Children's home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 1 SC363393 Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to two children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that care is provided for children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home and the inspector spent time with both of them.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2020. However, the manager was not present during the inspection. As a result, the inspection was supported by the provider’s regional manager and the home’s deputy manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2023 Full Good 09/11/2022 Full Good 21/04/2021 Full Good 22/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress has been varied. One child is described as having made ‘masses’ of progress. They have been supported to develop healthy routines and are making healthier lifestyle choices. They are also attending school regularly and plans are in place to support them to increase their attendance as their confidence in the classroom continues to grow.

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improvement to be good

The other child enrolled in a local college, began to develop positive relationships with staff and was accessing new opportunities. They also began to attend important health appointments, which is something that they had not done for several years. However, staff have been unable to prevent the child from engaging in an unhealthy relationship with another person outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

The variations in children’s progress are reflected in feedback from family members. One family member said that there has been a ‘massive change’ for good for their child. However, another family member said that the early progress that their child had made has since deteriorated.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are also of variable quality. One child’s plan has recently been reviewed and updated, while another child’s plan is not up to date and is missing some important guidance for staff. As a result, children’s care plans are not always a helpful resource for staff to support them to understand how to meet each child’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Most of the home is nicely decorated and well furnished. One child’s bedroom furniture has been damaged, and staff are helping them to choose their own furniture in the hope that they will feel a greater sense of belonging and pride in their home. The staff office has remained locked to children, despite it being identified that many incidents that challenge staff tend to start from outside of the locked office door. Although this was raised during the last inspection, the practice of locking the office door has not been reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s responses to children’s behaviours are positive on most occasions. However, there have been occasions when staff have been unable to help children to express themselves safely and restraint has been used and/or the police have been called. On at least two occasions, the use of restraint has not been necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

In most cases, managers’ responses to concerns that are raised by children about staff are robust. If a concern is raised about the registered manager of the home, a registered Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 4 manager from another of the provider’s homes will investigate the concern and identify an outcome. This helps to promote impartiality and rigour.

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improvement to be good

However, one concern that was raised about a member of staff was not robustly responded to. When the concern was raised with the member of staff, they resigned with immediate effect, so the provider did not complete a thorough investigation into what had happened. As a result, consideration was not given to whether a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service was necessary. Furthermore, information was not shared with other outside agencies accurately and/or misunderstandings were not corrected.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not always demonstrate a clear understanding of the roles of safeguarding partners. As a result, an allegation of harm to a child was shared with the incorrect external agency. Despite managers being aware of this mistake, the allegation was not swiftly reported to the correct agency.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not keep a clear chronology of concerns about staff that have not been shared with the local authority designated officer (LADO). As a result, managers are not easily able to monitor these ‘low-level’ concerns to identify patterns or themes that may suggest that staff require additional support to care for children effectively and/or are unsuitable to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Following the conclusion of investigations into staff practice, children are not always provided with feedback about the actions that have been taken. As a result, children cannot always be assured that they have been listened to and protected.

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improvement to be good

Despite escalating behaviours from children that staff find worrying, managers have not critically analysed the support that staff provide for children effectively. As a result, actions to prevent future behaviours that staff find difficult to manage have not been robustly identified or implemented.

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

The manager of the home has resigned, although an application to cancel their registration with Ofsted has not yet been received. Accordingly, the registered manager has not provided Ofsted with the required notice period of three months, as per The Care Standards Act 2000 (Registration) (England) Regulations 2010. Interim arrangements for the management of the home have been made while the provider recruits a new registered manager.

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

Since the home’s last inspection, three children have moved in, two children have moved out and there are plans to support another child to move out imminently. For the two children who have left and the child who will be moving, the decisions have been prompted because staff have struggled to respond to children’s behaviour effectively.

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

There have been occasions when there have not been enough sufficiently skilled or experienced staff at the home to support children effectively. Staff recognise that staffing Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 5 numbers have been low and explain that it has been a difficult period for them, although this has improved more recently. When staffing numbers have not been sufficient, the home has used staff from the provider’s other homes and/or agency-employed staff. As a result, children are not always provided with good-quality care from staff who know them well.

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

Overall, staff training is closely monitored and completed by staff in a timely way. However, staff skills are not always considered when supporting children.

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

Staff team meetings are held regularly. An increased focus has recently been placed on reflecting on children’s needs and the support that the staff provide. The strategies that work well to support children, and those that do not work so well, have been identified and shared with the team. It is hoped that this will improve the continuity of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must critically evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies that staff use to keep children safe. Where necessary, the registered person should take robust action to support staff and ensure that they have the resources that they need to help children to stay safe effectively. 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 7 In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff have a sound working knowledge of safeguarding procedures and that they can apply their knowledge to their day-to-day practice.

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Requirement Due date

Finally, the registered person must ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures are followed. Specifically, concerns that are raised about staff should be thoroughly investigated and outcomes should be shared with the relevant agencies.

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and

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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)(b) (2)(c)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staffing numbers to care for children and help them to keep safe. Further, the registered person must ensure that the staff have the skills and knowledge that they require to support and respond to children effectively.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that all concerns about staff are clearly recorded to allow for robust monitoring. Specifically, the registered person should keep a chronology of all low-level concerns about staff that are not reported to the (LADO). This should be used to inform the decisions that are made should future concerns about the staff member’s practice be identified. 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child); 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 8 serious damage to the property of any person (including the child.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) (2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must swiftly review and evaluate the use of restraint. Staff should be supported to reflect on their use of restraint and, when concerns are identified about its use, robust action should be taken to prevent similar concerns from occurring again in the future.

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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; and

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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 personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s care plans are up to date and reflective of children’s needs and the support that they require. Care plans should be helpful for staff and support them to respond to children effectively. 31 January 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse is addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that when children raise concerns about the practice of staff, they are provided with a suitable overview of the actions that have been taken and the outcomes. The registered manager should ensure that children are satisfied with the actions that have been taken and feel protected as a result. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 9 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph, 9.17)

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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: SC363393 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Educational Services 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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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC363393 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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