Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 1 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and support from a child-focused staff team. Children develop positive and trusting relationships with staff, and their needs are consistently promoted.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions into and on from the home are well planned. Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home, in line with their individual care plans. These children experienced positive endings due a thorough transition plan. The registered manager arranged for the children to visit their new home and build positive relationships before moving. One child said that their time living in the home had been ‘amazing’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met by supporting them to attend regular routine and specialist health appointments as required. Staff have offered appropriate encouragement and education to children when they have had anxieties about attending appointments. As a result, children have engaged well with medical professionals when necessary.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is well promoted in the home. When barriers in attending education have been identified, the registered manager has advocated strongly to ensure that children receive appropriate educational support. When children have been unable to access a school setting, the registered manager has requested that one-to-one tutoring in the home is implemented. As a result, children are continuing with a bespoke education package to meet their needs until an appropriate school is identified.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children spending time with people who are important to them. Children are supported to maintain these relationships, with staff supervising family time as appropriate. As a result, children enjoy quality time with their family and friends, which supports their sense of self and identity.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their interests and hobbies. They engage in weekly activities, such as horse riding and golf. Staff also take children on a range of outings and activities, including theme parks, camping trips and local events. This provides the children with opportunities to socialise in the wider community and broaden their experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Children can decorate their bedrooms to reflect their personality and are involved in menu and activity planning. Children feel that their views and opinions are valued and that their voices are heard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 4

p.3

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

Staff have the understanding, skills and knowledge to help keep children safe. They are aware of the individual risks faced by children and have identified support factors which reduce these known risks.

p.4

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

Staff support children to manage their feelings and behaviours by using positive reinforcement. Children are involved in identifying their activities and rewards as incentives for positive behaviour. Where appropriate, the registered manager promotes natural consequences which are proportionate to the behaviour displayed.

p.4

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

On a small number of occasions, children have been physically held by staff as a last resort. This has been to protect children from harming themselves or others. The registered manager has clear oversight of any incidents involving physical intervention and has evaluated these to identify any alternative approaches to staff practice. The staff team has reflected and has adapted some approaches, which has seen the number of incidents involving physical intervention reduce further over time.

p.4

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

On the few occasions that children have been missing from the home, staff have been proactive and professionally curious in their attempts to locate and return the children to the home safely. Clear missing-from-home protocols provide staff with detailed actions to take when incidents occur. Staff speak to children to help understand the reasons why they may go missing from home and work closely with other professionals to attempt to reduce the risk of future incidents.

p.4

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

The registered manager ensures that staff are recruited safely and that they receive a good-quality induction. Since the last inspection, there have been several changes to the staff team. On some occasions, the home has had to utilise agency staff. The registered manager has identified the need for consistent staff in the home and has worked hard to develop a stable staff team that shares his commitment to providing high-quality care to the children.

p.4

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

Practice is supported by detailed risk assessments which show a good understanding of children’s needs. Staff keep risk assessments regularly updated and include learning from any incidents. However, some risk assessment updates have not adapted or removed historical information, which can provide contradictory information.

p.4

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

One medication error has been made. This was immediately acknowledged, and appropriate medical advice was sought. The registered manager identified an area for development for the staff member involved, with an action to undertake refresher medication training. There was delay in the staff member completing this training, despite this being made available in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed and knowledgeable registered manager who leads by example. He is also registered to manage another local home for the same provider. The registered manager is supported by a deputy manager and two senior care workers.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that the registered manager is approachable and that the home is now stabilising after a transition period due to staff changes.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff communicate well with each other and engage in regular good-quality training, which ensures that they are skilled to care for children. The registered manager has sourced bespoke training that is specific to the individual needs of the children currently living in the home. The registered manager works with staff during reflective supervision sessions and team meetings to help them understand what is working well for the children and to reflect on areas for development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they enjoy working in the home and that they feel supported by the registered manager. Staff receive good-quality supervision sessions, which are recorded in detail and evidence clear discussions about their individual practice and the children. However, for one staff member, supervision has not taken place within reasonable timescales.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partner agencies and family members say that they are happy with the care provided to the children by staff. Professionals and family members say that they have good communication with staff in the home and they receive regular updates about children’s progress. One social worker described how one child has made ‘excellent progress’ since living in the home and said that staff have excellent relationships with the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are up to date with their training. This specifically relates to ensuring that refresher training in the administration of medication is undertaken by staff in a timely way when shortfalls in practice have been identified. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. The registered person should ensure that when risk assessments are updated, the document consistently reflects the current circumstances for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive regular supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children

p.6

Recommendations

assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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: 2709845 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered manager: Kristopher Creighton

p.7

Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709845 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 children looked after, 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