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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 1 Registered provider: CF Social Work Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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: 2665860 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, there were two children living at the home. One child had lived at the home for just over a month, and the other child for 18 months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child has moved on since the last inspection. The child had lived at the home for over a year, and had made progress while living there, particularly in relation to education attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved in to the home since the last inspection and is starting to build good relationships with the staff. The staff team uses creative ways to build connections with the child through play. Children enjoy games with staff, including hide and seek and role playing with dolls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff encourage the children to reach their goals. One of the children constructed a table, which takes pride of place in the lounge. This is a strong indication of children’s sense of belonging. The same child earnt himself the title of ‘man of the match’ in a sport that he has been working hard at since starting early last year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff spend time enjoying activities with the children. These include trips to the local zoo, football matches, and going to theme parks and concerts. The manager spent Christmas day morning with one of the children, taking part in an outdoor event for a local charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete memory books to show children’s experiences and progress since they came to live at the home. This provides the children with valuable visual reminders of their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to attend education, with clear planners and reward charts. There are good relationships with education professionals. One professional said, ‘The communication between the home and me is outstanding.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff stay in touch with children’s families and support children to spend time with them. A parent of one child said, ‘He [the child] seems safe, happy and settled.’

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

Staff keep children safe. None of the children currently living in the home have left without permission since the last inspection. One child said that they feel confident in speaking to the staff or the manager if they have any worries or issues.

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

There have been few incidents requiring the use of physical intervention. When this has been necessary, the records have been clear and leaders and managers have had good oversight of the incident. Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 4 Staff understand the importance of play and use this effectively when children become upset or frustrated. This often distracts the children and helps them to make positive choices, instead of unsafe ones.

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

Staff help children to take measured risks. This enables them to take part in activities and helps them to develop their understanding of how to keep safe when participating.

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

Staff challenge discrimination and help the children to understand the importance of respecting and accepting one another. They do this through planned sessions with the children. This has helped children to reflect on their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and working towards the relevant level 5 qualification within appropriate timescales. Three senior members of staff support the registered manager. The management team knows the children well and speaks about them with pride and enthusiasm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff advocate for the children and support them to raise concerns or make complaints when the service they receive falls short. For example, the manager supported a child with writing a complaint about the medical treatment received in hospital.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has employed a stable and diverse staff team, who are committed to helping children to achieve good outcomes. Agency staff are rarely used. The consistency and approach of the staff team helps children to build trusting relationships and form healthy attachments to adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the quality of care provided to children and encourages a culture of reflection and learning. External and internal monitoring is effective. As a result, the manager identifies shortfalls in staff practice promptly and addresses any concerns without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When recruiting new staff, leaders and managers have not ensured that the reasons why staff left previous care roles are consistently explored. Therefore, this safeguard, designed to reduce the potential for inappropriate people to work in the home, is not consistently applied.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been kept under review. However, despite some significant changes, the most-recent version of the statement was not submitted to Ofsted within the agreed timescales. While this does not affect children’s care directly, it means that Ofsted is unable to effectively monitor practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive ongoing support, supervision, and consistent guidance from the management team. However, since the last inspection, no staff have received their annual appraisal. The registered manager is aware of this shortfall and has an action Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 5 plan in place to make certain that all staff receive their appraisals within the agreed timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the two requirements and two recommendations from the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 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 recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 2 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(b)) 2 February 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 7

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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: 2665860 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3-4b K Line House, West Road, Ipswich IP3 9SX

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Inspectors

Mandy Start, Social Care Inspector Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2665860 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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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: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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