Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 1 SC063883 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 owed by a private provider, and the staff provides care for up to two children aged between eight and 18 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The home specialises in providing long-term, therapeutic residential care for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 17 November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there were two children living in this home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2022

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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: SC063883 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Good 05/11/2019 Full Good 13/02/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children love living in this home, and they say that they would choose to live here. The children get along with each other, and they are relaxed and confident with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have fun in the home. They enjoy playing with the car racetracks, doll house and teddy bears that can be seen throughout the home. The children’s personalities can be seen throughout the home. They have their own unique memory boxes, and their drawings and photos are proudly on display.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with consistent care from a nurturing and dedicated staff team. The children have built secure and trusted relationships with the staff. They have fun with the children, who receive practical and emotional support from the staff. The children say that they like the staff, and that they know they are there to help them. This is helping the children to feel loved and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived in the home since the last inspection. They are very settled and have made good progress in all areas of their life. They have high attendance at school, have improved self-esteem and social skills, and all their health needs are met. For the newer child living in the home, the staff are aware of their needs. This has helped the child to stabilise and settle in quickly. Progress has been made in terms of this child understanding their identity, and learning their own likes and dislikes. Both children have a good stable base that they can continue to build on as they grow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote a family orientated culture in the home. Children are supported well to increase their social networks, and they are helped to spend quality time with their friends. Children’s time with their families is promoted strongly by the staff. The children are helped to spend increased time with their family in a natural and relaxed way. For one child, their parent spends time at the home, and the child speaks positively about this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff actively seek, and act on, the children’s views. One child requested that the word ‘resident’ is not to be used as they are a ‘family’. The staff have listened to the child and this term is no longer used. This gives the children confidence that their voices will be heard.

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

The staff ensure that there are consistent routines and boundaries in place for the children. Meaningful conversations are held with the children, and they are regularly praised when they have done something well. Equally, they are helped to understand why things might not have gone so well. Important topics, such as Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 4 keeping safe online, are revisited with them. This helps to ensure that the children understand how to keep themself as safe as possible.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to keep the children safe. Conversations are held with the children to help them to understand what has happened, and to see it from the child’s perspective. Debriefs are completed with the staff to look at see if something could have been done differently. This is helping to see a reduction in the number of incidents that occur.

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

The children can identify trusted staff members who they can speak to if they have any worries or concerns. Children are confident that their worries will be taken seriously. One child was able to share their concerns about an incident that happened in school. This was acted on swiftly by the staff who ensured that all the appropriate safeguards were put in place. This practice is ensuring that children are kept as safe as possible in all areas of their lives.

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

Consequences are rarely used in this home. The children are given the opportunity to discuss the consequence and why it was put in place. The staff work restoratively with the children, and they help the children to repair any harm caused. When the children have minor disagreements with one another, the staff sit with them and help them to listen to one another. This approach is helping the two children live together contently.

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

Staff have received all the appropriate safeguarding and child exploitation training but they were not familiar with the agencies whistle-blowing policy. While this policy is incorporated within the providers’ generic safeguarding training, the whistle- blowing element has not been explicitly delivered to the staff. The manager has accepted that this was a shortfall and gave assurances that this will be acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her role and she has high aspirations for the children. The manager has grown in confidence since the last inspection and she is clearly enjoying her role. She is supported well by the deputy manager, who is equally passionate about their role. The managers work well together and their skills and knowledge complement one another.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is open, honest and transparent. She is accepting of advice from others and she leads by example. She knows the children well and they know her. The children trust that she cares for them. The manager is willing to have difficult conversations with other professionals to ensure that the children are put first. Professionals speak extremely positively about the communication from managers, stating that they are proactive in ensuring that the children’s needs are continually met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a skilled and established staff team. The staff speak positively about working in the home and they enjoy coming into work. One member of staff said, ‘I cannot imagine working anywhere else. It is a joy to work here.’. The staff say that Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 5 the children are at the heart of everyone’s practice. The staff feel listened to and valued by the managers, and they speak positively about the support that they receive. This benefits the children as they are cared for by a consistent staff team who are happy to be in work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has oversight of all the children’s documents. The monitoring tools are effective, and shortfalls are identified and addressed. While the manager can share evaluations of what information means for each child, this is not always evidenced in the children’s written records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the strengths of the home. She has a clear vision for the continued development of the staff. The manager has introduced a reflection book for the staff to record their thoughts and feelings about their day. While the manager is still developing this tool, it is supporting the staff to see the positives in each day, and what may have been done differently. This practice benefits the children as it helps the staff to see what is working well and what could be done differently. Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff understand the providers’ whistle-blowing policy. 9 May 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through information in relation to each child and the home’s staff. In particular, the registered person should ensure that written information about a child by staff or other professionals is evaluated and followed up to support better understanding of the children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23).

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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: SC063883 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

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC063883 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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