Children's home run by Keys Education Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 1 Registered provider: Keys Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to four children who may have social, emotional and learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2495335 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2022 Full Good 08/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2021 Full Inadequate 09/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the importance of positive outcomes for children. Children have strong relationships with the staff team. One child said, ‘I trust the staff and feel safe.’ Staff interact with children using high praise and humour. This helps children to develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff place the children at the centre of their practice. Children with complex needs, such as trauma, neglect and autism, are supported to understand how they can manage their feelings safely. Managers and staff regularly review children’s plans alongside the clinical therapist to review and revise ways of working so that children can fully participate in their daily lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving out of the home are supported. Managers and staff ensure that the children are sufficiently prepared to leave the home. They work with the placing authority, adult social care and housing so that children are supported into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children know how to make a complaint. When this has been necessary, managers and staff have taken this seriously. Children are listened to and are supported to understand what has happened as a result. Managers and staff respond clearly and take action to address any complaints so improvements are made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend school. Managers and staff have strong relationships with teaching staff, designated safeguarding leads and virtual school heads. They communicate with school effectively so that any barriers to learning are understood. When children have needed additional support, managers and staff have ensured that this has been put in place with one-to-one support in the classroom. As a result, children are making continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend a range of activities and to follow their individual interests. One child has attended football matches for their favourite team. Another child has visited Barcelona with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand about those individuals who are important to the children. They support the children to spend time with their families. Individual plans are in place to ensure that the time children spend with their families is beneficial and enjoyable.

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

The children living at the home are settled. Clear plans in place set out the individual risks for each child. The plans set out clear guidance and ways of working with the children for staff to follow to reduce risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 4 Managers and staff support the children to understand risks. They take time to help children to understand how to keep themselves safe in relation to issues such as child criminal exploitation, self-harm and emotional health. These discussions are planned but also happen when incidents and concerns arise. One child’s risks regarding child criminal exploitation have significantly reduced.

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

If children go missing from home, managers and staff manage this well. They complete area searches, visit known addresses and maintain regular contact with the children so that they can encourage a safe return. Children have independent missing-from-home interviews so that they have an opportunity to talk about the reason why they went missing.

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

When the children have made allegations, managers have listened and taken their concerns seriously. Immediate action has been taken so that children feel safe and protected. Managers and staff have ensured that restorative sessions have been completed following the conclusion of the investigation so that children and staff feel supported.

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

When children have needed to be held, this intervention has been proportionate and necessary to keep them safe. Children are provided with the opportunity to discuss the intervention afterwards to understand why this happened. However, there are delays in the review and monitoring of incidents.

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good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified manager. The registered manager is supported by the responsible individual.

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good

The registered manager has strong links with families and professionals, and there is evidence of positive feedback.

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good

Internal monitoring systems in place have failed to identify the quality of children’s records. Not all documents are legible, and this does not support children to understand their care experience in full.

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good

The responsible individual and the registered manager have escalated their concerns about the repairs required to the building. However, these have not been addressed in a timely manner.

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good

Team meetings and supervision sessions take place regularly. However, the records lack reflection, and this is a missed opportunity for the manager to help staff to consider and develop their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 5 Staff are suitably qualified and have completed training specific to the children’s needs, including on ligature awareness, child criminal exploitation, autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder.

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good

The registered manager and the responsible individual have recognised the shortfalls and identified some of the issues that need to be improved in the home’s development plan.

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good

The requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 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 behaviour management policy is that—

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that the record to confirm the use of any measure of control, discipline and restraint is accurate and completed without delay. 7 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 7 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 7 provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is maintained to an appropriate standard for the children to live in. This includes addressing any issues of damp, maintaining the internal decoration and ensuring that any damage is repaired in a timely manner.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording, ensuring that handwritten records are legible. (‘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: 2495335 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Education Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Thomas Cappleman

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Inspector

Nicola Forrester, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 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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