Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in North East Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 1 Registered provider: Keys Child Care 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

A private company operates this home. It provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties or a learning disability. Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. All children were seen during the inspection and their views sought.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been on maternity leave and has recently returned to work on a part-time basis. A full-time interim manager has been overseeing the service but is not yet registered with Ofsted. Both managers were present during the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 7 November 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: 2721832 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children currently living in the home are making good progress in all areas of their lives. They are going to school and planning for and working towards future careers. Children are encouraged to be independent, and their success is celebrated by staff. Children benefit from living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Caring and nurturing staff support children. Staff value the children’s views and wishes, and listen to them. Staff remain committed to children during difficult times. This supports children to build trusting relationships with staff. As a result, the children are growing in confidence and are more able to share difficult emotions with staff, feeling safe to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, homely and spacious, and has a large garden where children have lots of space to play. The home is well decorated and furnished with high-quality furniture and fittings. Children’s rooms are personalised to their taste, and children have the things they need. Pictures of the children are on display downstairs, and children respect the lovely environment they live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take part in activities in the community where they can form friendships. Staff support children to explore new interests and hobbies until they find something that they enjoy. Children have lots of fun and new experiences with staff and learn new skills. Staff persevere and encourage children to give things a go and not to give up. This persistence made a big difference to one child who was finding learning a new skill hard. Staff encouraged the child to persevere. As a result, the child had a huge sense of achievement and continues to enjoy the new activity that they previously found difficult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take care of their health and well-being. One child who would not previously see health professionals is making great progress by going to the dentist and having treatment. The emotional needs of children are also nurtured. Staff ensure that specialist support is available should this be needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child moved to the home and only stayed for a brief period. Managers did not complete a rigorous assessment before the child moved in, and staff were unable to meet their needs alongside other children. The move had a detrimental effect on the child and other children living in the home. Managers then worked closely with the placing authority to ensure that the child was moved to a more suitable home. Managers shared their learning from this situation and how to avoid it happening again. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 4

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

Staff work closely with children to help them understand the specific risks they face. Children are growing in their understanding of risks from the conversations they have with staff. Staff help them to develop strategies to keep themselves safe in different situations. Children are learning safety skills and how to get help if they are worried.

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

Children are supported to access specialist services that can help them with risk they may face. Staff support children to build relationships with the professionals who can support them. If children disengage from the support, staff ask the professionals to work differently to support the children and help them to re-engage. This helps children to get the support that they need.

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

Staff rarely physically intervene with children, and on the occasions where they have, it has been very brief. Managers oversee incidents and talk with staff and the child to unpick the incident. After reflection, managers and staff review strategies that may help children to express their difficult emotions in other ways.

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

Missing-from-home episodes have significantly decreased. This is because staff actively discourage these behaviours by encouraging children to engage in activities with them and the other children who live in the home. The reduction in missing-from-home episodes shows that children are investing more in the home, feel safer and are making more informed choices about their personal safety.

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

Managers make thorough checks on staff during the recruitment process. This ensures that staff who are not suitable to work with children are prevented from working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has been on maternity leave during this period and therefore did not have day-to-day oversight of the home. An interim manager was appointed, but has not yet submitted a complete application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers did not notify the regulator in a timely manner of the plans for managing the service during this period. The notification was made several months later. The regulator was not aware during this time of who was in day-to-day charge of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not notified Ofsted of some allegations that were made against staff in the home. This prevents the regulator from having oversight of potential risks to children. The manager took appropriate action to keep children safe when these were made and notified other safeguarding partners.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not captured the views of children or others in the quality-of-care review. This does not demonstrate how children and the views of others involved in children’s lives can influence change and progress in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 5 Staff feel supported in the home by leaders and managers and enjoy their roles. They receive a detailed induction and have regular supervision and feedback on their performance. The team work collaboratively, while keeping the children at the centre of their planning. The team work well together and cover any gaps to avoid the use of temporary staff and keep consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers work closely with other professionals involved with the children. They do this in an inclusive way so that children can influence decision-making and see adults working together to support them. Staff encourage the children to build trust with professionals who can support their health and well-being. Communication with others involved is regular and clear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers aspire for the children to do well in all areas of their life. They support them in their learning, and older children are working towards qualifications to help them follow their desired careers. Younger children read with staff, and books that address well-being and safety are incorporated into their routines. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

If the person who is in day-to-day charge of the children’s home proposes to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI of the proposed absence.

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Requirement Due date

Except in the case of an emergency or unforeseen absence, a notice under paragraph (1) must—

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Requirement Due date

be given no later than one month before the proposed absence commences, or within such shorter period as may be agreed with HMCI; and

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Requirement Due date

specify with respect to the proposed absence—

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Requirement Due date

the arrangements which have been made for running the home during the absence;

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Requirement Due date

the address, name and qualifications of the person who will be responsible for the home during the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

in the case of the absence of the registered manager, the arrangements that have been, or are proposed to be, made for appointing another person to manage the home during the absence, including the proposed date by which the appointment is to be made. (Regulation 48 (1) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)) 13 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 13 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 7 that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(C)) 13 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they seek out the views of children and others and to write a quality of care report and promote continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2721832 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Keys Care Ltd, Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2721832 9 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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