Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 1 Registered provider: Keys Educational Services 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 by a private provider and offers care for up to three children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that it provides care for children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2022 Full Good 21/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home and feel well looked after by the staff. One child commented, with a smile on their face, that the staff ‘care too much’ about them but clarified that they would not want this to change. Other children said that, although the home currently has a pet rabbit, it could be improved by having a pet dog and a pet pony.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s memory books are colourful and filled with photos of children spending time with staff and doing the things that they enjoy, including day trips to the beach and amusement parks. A family member said that their child ‘has been to some great places and receives great support’ from the staff. Memory books help children to remember the positive experiences that they have shared with staff and other children and provide them with a nice keepsake for when they leave the home in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are captured in a scrapbook, which provides them with a tangible record of how they have been listened to by staff. The scrapbook is also used to acknowledge children’s achievements and contributions to the community, such as making nurture boxes for homeless people at Christmas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical healthcare needs are being met and children attend their routine health appointments. Furthermore, healthcare services that children have previously engaged with well before living in the home have continued since they have moved in. However, some children have experienced delays in the provision of the support that they need to meet their emotional and developmental needs. Although the registered manager has challenged external providers when their responses have not been sufficient, unnecessary delays have persisted and been accepted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement with their education is variable. One child who was not previously receiving formal learning opportunities is now participating in structured educational activities. In addition, the child has identified a school that they would like to attend, and a plan has been agreed to support their attendance over the course of the rest of the academic year. However, two other children have stopped routinely attending school. When children are not in full-time education, staff work alongside education professionals to provide children with meaningful learning opportunities, including vocational courses in line with the child’s interests. However, this does not negate the importance of full-time education. Barriers to children attending school are compounded by the delays that they have experienced in having their emotional and developmental needs identified and met.

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

Children are able to seek support from staff when they are feeling upset or worried. As a result, restraint has not been used in this home, as staff are finding more Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 4 positive ways of helping children to communicate with them effectively. However, there are times when children have expressed their feelings to staff by harming themselves. Staff’s response to self-injurious behaviours is caring and nurturing, while also focused on trying to prevent any further harm. Children are offered first aid and medical advice as required.

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

To inform staff’s responses to self-harming behaviours, the home’s specialist advisor offers regular consultation meetings with staff. In addition, children are helped to reflect on what happened and staff adapt their future responses in accordance with how children feel that they can be best supported.

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

When children are missing from the home, staff follow the agreed safety protocols, including looking for the child in the local area, trying to contact them and reporting the incident to the police. When children return home, staff welcome them back and are curious about where they have been and what they have been doing. This helps staff to identify whether there are any further safety concerns that need to be considered, as well as providing children with a sense that they are cared for.

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

When children raise concerns about staff practice, they are listened to and taken seriously. The concerns are reported to the relevant external professionals, and actions and outcomes are agreed by a multi-disciplinary team. Children are provided with feedback following the conclusion of their concerns, which helps them to feel listened to and protected. Leaders and managers carefully monitor the concerns that are received from children. Staff support children to understand how they might be feeling and how they can express this to staff in appropriate ways.

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

External professionals said that managers and staff adopt a positive and robust approach to keeping children safe. Professionals highlighted that concerns about children’s safety are shared appropriately and actions to help children to keep safe are effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager speaks with passion about the care of the children and how staff treat children as individuals rather than as a product of their behaviour. The registered manager has taken steps to address the requirement and recommendations that were raised at the last Ofsted inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they enjoy working in this home. The interactions between staff and children are warm, friendly and caring. The registered manager clearly plays an active role in children’s care, as children regularly approach her for support and reassurances. One child carefully rested their head on the registered manager’s arm while they were sitting on the sofa together and talked about some of the challenges that they were experiencing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training compliance is high. Staff are provided with training opportunities to support them to meet the individual needs of children. In addition, further training opportunities are planned to enhance staff knowledge and help them to develop the Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 5 care that is provided to children. One member of staff is booked to undertake training in mental health first aid, which they will then share with the other members of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s care plans are lengthy and detailed documents and provide staff with an overview of the individual needs of children and how staff should support them. However, plans contain some inaccurate and out-of-date information. Furthermore, some important information about how to keep children safe is missing. Although staff know the children well, care plans are not always a helpful resource for staff to refer to, nor are they able to provide non-permanent staff with all of the pertinent information that they need to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete key-work sessions with children to provide them with positive advice and guidance about the topics that are important in their lives. Sessions are informed by what is going on for the child and seek to provide children with the information that they need so that they can make informed decisions about their lives, their choices and their care. However, the registered manager does not routinely evaluate the quality of key-work sessions. As a result, staff are not provided with helpful feedback that they can use to further support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to the risk of significant harm for one child and the impact of this on other children, leaders and managers made the difficult decision to support the child to move out of the home. Managers and staff demonstrate a commitment to the care of children, and professionals commented that staff show a resilience and a ‘hope for change’ for children. When the child moved out of the home, they left with cards, photos and letters from staff, which held a sentimental value to them and represented the sense of belonging that the child had started to feel. Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 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, The 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should routinely monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the advice and guidance that is provided by staff to children. This should help staff to identify when children would benefit from additional support.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans are accurate and up to date so that staff are provided with the information that they need to meet children’s needs and help children to keep safe. 30 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported to work through their past experiences and present needs so that they can participate positively in formal education. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s needs and the support that they require are swiftly identified so that staff and external professionals can help children to successfully attend school and engage with their learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3) Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 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: 1239953 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1239953 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 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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