Children's home run by Keys QTC Limited

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 1 Registered provider: Keys QTC 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. 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 three 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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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 2

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Findings from the inspection

When children have raised complaints or allegations, staff listen and take suitable action. Leaders and managers ensure that these complaints are investigated, and all relevant professionals are involved. The outcomes of these investigations are shared with the child raising the complaint and follow up work is completed with them where necessary.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff support and encourage children to do well in their education. Children are supported to have good attendance at their education provision and to have aspirations for their futures. One child has recently sat their functional skills exams and has begun a college course.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff complete direct work sessions with children. Staff also take opportunities to complete sessions with the children relevant to what is going on in their lives. Some sessions are planned and some are following a significant event. 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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Findings from the inspection

When it has been necessary to physically hold a child, it has been reasonable and proportionate. Following the event, staff and children are supported to reflect on the incident and explore their feelings around the use of the hold.

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Findings from the inspection

When children have been missing from the home, staff have taken action to search for and locate them. However, the action that staff take to locate children is not always detailed in the reports. This impacts the manager’s ability to review and evaluate protocols and to identify what has worked well or lessons learned.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has a good knowledge of the children’s individual needs. He has systems in place to identify the home’s strengths and weaknesses. However, these systems do not support the manager to identify patterns and trends of significant incidents for each child.

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Findings from the inspection

There has been some instability in the staff team, with several staff leaving and some new staff joining the team. Due to these changes, there are still some inconsistencies with staff knowledge around their roles and responsibilities. Existing staff have positive and trusting relationships with children, which has provided some stability and consistency for them. This has reduced the impact of staff changes on children who live in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been some improvements to the environment. However, there are still some outstanding maintenance issues, and there are not effective systems in place to ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy. There are plans in place for refurbishment of the home. However, this has not yet taken place. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2024 Full Good 27/06/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 24/08/2021 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 4

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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 the home is decorated and maintained to an acceptable standard and that any damage or wear and tear is quickly addressed and rectified.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, the registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place to ensure that children’s bedrooms are clean and tidy. 13 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 13 December 2024 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 5 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that a detailed record is kept of the action staff have taken to locate children when they are missing from the home.

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that oversight of reports identifies when there are shortfalls in recording.

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Requirement Due date

In addition to this, the registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place which identify patterns and trends of significant incidents for each child. 13 December 2024

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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)  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) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 6

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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: Thomas Cappleman

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2595983 7 regulates and inspects 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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