Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 1 Registered provider: Keys NHCC Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Currently, there are three children living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since October 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good 07/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a home which is warm and welcoming. The children’s bedrooms are personalised, which encourages them to have a greater sense of belonging in their home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop good relationships with children. They interact warmly and naturally with children and give positive praise and encouragement. Children can name staff they would turn to for support.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support children to continue to achieve good school attendance and are proud of the children for maintaining this. Staff are proactive in supporting the children to identify a potential career pathway and the appropriate courses or qualifications needed to follow this. Children are supported to achieve their aspirations for the future.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and their needs are met. The children are registered with a local GP, optician and dental services. Staff support children to attend health appointments and, when it is needed, to attend additional appointments with specialist professionals.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. There are clear plans in place to ensure children can have family time. Staff are proactive in making suitable arrangements in line with each child’s plan. This means that children can maintain significant relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given various opportunities to say how they feel or what they would like to change. Staff listen, and create a colourful child-focused record of the response and changes made. This means that children know their voice is heard and valued.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of making positive memories for each child. They make a book for each individual child, with photos and comments about their time at the home. Children will take these books with them when they move on. Positive memories like these help children to understand their life journey.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children for moving on from the home, and they are supported through this move with a life skills journal. The journal shows how staff support children to learn the skills they will need for later life. As a result, children are building confidence in their ability to care for themselves in preparation for adulthood.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are fitted with door alarms to monitor movement in and out of their bedrooms. These are not regularly reviewed to ensure they are required for all children. This may be an unnecessary intrusion into children’s privacy. Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 4

p.3

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

Children each have individualised risk assessments. These assessments are regularly reviewed and contain up-to-date information in relation to how to manage children’s risks. This gives staff a good understanding of what they need to do to help children to be safer.

p.4

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

Staff know what to do when children go missing from the home and they follow each child’s plan. Staff look for children and liaise with appropriate professionals to ensure children are found as soon as possible. When children return, staff ensure that they are welcomed home and are offered support depending on their needs. Because of the good relationships staff build with the children, children want to be at the home. There has only been one missing-from-home episode since the last inspection.

p.4

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

Staff are consistent and proportionate in how they respond to children’s behaviour. Children know what is expected of them and what the consequences for their actions are. The staff help children to understand their feelings and emotional responses. As a result, incidents when children become angry and upset have reduced in number. The manager responds appropriately when allegations are made against staff. There is a robust process in place to ensure that children's well-being is prioritised while an investigation takes place. The manager informs the relevant professionals, including the local authority designated officer, and notifies Ofsted. This helps to ensure that there is independent oversight of the management of allegations to make certain that children are safeguarded appropriately.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2023. The current manager has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is overseen by a manager who is dedicated and aspirational for the children. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor the running of the home. This has supported the manager to identify patterns and trends and put in place plans for developing the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings. The meetings provide time for the staff to reflect on the impact that their practice has on the care they provide to children. This allows them to consider what has worked well and what could be done better. As a result, practice is continually improving.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff working at the home are recruited using a robust vetting process. New staff are supported with a thorough induction plan throughout their probation period. Staff continue to benefit from training to ensure they can meet the needs of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 5 The manager and staff communicate effectively with professionals and the children’s families. Parents have given positive feedback in relation to how well the staff keep them updated. Staff attend formal meetings to review children’s plans and contribute to the decision-making. This helps to secure better outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The language used in documents to refer to children is not always positive or child- friendly. Consequently, children will not always understand what is written about them or why. Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24(1)(a)(d)) 29 April 2024

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that 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)

p.6

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: 1267650 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1267650 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8