Children's Home run by Keys Direct Care Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 1 SC033817

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Registered provider: Keys Direct 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

This home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a qualified registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home, whose views were sought.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2024 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Outstanding 28/09/2021 Full Outstanding 23/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive and meaningful relationships with staff. They show emotional warmth to the children and there is lots of fun and laughter. One child has recently moved into the home, which has changed some of the dynamics within the peer group. Staff prioritise building and maintaining relationships with the children and have been creative in getting to know the child using their shared interests and the home’s preferred model of care. This helps children to build trusting relationships with staff, which supports them to settle into the home and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The interior environment is homely and welcoming and has lots of personal photos and children’s artwork proudly displayed around the home. The house benefits from a large garden which gives children the opportunity to play together and to build personal relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend valuable time with staff and undertake a good range of activities in the home and the community. Activities include trips out to theme parks, sports activities and going to concerts. The children get to try new things and have experiences that they will remember, which are captured in memory books that children keep when they leave the home. The children also plan activities that they would like to do in the coming year, including holidays and trips. These are captured on vision boards that the children review and tick off as the year progresses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in their education. Staff work closely with partner agencies to source support and to help the children to engage in education. Some children have moved to the home from other counties and staff have supported their attendance at their original school to provide stability. Conversely, staff strongly advocated for one child who experienced significant challenges in their original school to move to a local provision and on to a local secondary setting. This has been a successful transition, which means that the child is now enjoying their education and making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that some children have complex needs and have experienced considerable trauma in their lives. Staff undertake training in safeguarding alongside specific training in relation to the children’s individual needs using a trauma-informed approach. Staff benefit from bespoke training from the organisation’s therapeutic team to understand complexities in behaviours and their safe management. Staff also have regular supervision and monthly team and clinical meetings, which encourages staff’s consistent reflection and learning and embeds the home’s preferred model of care.

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

Children’s health and well-being is well understood and promoted by staff. One child has recently received a significant health diagnosis. Staff have completed bespoke training Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 4 with a medical specialist to respond safely to the risk. The manager has ensured that staff are supported in their understanding of the diagnosis and the safe management of this through sharing of guidance in individual supervision sessions and wider team meetings. Medical guidance and support plans are followed consistently. As a result, this joined-up approach, alongside planned medical interventions, has resulted in the diagnosed condition being well managed.

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

Staff know the risks that children can be exposed to. Support plans are made in collaboration with other professionals, including health, education and the local authority. Assessments of risk are balanced between keeping children safe and allowing them to take age-appropriate risks. Risk assessments and support plans are regularly updated. However, relevant documents are stored both online and in paper format. Some paper documents available are not the most up-to-date version. However, staff report that they view documents on the online system and demonstrate a good understanding of current planning. Nonetheless, this means that there is a risk that staff do not follow the most up-to-date plan. The manager is aware of this and is taking steps to mitigate the risk. This is an area for development.

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

Overall, children know that staff will listen to them and take them seriously. Therefore, children can be open about their feelings and emotions. This is led by regular key-work sessions which are both planned and spontaneous. The children receive a record of these sessions in a child-friendly manner that they can return to at a later date. However, some of these sessions do not consistently highlight the child’s voice. As a result, the impact of a small number of discussions is not clear. This is an area for development.

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

Children know how to complain. Staff listen to children and take their concerns seriously. The manager undertakes thorough investigations and liaises with the local authority designated officer when this is required. Complaints are resolved effectively within appropriate time frames. Children are kept updated and receive a final response. Consequently, children feel heard and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly ambitious and committed to providing a home where the children can develop and flourish. She has high expectations of staff and provides good oversight and feedback, supporting staff to be equally as ambitious for the care provided to the children. She is supported by a leadership team whose members are equally committed to the care and progress of the setting This is an integral part of the home and its success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are always visible and regularly work with the children directly. This allows managers not only to build relationships with children, but also to model their styles and strategies to support staff in their learning and development. Alongside this, the manager carefully matches the children’s needs to the staff’s skills and experience, which allows positive relationships to develop. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 5 The manager’s oversight of the care provided to children is good. She knows what is happening in the home daily. The manager has developed good systems to help her monitor the quality of care and the daily functioning of the home. She reviews staff recording and all incidents. Management audits are regularly undertaken, and outstanding actions are promptly actioned. The manager had a period of unplanned leave. However, the responsible individual was able to pick up and follow the established

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

systems in place to continue the good monitoring of the quality of care. This ensures that standards of care continue to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed positive engagement with external agencies, which has resulted in a strong multi-agency approach to ensure that children’s needs are met. One professional said: ‘We all work together really well. Even taking into account [the manager] was off for a long time, [child] continued to be well supported.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff report feeling supported by leaders and managers. The staff are highly motivated and happy in their jobs. They have worked through a turbulent time at the home. Despite this, they remain committed to the children and the support from leaders and managers has been key to staff remaining focused on the care and support to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a consistent and effective approach to record-keeping. Children’s important information should be readily accessible to staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: SC033817 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Direct Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033817 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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Inspector

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