Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 1 SC480318

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Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd

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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 owns the service. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home consists of two buildings. There is a main home building that provides accommodation for three children, and a separate annex that provides accommodation for one child.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home in the annex. No children were living in the main home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is currently vacant. The previous manager resigned in October 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Inadequate 27/02/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good 09/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at this home was seen and spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide the child who lives here with a good standard of care. Some staff have formed positive relationships with the child, which has helped them settle and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When there are barriers to children attending school, staff and managers work effectively with education professionals to overcome these. Managers understand the child’s views about their education and advocate strongly for them. As a result, the child’s attendance at school has recently improved, and they reported feeling clearer about the expectations of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to stay in touch with family, friends and other important people. The child regularly spends time with friends, including having them visit at home. The child is supported to access activities in the community that they enjoy, for example fishing and playing football.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff generally ensure that the child’s basic health needs are well met. When there are delays to medical appointments or reviews, the responsible individual has challenged this, and any outstanding appointments are now being progressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers have reviewed and refined the process of children moving into the home. The new admissions process aims to provide a more robust consideration of how well the staff team can meet a specific child’s needs, with additional opportunities for reflection and consultation. At the time of the inspection, no new children had moved into the home, meaning it is not yet possible to assess the effectiveness of these changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

No significant concerns were noted about the accommodation in the annex building. The child’s bedroom is clean, tidy and personalised. The main house building remains empty, and work to fully refurbish this is nearing completion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers have spoken to the child about a plan for them to move to the main house building once work is complete. The child reported that they feel positive about this move and that they have been involved in personalising their new bedroom, including choosing new furniture. However, the child has not been supported to fully understand their long-term care plan and why decisions about their care have been made. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 4

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

The child living in this home said that they feel happy here, that they like the staff who care for them and feel able to speak about any concerns they have.

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

Staff have appropriate training in safeguarding. Work to upskill and develop the staff team’s understanding of safeguarding issues further is ongoing. No safeguarding incidents have happened relating to this child since the previous inspection.

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

The child living in this home has a games console in their bedroom and has access to a mobile phone that they use to contact family and friends. Appropriate filters are in place on the home’s Wi-Fi. However, guidance to staff in the child’s care and support plans is not clear enough in terms of how and when the child should be supervised while spending time online or on their phone. Staff check the content of the child’s phone with them. However, staff have not yet spoken to the child in any depth about how to keep themselves safe online.

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

When concerns are raised against staff, appropriate safeguarding procedures are followed. Managers work with other professionals to ensure that information is shared, and investigations take place in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the responsible individual has maintained day-to-day oversight of the home. A new manager has been in post full time since January 2025, with a plan for a gradual handover to take place. Leaders and managers are receptive of feedback and have taken action to address the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has formed a positive relationship with the child. She has a good understanding of the child’s needs and the staff team’s areas of strength and development. Staff enjoy working at this home and were positive about the support from the responsible individual and the new manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A clear training and development plan is in place for all staff. Additional specialist training has been delivered to the majority of the staff team. The responsible individual has also held several ‘upskilling’ sessions, which have been attended by the home’s new manager and which he reported finding helpful and relevant to his role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Efficient monitoring systems are in place that managers use to track the child’s progress and monitor the effectiveness of the additional support and training that has been provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and staff supervision take place regularly. These are used by managers to further reinforce expectations, share information and address practice concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 5 Managers and staff communicate effectively with external professionals and the child’s family. Professionals and parents were positive about the communication from the responsible individual and the quality of care provided to the child by the staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children understand their care plans and how decisions about their care have been reached. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff help children learn about keeping safe online and about positive and healthy relationships with others. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that clear guidance is in place for staff around the supervision of children and that all staff understand this guidance and consistently follow it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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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: SC480318 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Second Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480318 8 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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