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

Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 1 SC389183 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2018.

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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: 11 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Outstanding 14/03/2023 Full Outstanding 30/06/2021 Full Outstanding 23/01/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in an environment that has a homely feel. There is ample space for children to spend time together, as well as separate areas where they can enjoy solo activities. Photos of children having fun and enjoying their time in the home adorn the walls.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build trusting relationships with children and are respectful of their individual backgrounds and presenting needs. They proactively involve families in their children’s care, which ensures a consistent approach and demonstrates to children that time with their families is important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children and encourage them to attend and achieve in education placements that give them the greatest chance of success. One child is enjoying their second year studying their chosen subject. A change of school has been arranged for the other child after the manager successfully advocated on their behalf. However, while the child waits for their start date, staff are not supporting them to maintain a healthy routine. This is a missed opportunity for staff to engage the child in structured activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide individualised care and support to children, including teaching them important life skills when they are ready. This helps children to become more confident about living independently in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and are supported to access local health services when they need to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Equality and diversity are promoted. Staff understand how to meet children’s cultural needs, and they are central to children’s care and support plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints about the service are infrequent. When complaints are made, managers respond in line with the organisation’s policies and procedures. Children receive written feedback, and the manager implements changes to practice when required.

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

Safeguarding is a real strength of the home. Knowledgeable staff can describe the procedure to follow when a child discloses a concern or an allegation. All necessary action and appropriate steps are taken, in a child-focused and timely manner. This ensures that the child’s safety and well-being are prioritised.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of each of the children. They respond to any concerns swiftly, involving external safeguarding professionals when necessary. Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 4 When children are struggling and behavioural incidents occur, staff make effective use of de-escalation techniques. Physical restraint is used only as a last resort. The manager carries out a reflective review of incidents. They identify children’s potential triggers and provide guidance for staff about how to adapt their approach in line with children’s needs.

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

Staff support children to become increasingly safe. In one example, sensitive support to a child who has recently moved into the home has led to them starting to build trusting relationships with staff. As a result, the child maintains contact with staff when they are away from the home and shares details of their whereabouts. This has contributed to a considerable reduction in the child’s risks.

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

Children’s protection and sense of security are enhanced through careful assessment of risk by managers. This includes risks in the community for children who continue to live in the home and for children who have recently left.

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

Health and safety matters, including fire safety, are well managed. Any necessary repairs in the home are addressed swiftly, and the manager ensures that the home is maintained to a high standard. As a result, children live in a safe environment. Staff and children know what to do in an emergency to keep themselves and others safe.

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

There is an individualised approach to ensuring children’s safety. For example, alarms are fitted to children’s bedroom doors, but they are only activated when they are needed to keep a child safe. Consequently, children do not experience any unnecessary restrictions to their liberty.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced and highly respected registered manager, who knows the children extremely well and provides effective support for staff. Staff are proud of their contribution to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work collaboratively with the clinical team to provide the staff with the skills, knowledge and training they need to offer high-quality, child-focused care. The registered manager role models effective and proactive joint working with other professionals and with children’s family members. A relative of one of the children said, ‘We feel so lucky, our child has a chance now which they didn’t have before.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision that provides opportunities for managers to ensure that staff know how to care for children in line with their plans. Supervision also gives staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice and discuss their own development. Additional support sessions are provided for individual staff when there have been significant incidents. This encourages open and honest discussions, reflection and learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff induction programme is thorough and introduces staff to the organisation, as well as providing them with more specific information relating to the children in the Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 5 home. Staff appraisals are intended to be carried out annually and are very thorough. However, some staff have not received their appraisal within the organisation’s prescribed timescale. The manager has identified this as an area for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by a responsible individual who knows the children and staff team very well and is passionate about ensuring that they receive effective support. The responsible individual has a huge amount of confidence in the manager and the team’s ability to ensure that the children’s needs are well met. Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to engage in suitably structured activities when they are not accessing an education provision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC389183 7

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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, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspectors

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC389183 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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