Children's home run by Keys Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 1 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited 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 company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children aged 10 to 18 years. Children living at the home may have a variety of complex needs due to adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has an experienced manager who was registered with Ofsted in September 2019.

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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 outstanding

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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: 14 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2023 Full Outstanding 07/07/2021 Full Outstanding 10/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved to the home and two children have left. One child was able to return home. The other child’s placement ended due to their high levels of risk-taking behaviour. However, the transition onwards was well planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most staff know the children well and provide care based on a positive nurturing approach. As a result, children are making small steps of progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some staff have formed positive relationships with children. This has meant children feel comfortable sharing their worries and concerns with staff, health professionals and therapists. Some children are accessing counselling and have sought further support from health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in helping children understand the importance of education. However, despite this support, not all children attend education. Staff have helped children to continue to learn using home tutors. For one child, this has enabled them to consider a college course to meet their interests and aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to share their views and participate in making decisions about their care and the home. Some discussions with staff have proved to be effective. In one example, staff talked to a child about the risks of using electronic cigarettes. This supported the child to stop smoking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to participate in activities in the home and in the community. However, children’s anxieties when going out into the community have meant they do not frequently go out and socialise with their peers. However, staff do provide opportunities for children to have fun, including going fishing, trips to the coast, drives to coffee shops and clothes shopping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure children do not miss out on celebrations. For example, staff organise birthday parties and they decorated the house for Halloween. This means children can still enjoy events as any other child would.

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

Staff understand children’s their risks, along with the action to take to reduce those risks. Risk management plans give sufficient detail to provide a consistent approach. These plans are regularly reviewed and updated with new or emerging concerns.

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

On occasions, children have gone missing from the home. For one child, this resulted in high levels of risk-taking behaviours. Staff were proactive in searching for the child through the night. They gathered information about where the child was and about those people known to the child. The information was shared with all Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 4 relevant professionals. The staff have received praise from a range of professionals for the work they carried out in trying to prevent and disrupt missing-from-home incidents.

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

Staff use a nurturing approach, showing thoughtfulness and kindness. They consider proactive approaches to behaviour management, such as diversion and distraction. Staff spend time with children listening to their concerns when they are feeling low or struggling with their emotions. As a result, staff have not needed to use physical intervention to keep children safe.

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

Managers seek advice and support from other professionals when they feel children may be struggling with their mental health or may have an undiagnosed disability. Consequently, children are supported to access the assessments they require to identify their needs.

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

On occasions, staff have not given children their medication in line with their prescription. When errors have occurred, staff have sought advice from medical professionals. Managers have investigated to identify how improvements can be made to prevent further errors, for example, providing additional training. As a result, there have not been any errors in the past four months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly ambitious and has high expectations of staff to provide excellent care to children. The manager is extremely child-focused and is instrumental in creating a culture of positivity even when there are challenges. She is focused on finding solutions and is not afraid to ask for help from others when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager spends time getting to know children and is approachable. This gives children a sense of stability and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A strength of this home is the multi-agency working. The manager works well with other professionals to improve the quality of care for children. The manager is not afraid to challenge others when needed to ensure that children receive the services and support they need to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager undertakes robust assessments of children’s proposed moves to the home. She makes sure the home can meet the needs of the child and that the impact on children already living there is kept to a minimum. When children do not settle into the home, the manager is prompt in discussing this with the child’s placing authority. Only after all attempts to settle a child have been exhausted would the manager give notice on the placement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has introduced new ways of working, based on sound research. This has helped staff to better understand children’s development following childhood trauma. This has resulted in a greater understanding by staff and helped staff develop the strategies needed to help children progress. Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 5 Staff are positive about working at the home and say they are well supported by the manager. Managers provide an in-depth induction and a variety of ongoing training to staff. This training includes support from the clinical team to aid staff’s knowledge and skills. However, staff have yet to undertake formal training in working with children with autism.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals are complimentary about the staff in the home. They praise the work of the staff and the manager, who they say are always willing to go above and beyond to meet the needs of the children. Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should support staff to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. Specifically, that staff undertake training in autism. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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: 2513341 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Pinsent Masons LLP, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspectors

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Charlotte Love, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2513341 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

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