in children’s experiences and offer lots of praise and recognition for their achievements. Staff speak with passion about the care of the children and helping them to achieve their aspirations, see their family, and have fun. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 4

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

Staff provide positive messages to children about the important topics in their lives. Staff are curious about the views of children, encourage them to reflect on their experiences, and offer advice and guidance. Staff often follow up this guidance with appropriate actions, which support the children to meet their goals and targets.

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

When concerns have been raised about staff, the registered manager has responded effectively to help to keep children safe. The registered manager shares information with relevant external professionals and, where applicable, completes internal investigations in line with procedures. Appropriate actions are identified, which are communicated to the staff team to improve their practice and promote continual development and learning.

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

Incident reports are mostly well written and clear about what happened. The home has not used any restraints, as staff are finding more-positive ways to support children to express themselves safely. However, on one occasion, the police were called to the home as staff were struggling to keep children safe. The registered manager evaluates the support provided by staff and seeks to identify what could be done differently to prevent future occurrences. Staff and children are offered regular reflective discussions, which include advice, guidance and support.

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

Care plans and risk assessments provide staff with an overview of most of the needs of children. These plans have been refined since the last inspection. However, they are missing some key information and/or are inaccurate in parts. As a result, staff do not always have the most-important information easily available to them when they are supporting the children.

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

Although a recent fire evacuation has taken place, staff did not identify potential concerns or areas for improvement. As a result, additional support for children who may struggle to safely evacuate the building quickly has not been considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a sound understanding of the strengths of the staff and how the quality of care has developed since the last full inspection. The registered manager has shared learning with staff to improve their practice and the care that they provide. The registered manager is receptive of feedback from others and takes appropriate action where necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals is positive. They said that the registered manager advocates for the children at the home and has aspirations for them. When staff’s practice can be improved, professionals are confident that the registered manager will inspire change. Professionals also said that the staff are adaptive and respond to the needs of the children well. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 5 Staff supervision sessions provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on the progress of children, children’s needs, and the support that they provide. These discussions are complemented by outcome reflections, which support staff to think about how the care that they provide affects children’s outcomes. This helps staff to develop an understanding of the children’s aims, and how the support they provide contributes to their achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager uses staff supervisions and team meetings to communicate important messages, reaffirm the importance of professional boundaries, aid learning, and identify the training needs of staff. These forums support staff to identify areas for improvement, and include reflections from internal and external monitoring, incident management, and case formulations about the needs of the children and their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, training compliance is high. When refresher courses are due, the registered manager books them promptly. The registered manager identified additional training needs based on the individual needs of the child moving to the home, although some of these courses have not yet been delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment checks are in place, which help the registered manager to determine if staff are suitable to work with the children at the home. However, in some cases, there is a lack of professional curiosity from the registered manager when identifying and clarifying vague information. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety. In particular, the registered person should ensure that fire evacuations are evaluated so that concerns can be identified and acted on. Staff should be supported to help children to understand how to safely evacuate the building quickly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises the potential risks to them. In particular, the registered person should use professional curiosity to ensure that all safer recruitment checks are robust. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective,

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Recommendations

and clear recording. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans and risk assessments are reflective of children’s needs and that they support staff to look after children effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC067561 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC067561 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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