Children's home run by Keys Specialist Residential Children‟s Services Ltd in Tewkesbury

Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 1 SC434223 Registered provider: Keys Specialist Residential Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to two children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager commenced her post in September 2023 and is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2024 Full Good 06/03/2023 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since the previous inspection, one child has moved out of the home. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff team are unquestionably committed to the children. They ensure that everything they do and every decision they make are in children’s best interests. As a result, children are thriving in all aspects of their lives. Staff do their very best to ensure that the children feel and are safe. Children feel loved, cared for and highly valued. Children are afforded care that meets their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children develop strong relationships with staff who they know they can depend on. This is because staff are proactive in gaining an in-depth understanding of children’s needs and know them well. Staff have an excellent insight into children’s triggers and have developed imaginative strategies to respond to children and reduce their risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Plans for children moving into the home are incredibly detailed and well thought out. Each child’s move into the home has been tailored to suit their needs. The staff team has been incredibly flexible in its approach, which has ensured that children’s moves into and out of the home have been highly effective and successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are involved in the decision-making for all aspects of their daily experiences. Staff’s consultation with the children is exceptional. They ensure that meaningful conversations with the children always take place. Staff use a wide range of ways to facilitate conversations and engage children. Various activities have been used to approach sensitive topics with the children. This has improved the staff’s understanding of the children, enabled staff to better advocate on children’s behalf and supported children to discuss emotive subjects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children’s education and their future. They assist with children’s bespoke learning plans. Staff advocate for the children to ensure that they are adequately supported to learn. Staff have used environments in the home and out in the community to encourage children to engage in learning. Children have made significant progress in their education since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff go over and above to support relationships that are important to the children. Staff form valued relationships with family members, who speak very highly of the staff. Staff assist with arrangements for family time even when this is at a distance. They remain in the vicinity to ensure that children are OK and to provide support, if needed. The children have enjoyed sleepovers and dinner dates at the home with friends and family members. These experiences have created positive memories for the children and have helped them to maintain a sense of their identity. Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 4 The manager seeks to inspire positive peer relationships with children who live in other homes. Staff encourage children to develop hobbies and offer a range of activities, such as ice skating, go-karting, trampolining and baking. As a result, children are making friends and having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is well decorated and maintained. It is clean and provides a calm and homely environment. The children’s bedrooms are personalised and arranged in ways that support their routines. Items identified as triggers for children have been removed immediately. The position of furniture helps children to feel safe and comfortable in their home.

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

The manager and staff team understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff’s wide-ranging behaviour strategies are cohesive and successful in de-escalating situations. Staff have an empathetic approach irrespective of behaviours that may present as a challenge to them. This helps children to develop trust in the staff and their ability to keep them safe.

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

Staff are enthusiastic in supporting positive behaviour and implement clear and consistent boundaries. The boundaries are reflective of the age and understanding of the children. The staff use praise and rewards and do not use consequences. Following incidents, staff help children to reflect on their actions through meaningful conversations. This process of positive reinforcement and reflection has nurtured children’s growth, confidence and self-esteem.

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

The team of staff are efficient and creative in their responses to risks. They use a dynamic approach to support children with self-injurious behaviours. This is successful in helping children to feel understood and cared for. For one child, the staff put together a ‘soothe box’ containing items they know soothe the child when distressed. This has helped to calm the child when upset and reduced incidents of self-injurious behaviours.

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

Staff are effective in supporting the children to reduce their risks with use of de- escalation techniques. Missing-from-home incidents are infrequent. Complaints and allegations are extremely well managed. Managers ensure that there is extensive management oversight and detailed debriefs with all involved. The children are kept well informed through the varied approaches used by staff. As a result, children feel secure and assured in their relationships with staff.

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

Risk assessments and safety plans are thoroughly written and implemented well by staff. They are updated after each incident and amended where necessary. The updates are reviewed by the staff team to embed awareness and consistency in keeping the children safe. As a result, records are meticulous and accurately reflect the most current needs of the children. This helps staff mitigate the potential risks for the children and has supported a reduction in incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 5 Staff’s responses to incidents are innovative. Staff are flexible and always eager to develop their understanding of the children’s emerging needs. Although there have been periods of unsettlement recently, staff remain committed to the children. Professionals have provided unanimous positive feedback and said that the manager and staff go over and above for the children. The manager’s and staff’s dedication has contributed to

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

substantial progression of the children’s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is an inspirational leader who leads by example and models exceptional practice. They are ambitious and dedicated to the progression of the children and staff members. The manager is persistent in advocating for children’s needs. The manager remains child focused. They ensure that staff practice is aligned with this ethos and as a result children make excellent progress. Staff say that the manager is committed, supportive and has a vision that works in the best interests of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is stable and devoted to the children. The manager and staff remain attuned to their needs. When the use of agency workers is unavoidable, the manager utilises the same staff to provide familiarity for the children. The team is resilient and skilled in responding to various situations that may present difficulty significantly improving children’s safety. The safety and happiness of the children remain paramount in all that staff do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff practice has research embedded throughout. The manager provides detailed guidance. They ensure that appropriate theories are reflected in the work carried out by staff. These theories are reviewed in team meetings and during one-to-one supervision. Such theories have included the Catharsis theory, Containment theory and intervention theory. Doll therapy was successfully used by staff to enthuse positive relationship- building for the children. The children expressed their gratitude and described the positive impact of this work in a letter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision is resourceful and encourages reflective practice. The manager ensures that spending time with the children is prioritised, so they build meaningful relationships. The manager ensures that they unreservedly understand children’s needs. The manager is motivated to support the upskilling of the staff. They appreciate the importance of professional development. This actively improves the quality of care that staff provide for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager’s monitoring systems are comprehensive. They carry out various audits to highlight and rectify any shortfalls. Children’s files are regularly scrutinised. This aids staff in ensuring that the best outcomes for the children are being achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations have been made. Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 6

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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: SC434223 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Specialist Residential Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Latoya Morgan, Social Care Inspector Kate Savage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC434223 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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