Children's home run by Keys Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 1 Registered provider: Keys 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

The home is run by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2020.

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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

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2024

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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: 2539752 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2024 Full Good 20/03/2023 Full Good 29/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences vary in quality. Most children make good progress from their starting points because they benefit from well-planned care from staff who are committed to building and maintaining positive relationships with them. One child’s progress has been hindered because staff have been unable to help them find safe ways of expressing how they are feeling when they are struggling to manage their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered key-work sessions that reflect their personal circumstances and help them to achieve meaningful goals. One child is working towards returning to the care of their parents. Staff are providing sensitive support in respect of the child’s cultural needs and helping them to understand how their care may be different than their parents’ care. Staff are working closely with the child’s family to ensure that the child’s move goes smoothly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of teaching children to be as independent as possible. For example, children are supported to prepare and eat healthy meals together, and those children who can keep their bedrooms clean and tidy are given the support and encouragement they need to do this successfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are attending and achieving in education. Staff and managers communicate effectively with children’s schools, colleges and virtual school heads to ensure that children’s educational needs are being met. One child is preparing for their GCSE exams. Staff are supporting them by making sure they have access to revision plans and exam dates.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are receiving effective support to understand boundaries and the consequences of their behaviour. This is having a particularly negative impact on one child’s ability to learn how to build and maintain positive relationships with each other and with staff.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about children’s strengths and vulnerabilities, and detailed risk assessments clearly describe how to keep children safe. These risk assessments include information about how to protect children from unsafe use of social media and the internet.

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

Some children’s risks have reduced over time because they have benefited from a therapeutic approach from staff, in line with the organisation’s ethos. There has not been a sustained reduction in the risk-taking behaviour of one child. This is because staff do not have the skills to evaluate the impact of their work with the child Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 4 effectively and adapt their approach when it has not made positive changes to the child’s behaviour.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. When they do occur, there is a robust response from staff to ensure that children return home safely. Staff support the children to engage in return home interviews, and these help staff to understand children’s motivation for going missing and help them to identify safer ways of expressing themselves.

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

Physical restraint is rarely used. When incidents do require physical restraint, the registered manager carries out a thorough review with the children and staff involved to explore what happened and to look at ways to reduce the risk of further incidents occurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and has high aspirations for what the children can achieve. There is a stable staff team that is committed to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they receive effective support from the registered manager and from each other. They receive regular supervision and good-quality training that is relevant to the needs of the children that they are looking after.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are not always sought and acted on. For example, a child has caused extensive damage to their bedroom, and it has not been repaired and redecorated in a timely way. This is having a negative impact on the child’s sense of belonging and self-worth. There has been insufficient consultation with the child to establish how they would like their bedroom to look.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. They have recognised that some members of the staff team need additional training to help them make sure that children receive consistently good- quality care, and this has been arranged. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 5

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 6 behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)) 31 March 2025

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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.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 31 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 7

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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: 2539752 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Pinsent Masons Llp, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspector

Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2539752 9 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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