Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 1 SC370910 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

This home is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Inspectors observed all three children and spoke to one child.

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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: 7 November 2023

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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: SC370910 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Outstanding 30/11/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is very well presented and furnished, providing a cosy and comfortable home for children. It is spacious, with areas for children to relax and socialise. Children’s bedrooms are suitably furnished and personalised by children. Children are supported to have good memories of their time at the home. Staff regularly take photos of the children. Memory boxes are being created for children. This supports children to reflect and understand their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are accessing education. Staff recognise the difficulties that children can experience when attending an educational setting. Staff have put measures in place to ensure that children are supported to receive education. Staff have helped a child to successfully move from specialist to mainstream education. This help has also enabled the child to travel independently to the educational setting using public transport. Another child attends school a considerable distance away. Staff recognise the need for the child to have a trusted and known adult to support them to attend school, so they provide transport themselves rather than using taxis supplied by the local authority. Education professionals have commented on staff’s regular, open and honest communication, which supports professionals to work together to ensure that children access education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular conversations with children to help them manage their feelings, and they support children to access specialist mental health support if needed. When children have disagreements, staff work quickly to repair the relationships. This approach supports the children to develop a positive self-view and increases their emotional resilience. Staff ensure that children are registered with a GP and dentist. When children struggle to access health provision due to their needs, staff proactively work with the child to offer encouragement and increase their understanding of the importance of looking after their physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see the people who are important to them. Staff keep parents informed about the progress their child is making. Parents’ opinions are positive about the care their children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make choices and decisions about their day-to-day care and future plans. Staff use ‘choice boards’ to encourage conversations and share emotions with staff. This approach works because staff can support children to feel safe and understand their emotions. However, staff do not always support children when they share their concerns or grumbles. Children’s concerns are recorded, but staff do not fully understand or respond to these concerns, meaning that children are not always listened to. Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 4

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

Risk management plans are clear, detailed and individual to each child. They are kept under regular review, and external agencies have been involved in informing some of these plans. There are a range of strategies in place designed to support staff in their work with children. Staff are being trained in a model of care called ‘Repair Together’. This model focuses on connecting with children before using correction, supporting quick repair of relationships between children and staff when there has been conflict. This supports children to maintain positive relationships with staff, even at times of conflict.

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

There has been a small number of missing-from-home incidents and unauthorised absences for some children. Each child has a missing-from-home protocol with essential information to reduce the likelihood of going missing from home and the risks to the child during a missing-from-home episode. Staff are proactive at searching for and locating children. They report to the police and relevant agencies in a timely way. They ensure children’s safety on their return to the home, and children are supported to settle.

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

Staff speak to children about how to keep safe and talk about the child’s needs and any associated risks, supporting children to understand how to keep safe. Staff’s approach to care and managing risks is well coordinated and promotes the involvement of a professional network around the child. One social worker said, ‘The home is very caring and want the best for the child.’ A headteacher said, ‘There is good communication. There is nothing the home could do better.’ Most of the records in the home are detailed. However, they do not always use child-friendly language. This could affect how children understand their experiences and history when they read their records.

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

Recruitment records were sampled to check if staff had been recruited in line with safeguarding policies and procedures. Records reviewed for one member of staff resulted in the provider not carrying out recruitment checks from overseas, and gaps in their employment history were not explored. Consequently, there is a risk that unsuitable staff may be employed to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since August 2024. Before coming into post, the manager had experience of working as a deputy manager in another children’s home. The manager has a clear vision for the home, with the children being at the heart of this vision. The manager has a good knowledge and understanding of each child. The manager is actively involved in children’s daily lives. Children enjoy spending time with the manager and have built strong relationships. The manager is reflective and thoughtful and seeks to improve practice, ensuring children receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff are provided with regular, formal one-to-one meetings where children and staff are discussed. These discussions are reflective. The manager is aware of the strengths and skills of each staff member. Staff say that they are supported and listened to and know they can always turn to the manager for help and guidance. Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 5 This approach motivates the staff in their learning and development. The manager reports feeling supported by the responsible individual and the wider network of managers in the provider group. This allows the manager to access good support from managers and peers, which supports them in their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is adequate staff, with one vacancy. Staff turnover is stable, with no staff leaving their role in the past 12 months. The manager has ensured that all staff are enrolled on their level 4 qualification, and staff are allowed time during their working hours to complete this. The manager understands the need for children to be cared for by those known to them. Therefore, agency staff are not used, and the permanent staff team will work additional hours if needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

To evaluate and monitor the care provided to children, the manager completes weekly and monthly reviews of the care to inform reports provided to senior managers. The manager makes an effort to regularly work late in the home and completes unannounced weekend visits to have oversight of the care provided outside of their core working hours. The manager is not currently seeking direct regular feedback from families, professionals, children and staff to inform the evaluation and monitoring of the care provided. The manager is aware of this shortfall and has plans to seek this feedback moving forward. Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 6

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Statutory requirement

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 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, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(b) (3)(a)(d)) 6 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under Regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 7  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to share any

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Recommendations

concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4,13)

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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: SC370910 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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Inspectors

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Laura Copus, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC370910 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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