Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Rossendale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 1 SC005204 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were six children in the home. The inspector spoke with all children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of this home has been registered with Ofsted since July 2023.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2024 Full Outstanding 22/03/2023 Full Outstanding 25/01/2022 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large home that has plenty of space for them to relax and play, both indoors and outside. The home is clean and generally well maintained with lots of different toys for children to enjoy. Photos of children are displayed around the home and their bedrooms are decorated to reflect their interests. However, one child has mould and an unpleasant smell in his bedroom. In addition, all children have door alarms on their bedroom doors which alert staff when children go in or out of their bedrooms. These are used as a default approach rather than to keep children safe. This does not provide every child with a healthy and homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and describe living here as ‘fun’. Children say they get to enjoy lots of different activities and are encouraged to pursue their interests. Staff support children to make their own choices and contribute to their care. This ensures that children can share their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn how to keep themselves healthy. They take children to planned and emergency health appointments and respond quickly when they have concerns about a child’s wellbeing. When appropriate, staff share information and updates with children’s parents to ensure that everybody is working together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise education and help children to enjoy learning again. Children who have not been in school for many years are now happily attending school full time. One education professional said, ‘We couldn’t do our job as effectively here without the communication and collaboration we have with the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers identify targets with children each month to help them continue to make progress. However, conversations with children throughout the month do not often reflect the targets identified. This does not help children to meet their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate different cultural themes throughout the year to help children learn generally about different foods and cultures. However, children who have mixed heritage from other cultures are not supported to understand their own cultural identity. One child has a negative view of his non-British heritage. Staff and managers have not tried to help him to learn about positive aspects of this part of his identity. This does not help children to take pride in their own heritage.

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

Staff have developed warm and trusted relationships with children which helps children to make excellent progress here. Staff know children well and know how to support each child in a way that works for them. This means that children’s risks and vulnerabilities have reduced significantly.

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

Staff understand safeguarding procedures and know the important roles of external professionals. If staff have any worries about children’s wellbeing, they know who they Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 4 can speak to about this. Staff understand the processes that managers should follow if concerns are raised. This helps to ensure that there is an open and transparent culture in the home.

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

Children do not often raise concerns about the way they are cared for. However, when this has happened, staff have listened to the child and shared these worries with managers. Managers have acted swiftly and effectively to ensure that children remain safe.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. Only one child has gone missing from home, and this was only for a short period of time. Staff acted quickly to search for the missing child on foot and by car. However, staff and managers did not inform other professionals quickly, as stated in the child’s plan. This meant that police were not searching for the child when they should have been. This did not result in any harm to the child.

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

Staff understand children’s needs and help children calm big emotions with support and nurture. This means that children are rarely held to keep them safe. The times that staff have held children have been to prevent children from hurting themselves or others. However, there have been times when staff have intervened with children because they are disturbing other children, not because they are a risk to themselves or others. This has not been identified by the manager when she evaluates the incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has the skills and experience required to lead this home and is supported by a strong deputy manager. Managers know the children well and are passionate about providing children with new opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued by the management team and can share their thoughts and ideas to contribute to children’s care. Managers are approachable and support the team with their wellbeing. Managers maintain high standards for the team and role model reflective practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with ongoing training to ensure that they know how to keep children safe. However, staff have not been given the opportunity to complete additional training specific to the needs of children. This is a missed opportunity to continue to develop the knowledge and skills in the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of internal and external oversight to provide children with a high standard of care. When new staff come to the home, the manager ensures that thorough checks are completed and that adults are safe to work with vulnerable children. This contributes to a safe environment for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) (2))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are only restrained in line with regulation. 6 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and follow children’s plans. This includes reporting children missing from home in the time frame agreed in their risk assessment. 6 April 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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(iv)) 6 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 6 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children have the opportunity to learn more about their culture, religion, and heritage.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that door alarms are used only when required to keep children safe from known risks. Door alarms should not be used as a default approach. 6 May 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. Specifically, all children should have warm and pleasant bedroom environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff consistently follow through on work that is identified to be completed with children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the opportunity to complete training that helps them to better understand the specific needs of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC005204 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Thomas Cappleman

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC005204 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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