Children's home run by Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 1 SC482415 Registered provider: Keir Lock Children’s Homes 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. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted to manage this home in June 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there were three children living in this home.

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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: 27 September 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: SC482415 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/09/2022 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good 20/08/2018 Full Good 20/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built safe and trusted relationships with the staff. This is because the staff care for them in a nurturing and supportive way. The staff know the children well and understand their triggers. They are patient with the children and help them to manage their emotions. The children speak positively about the support and help that they receive from the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the value of education. This gives the children the best chance of achieving their full educational potential. One child has been successful in completing their exams and is now doing well in college. One child’s education attendance has significantly increased while living in this home. If children are not in school for any reason, the staff support them to complete educational work and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy spending more time with their family and people who are important to them. The staff work with the children and their families to help ensure their time together is a positive experience. Children’s family members speak positively about the staff. They feel that their child is well looked after. One family member said, ‘They [staff] are amazing with [name of child].’ This helps to ensure that the children have continued support networks when they move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children access all areas of their home freely. Children feel a sense of belonging in their home, and colour photos of them and the staff enjoying holidays and activities can be seen around the home. While the children’s bedrooms are clean, tidy and decorated to their taste, the kitchen is not in keeping with the rest of the home, as the cupboards and worktops are in need of repair.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While the staff have made some improvements in using child-friendly language in some documents, there is still evidence of stigmatising language being recorded in some of the children’s records. This is not helpful to the children and may reinforce bias and prejudice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to develop important skills such as increased independence and self-care. They discuss sensitive issues with them in a nurturing and child-friendly way. The children are helped to develop their own positive strategies. The staff understand when to change their approach if it is no longer working. Changes are made to incentives and behaviour management plans to ensure that the staff continue to meet the needs of the children.

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

Children are spoken to about things that may be dangerous to them or cause them harm. This helps them to gain an understanding of potential risks and how best to avoid unsafe situations or people. Children are supported to think about more Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 4 positive choices in relation to going missing from home, illegal substances, carrying weapons, online safety and more.

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

The staff are consistent and proactive in their response to children who go missing from the home. They look for the children and encourage them to come home. One child’s missing-from-home episodes have reduced. This is because the staff are consistent with their use of the child’s safety plan. One child said, ‘My safety plan works and ‘puts me off’ going missing.’

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

The staff are all trained and understand the indicators of potential child exploitation. They recognise the signs and they how to respond to any increase in risks for the children. The staff work closely with the children’s allocated social worker, the police, education and other safeguarding agencies. This ensures that everyone is kept up to date of what is happening for the children and that any new risks are responded to as quickly as possible. One professional said, ‘They [the children] could not be in safer hands.’

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

The children are confident that their voices are heard. They know how to complain. One child made a complaint to the manager. This complaint was appropriately resolved. The manager kept the child up to date throughout the process and provided them with feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified for this role. He has high aspirations for the children and their progress. He ensures that the staff adopt a parent-like approach with the children. The ethos of this home is that children are provided with the same nurture and support that they would receive in a family home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well supported by an experienced staff team. The senior staff in the home are well-established and supportive of one another. This ensures that the home continues to run smoothly in his absence. As a result, the children receive consistent care in line with their current needs and care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation invests in the children. Children enjoy lots of new first-time experiences, and they are encouraged to take part in various activities. Children enjoy holidays, day trips in the local area and further afield. The organisation also invests in therapy sessions for the children and invites the children’s parents and carers to take part in family therapy sessions. This helps the children to increase their social skills and improves their emotional well-being and mental health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with the independent visitor. The manager takes forward any of the independent visitors' recommendations and he shares the learning from these visits with the staff in team meetings and in supervision sessions. This ensures the continual development of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 5 The manager has a monitoring and review system in place, so he knows what is happening in the home for the children. When these systems identify shortfalls, the manager quickly addresses this to ensure that the children receive good quality care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, the registered person should repair the wear and tear in the kitchen. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘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: SC482415 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Thompsons Yard, New Street, Ossett, West Yorkshire WF5 8BH

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Inspectors

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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