Children's home run by Keys QTC Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 1 Registered provider: Keys QTC Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to six children who may. experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were five children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider operates a school on the same site. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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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: 2595983 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/06/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 24/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have positive relationships. Staff make sure that children can express their views and wishes and feel listened to. Children spoken to said that if they have any worries or concerns, they can talk to staff, and they will help. One child said, ‘I like that staff are very supportive and always here for a chat.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time for children is supported in line with their agreed plans. Children are also supported to spend time with friends. This means that they can build and maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education. Two of the children living in the home are sitting their GCSE exams and functional skills, and have plans and aspirations for their future careers. One child, who is new to the home, is currently accessing their education from the home. The staff and placing authority are working together to ensure that the child has access to a suitable school to meet their educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the therapy team work together to provide a child-centred approach to supporting the children’s individual needs. Direct therapy is available to the children if needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine medical appointments, such as with the dentist, GP, and opticians, and are also supported to attend specialist appointments when necessary. There are suitable arrangements for the safe storage, recording and administration of medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to take part in activities to meet their social and physical needs. However, sometimes, these opportunities can be limited due to staffing and the complex needs of the children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are support plans in place for staff to follow. However, these documents are not always updated with current information. This means that staff are not providing consistent responses to the children and staff do not have access to information that is necessary to understand the children’s current needs.

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

When children have raised concerns or made allegations, the manager has taken suitable and appropriate action. They have notified all relevant professionals and ensured that the welfare of the children was a priority throughout.

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

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate. The manager has reviewed each report and identified any shortfalls in Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 4 recording and in the actions that staff have taken. Staff and the child are supported to reflect on the incident and explore their feelings around the use of the hold.

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

When children have been missing from the home, staff have taken action to search for and locate them. Staff work with the police to safely return the children home. There are clear plans and protocols for staff to follow when children go missing from the home. However, the action that staff take to locate the children is not always detailed sufficiently in the reports. This impacts the manager’s ability to review and evaluate the action taken by staff.

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

Staff support children when they have caused harm to themselves or when they feel overwhelmed by their feelings. They support the children to access emergency medical help when necessary.

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

Children who are new to the home have moved in a planned way. The manager ensures that impact assessments identify possible risks and any impact on other children living in the home. The assessments also ensure that staff have the skills and training to meet the child’s needs. This helps children to settle into their new home.

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

When children have moved out of the home, they have done so in a carefully considered way. One child was supported to move to a home with a foster carer who he had built a relationship with through working at the home. This was a positive move for the child into a family environment.

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

Staff complete key-worker sessions with the children. These take place in the form of conversations and are also completed in response to significant events, such as missing- from-home episodes and incidents. However, staff do not always educate children on significant topics, such as sexual health and contraception. In addition, records do not accurately reflect the number of key-worker sessions that take place, which means that staff and the manager are not aware of significant discussions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager who is suitably qualified. The manager has systems in place to ensure that he has oversight of the home. He knows the children well and understands their individual needs .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses internal and external monitoring of the home effectively. He has a good vision of the development that he wants to achieve, alongside a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This enables him to take effective action when required. However, some records are handwritten and illegible. This means that it is not always possible to monitor these records. This was also a recommendation at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, training has been a priority. The manager has ensured that all staff are trained in topics that relate to the individual needs of the children so that these Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 5 can be met. New staff who have not yet had the opportunity to attend the training have been added to the next available sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following several staff leaving the home, there is now a stable and consistent staff team after a period of recruitment. However, some of the staff are inexperienced and there are some inconsistencies with staff knowledge around their roles and responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are suitable arrangements in place for the safer recruitment of staff. There have been occasions when it has been necessary to use agency staff. They have worked alongside the core staff, and there are adequate recruitment checks in place through the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision sessions are recorded and documented to ensure that staff are supported in their development. Through supervisions, the manager acknowledges and addresses the emotional effects of the work on staff. Supervisions are centred around meeting the needs of the children, including their experiences and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. They are well attended by staff and involve the therapy team. They are an opportunity for staff to share information and updates about the children. However, they are a missed opportunity for the team to reflect on recent events and identify lessons learned in order to support change going forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are some shortfalls to the home environment. Not all children’s bedrooms were clean or tidy and bedding appeared to be unclean. In addition, there was damage to radiators, windows, doors, and the bathroom. Some of these issues were addressed during the inspection; however, there was some delay in addressing urgent maintenance issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any damage is quickly repaired, and maintenance issues are addressed swiftly.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that there are systems in place to ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy, and that bedding is changed regularly. 4 July 2024

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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. 18 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans and risk management plans contain up-to-date information.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff have regular direct work sessions with the children to discuss and educate them on topics that are relevant to their safety and well-being. 18 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and understand the expectations of their role. There should be clear lines of accountability. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record is kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Reports should include specific details of what actions staff took to locate and return the children to the home. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills, or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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Recommendations

 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: 2595983 9

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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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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 10 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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