Children's home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 1 SC389178 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education 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 and operated by a private organisation and provides care and support for up to five children with learning difficulties. At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since July 2023.

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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: SC389178 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/03/2023 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live in the home, managers carefully consider important information to ensure that they understand children’s needs. Processes are well planned to ensure that children experience positive moves in to the home. They are encouraged to choose how their bedroom looks and to ensure that is reflects their own interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children leave the home, this is equally well managed. Staff work with children, social workers, and new providers to ensure that important information is shared and children’s needs are understood, so that children can experience positive moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. They benefit from support and good-quality care from staff, who are enthusiastic and care deeply about the children’s life experiences. As a result of the support that they receive, children are developing clearer communication skills and are increasing in independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have fun and to explore and develop their interests. They benefit from a wide range of activities, including lots of community-based activities, such as train travel, swimming, and visiting parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are well understood. Staff are skilled in understanding their communication needs and work with them to ensure that their voices are heard by those involved in making decisions about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s needs. They are guided by comprehensive and up-to-date plans that help them to deliver good-quality care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with professionals and families. They place importance on supporting children to maintain close relationships with their families, and work sensitively to ensure that this is facilitated in different ways.

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

Children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities are well understood and assessed. These assessments guide staff to help children to be safe and to ensure that they are afforded the opportunities to develop their independence. Managers source appropriate expertise from other professionals when staff do not have the knowledge of a child’s particular needs. This ensures that children are well cared for and their complex medical needs are met.

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

Staff respond with kindness when children struggle to communicate their emotions or harm themselves. Staff have a good understanding of how to help children to navigate these feelings and better express themselves. When injury occurs, they Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 4 support children to get the right medical treatment. Staff help children to reflect on these incidents and explore ways in which they can resolve the causes for them.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff take effective action to ensure that they return safely. They reflect on these incidents to ensure that they understand the child’s motivation, and work on solutions to prevent recurrence.

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

When staff have concerns about children, they are generally quick to take action to ensure that children are safe. They communicate and work with safeguarding partners, such as social workers and the local authority designated officer. This ensures that appropriate information is shared, and children get the support that they need. On one occasion, staff had not initially recognised or identified that an allegation had been made by a child, but took affective action when this had been highlighted to them.

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

When children experience difficult feelings that result in challenging situations, staff are well trained in helping them to find ways to calm and manage these feelings. When restraint is used, this is as a last resort and for a very short period to ensure the safety of those involved. Records are generally well written. However, on one occasion, the record was unclear as to which intervention had been used, although the justification for the intervention was clear. The frequency of incidents continues to fluctuate, with reductions noted for some children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very passionate about ensuring that children make progress, and he has ambitious plans for developing the home further. The registered manager has high expectations for children’s life chances and of staff in delivering the right support for children. They take pride in their team and the achievements that children have made since living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are very important to staff and managers. They ensure that children have the means to contribute their own thoughts and feelings about the home, and use this information to improve the home and enhance opportunities and experiences for the children. For example, children’s views consistently help with the decision process for which activities are planned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support children to explore their identity and observe their faith. Staff welcome families to join celebrations, which helps to better staff’s understanding of cultures and religious observations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report good relationships with managers and value the collaborative efforts that focus on the needs of children. When staff feel that there is a need for greater involvement from professionals, this is sought in a way that focuses on the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of managers and the supportive environment that makes them feel valued. They receive regular supervisions that support them to reflect on their Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 5 own practice, and they are offered a range of training that helps them to feel more confident in their roles. However, one staff member has not completed the required level 3 training within the required time frames. No action plan has been implemented to ensure that this is completed in a timely way. Another member of staff has not completed the company’s required mandatory training, including safeguarding training and behaviour management training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work to identify and adapt their practice through the constant review and monitoring of the home. However, on occasions, managers have not identified shortfalls in documentation that have resulted in unclear or inaccurate records being in place. This has been an administrative oversight, which has not had any impact on the care that children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 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

that staff have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff recognise what constitutes a potential allegation and how to respond in these scenarios. 31 May 2024

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff have completed training that enables them to understand safeguarding practice and how to safely use physical intervention if required. 31 May 2024

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 31 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 7 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (2)(a) (3)(b) (4)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any staff who do not meet this requirement have a suitable plan in place to enable them to complete the qualification in a timely way.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s case records are kept up to date while they remain in the home. Specifically, the registered person should make use of effective monitoring to ensure that all case records are accurate and easy to understand. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC389178 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & 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: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Jay Shekleton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC389178 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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