Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 1 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children aged between 11 and 18 with a variety of complex needs who need specialist support. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in February 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 outstanding

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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: 14 September 2023

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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: 2669971 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/09/2023 Full Good 24/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has left since the last inspection and one child moved into the home three months ago. Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection and are making good progress. All were present for periods of the inspection, with two speaking directly to the inspector and one contributing written feedback. Children said that they love the activities they take part in and these underpin the great progress they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to build trusting relationships. The children feel listened to and have their views taken on board when decisions are made about their care. Children feel valued and open up about their wishes and feelings to staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to have lots of positive experiences. Children have taken part in theme nights, pamper evenings, movie nights, cultural food tasting, celebrating annual and seasonal events, using competitions and quizzes to help with participation. Children enjoy time together with staff sharing a nice group living environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take risks. One child said that they can go fishing and climb mountains with staff. The staff team’s creative approach results in children beginning to realise their potential. Staff share lots of positive time with the children. They have been away on holidays, and to theme parks, go-karting and cat-themed cafes. Photos are taken and then placed in books for them. Children have lots of positive experiences, providing them with memories to look back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see their families. The leaders and managers support family visits with a strong disciplined approach to ensure the visits go smoothly. This support provides children with consistency and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are doing very well in education despite the adversity they have faced. Children are supported by dedicated staff. They are able to sit exams during difficult times. This has helped children consider their futures by applying for their chosen colleges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and well presented. The manager is in the process of turning an underused room into the Euro 2024 room, with a large screen and seating for children and staff. This means they can share the experience together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are rooted in the local community and build a sense of self-worth. They are encouraged by the staff to take part in events and have discussions about their interests and areas they feel passionate about. Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 4 One child created a fundraising card creation game and another child has signed up to a well-known race event for their chosen charity. These experiences help children to integrate into the community and feel part of something important in society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to understand how to take care of their health. Staff make sure children are prepared for appointments and have delicate conversations about sexual health and staying safe in relationships. Staff are in tune with the children and understand the need to educate them sensitively on important health issues.

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

Staff help children to stay safe and be protected from harm. They spend time with children to understand the reasons why they might make certain decisions. Staff have in- depth conversations with them about decision-making and help them reflect on times they have been vulnerable.

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

The staff and managers are responsive when children go missing. One child has been missing on several occasions. The staff are quick to respond and have covered great distance day and night to bring the child home safely. Consequently, children are kept safer by a dedicated and caring staff team.

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

Staff share information effectively to help to keep children safe. When children have been missing, the staff have ensured a multi-agency response. They arrange and attend meetings, updating professionals with information that can help stop it happening again. When children have spoken about being in possession of items that can cause serious harm, staff have quickly carried out room searches and involved the child in decisions to keep them and others safe. Staff have involved outside agencies to come to the home to carry out restorative work with the children. This helps children to understand the repercussions of their actions.

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

Staff provide children with positive affirmation when they make progress. Children who have shown improvements in their behaviour and reflected on incidents are praised and rewarded because of good decision-making. This recognition of children’s efforts has contributed to a reduction in incidents. One social worker said: ‘Incidents are managed really well, we are happy with the measures in place to help [child] to stay safe.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by an experienced registered manager, who is responsive to the children’s needs and provides a safe and well-managed living environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager works closely with the deputy manager to promote high levels of care and is visible in the home, role modelling exceptional practice to a recently constructed staff team. This has resulted in staff delivering great levels of care to the children they look after and children making excellent progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 5 The leaders know the children extremely well and work directly with them. They have sensitive and difficult conversations with children to help them to understand how to keep themselves safe. The approach of leaders and managers significantly contributes to the children becoming safer. One child, through many reflective conversations about decision-making, has made great progress and is now able to maintain relationships and make good decisions after several months of low-level criminal activity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leaders respond to risks positively and creatively. They support children to take part in exciting, memorable and challenging events. For example, one child travelled to Wales and climbed Mount Snowdon with staff. This well-planned event stemmed from leaders looking at ways to harness children’s energy and turn it into a positive experience. Another child has signed up to a racing event on the back of this being a success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager recognises strengths and abilities in staff. Members of the staff team describe the management team as excellent mentors. Staff have grown in confidence and belief due to the strong leadership. Because of this, many have applied to progress to more senior roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leaders have the highest aspirations for the staff and push them to be knowledgeable in all areas of their role. The managers have a good understanding of how to upskill the staff and provide group sessions on policies and frameworks by way of quizzes and competitions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals describe the leadership team as exceptional and one social worker said: ‘He [the manager] brings [child] to family visits, he is fantastic, has great boundaries and a great communicator.’ Another social worker spoke about how the extremely knowledgeable management team is one of the best that they had ever worked with. Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 6

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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: 2669971 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Inspector

Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2669971 8 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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