Children's home run by BKY Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 1 Registered provider: BKY Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. All three of the children were spoken with and shared their experiences with inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since October 2024. A new manager has been appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 17 September 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection on 17 and 18 September 2024, the home was judged to be inadequate. Inspectors found serious and widespread concerns relating to the leadership and management of the home and safeguarding practices. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 2 Due to the concerns, Ofsted urgently suspended the registration of the home and the registration of the manager to keep children safe. As a result, the children living in the home had to move on.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The suspension of the home’s registration was lifted on 17 October 2024. This was because leaders demonstrated improvements were being made. The home was able to admit children again.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The suspension of the manager’s registration was lifted on 1 November 2024. This was because action had been taken to improve their practice. However, the manager cancelled their registration of the home on 16 October 2024. They remain the registered manager for another children’s home within the organisation.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last full inspection in September, a compliance notice was served under Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, to drive and focus improvement activities. On 30 October 2024, a monitoring visit was carried out at the home. The steps in the compliance notice were met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2024 Full Inadequate 13/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 4

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improvement to be good

On two occasions, shortfalls in staff practice have weakened the good care that is provided to children. Leaders have taken action to upskill staff, and lessons have been learned. However, children’s overall experiences and safety were compromised at these times.

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improvement to be good

Three children have moved into the home within a short time. Children are warmly welcomed to the home, and their moves are well planned. Careful consideration is given to ensuring that children’s needs can be met. As a result, the children share positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children say they like the home, and they are starting to build secure relationships with the adults looking after them. This promotes a sense of belonging. Social workers speak positively about the progress children are making from their starting points.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from living in a relaxed and friendly environment. One child loves to prepare meals for others to enjoy. This is supporting the child to gain important life skills as they prepare for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Children have fun, and their hobbies and interests are encouraged and well supported by staff. One child enjoys swimming and going to the gym. Another child plays for a local football team. Children are gaining confidence, and the regular exercise promotes good health.

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improvement to be good

Important events in children’s lives are honoured, which impacts positively on children’s well-being. One child’s birthday was celebrated with a party. This made the child feel special and is helping the child to make happy memories.

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improvement to be good

Children’s links with people who are important to them are valued by staff. This supports children to maintain their identity and is a positive area of practice. In addition, a child is beginning to sensitively explore their feelings towards a family member. This is building emotional resilience as they start to overcome previous trauma.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the importance of education. One child enjoys going to school and is making good educational progress. Ongoing liaison with external professionals is supporting the other two children to return to full-time education as soon as possible. As a temporary measure, the opportunities for informal learning and learning life skills are encouraged by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 5

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, leaders have acted to improve safeguarding practice to benefit the children living in the home. Staff also have an increased awareness of their safeguarding responsibilities. However, aspects of risk management still need to be strengthened to ensure that children always receive safe, good-quality care.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not followed the guidance in one child’s care plan on two occasions. The shortfalls in staff practice have compromised the child’s safety. While no further incidents have occurred, these incidents were avoidable. Despite the good work that the manager completed after the first incident with staff and the child, a second incident occurred because a member of staff did not follow the child’s care plan. This means that the learning from the first incident was not fully understood by all staff.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment practice is not consistently safe. Leaders have not obtained a reference from a staff member’s most recent employer, despite several attempts to do this. The risk of children receiving care from a potentially unsuitable adult is not fully assessed. This means that vetting procedures are not yet robust.

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improvement to be good

Children say they feel safe and have trusted adults that they can talk to about any concerns. When a child raised a concern about their care, this was taken seriously and responded to promptly, which shows children are listened to.

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improvement to be good

A strength of the home is the important conversations staff have with children to help them manage their feelings and emotions. This is achieved through a nurturing and therapeutic approach. These positive experiences give children the support that they need in their most vulnerable times. While children have lived at the home for a short time, they are starting to make better life choices and are becoming more aware of how their behaviours impact others. Staff are still getting to know the children, and so they use bedroom door alarms to help them keep children safe during the night. While the surveillance is necessary and has regard to the children’s privacy, the required consent is not in place for two of the children. However, these children have only recently moved into the home, and the forms are ready for social workers to sign when they next visit.

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improvement to be good

Children’s safety is compromised because a staff member had a photo of a child on their personal mobile phone. Immediate action was taken by leaders to address this shortfall to protect children’s privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management changes have occurred at the home. The previous manager left in October 2024, and the quality manager was appointed into the manager’s role. Children are at Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 6 the heart of everything that the manager does; she wants the best for them. She has great knowledge of the children’s starting points and the risks that they face.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager feels supported by leaders and says she has found the last few months challenging. She is confident in her practice, and she has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas of weakness. She works tirelessly to drive and embed improvements that will be tested further over time. This is supporting children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The development of staff remains a top priority for leaders. This is an ongoing development area and is underpinned by measurable development plans. On occasions, when children’s care has fallen below the manager’s expectations and children’s safety has been compromised, prompt action has been taken to learn lessons.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A range of effective audits and checks are completed by leaders. These systems add extra layers of quality assurance to support managerial oversight of children’s care, their progress and the daily running of the home. The responsible individual has also strengthened his oversight of children’s care through better record-keeping.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy their jobs and say they feel supported and valued, which motivates and helps them to meet children’s needs. They hold the manager and her leadership style in high regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have ample opportunities for learning and reflection. They speak positively about their training, and strengthened induction activities for new staff are proving effective. The manager ensures that staff receive regular, good-quality supervision sessions. Staff who have worked at the home for more than 12 months have had their p erformance and fitness to perform their roles appraised .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders share effective working relationships with external professionals and children’s parents. This partnership working supports children to achieve positive outcomes. Social workers say communication with the manager is good. Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 7

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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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff always follow guidance in children’s safety plans to keep them safe. 14 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21 (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that photos of children are handled in line with their policy. Staff must not have photos of children on their personal mobile phones. 14 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 14 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 8 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that two written references are obtained, including a reference from the individuals most recent employer if appropriate.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that written consent to any monitoring and surveillance, including alarms on children’s bedroom doors, is gained by the placing authority in writing at the time of the placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)

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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: 2742899 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Fairlawns, Sutton Coldfield B76 1PQ

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Inspectors

Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Joanne Vyas, Social Care Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2742899 10 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 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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