Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 1 SC009651 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 privately run. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in April 2020. He holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 14 November 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2023 Full Outstanding 29/11/2022 Full Outstanding 28/04/2021 Full Outstanding 10/12/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are happy and settled living in the home. They make exceptional progress because of the high standard of warm, nurturing and supportive care they receive from staff who have high aspirations for them. This helps children to feel that staff care about their safety and well-being, which provides them with a sense of security and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s development is comprehensively monitored and systematically reviewed to ensure that there is a holistic understanding of their progress. The manager has implemented a robust set of monitoring tools designed to track individual growth and assess achievements. This helps staff to set meaningful individual targets. These tools provide valuable insights that enable informed decision-making, allowing staff to identify specific areas where children require the most support. Through this tailored approach, care can be precisely adjusted to meet each child’s unique needs, supporting their development and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children live in a homely and loving environment. The home adorned with photos of the children, staff and cherished moments. This helps the children to develop a strong sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience exceptionally well-planned moves into and out of the home. They are encouraged to stay in touch with staff and other children when they move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The relationships between staff and children are at the heart of the care that children receive. Staff understand the importance of building strong relationships to help children feel safe. Staff encourage children to openly express their feelings. One member of staff has written a series of books to help the children understand what living in a children’s home is like. This helps them to process difficult emotions and develop better coping strategies, which improves their resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are routinely consulted by managers and staff. The manager and staff place children’s wishes and feelings at the centre of their decision-making. This ensures that children feel listened to and are fully involved in decisions about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children are in full-time education and have excellent attendance at school. Education is highly valued in the home, and staff understand the importance of learning. One child is attending a local mainstream school because the manager tenaciously advocated for them. Children are being helped to succeed and are meeting their educational goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children with complex emotional needs who have experienced extreme trauma make remarkable progress from their starting points. A social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has made progress beyond expectations and does things we did not think were possible.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 4 Staff are highly creative when deciding how to capture the children’s memories. Each child has a memory book and memorabilia they are incredibly proud of and happy to show off. This provides each child with an abundance of memories to take with them when they move on from the home.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are effective and keep children protected from harm. Staff are highly motivated, and they work hard with children to help them understand their vulnerabilities and risk-taking behaviours. Children living at this home say they feel safe. This is because they have a strong sense of stability and have excellent relationships with staff. The relationships they enjoy with staff are consistent and based on mutual trust.

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

Staff are trained to use physical intervention. This is only used as a last resort to prevent children from hurting themselves or others. Staff also reflect on alternative ways to help children manage their emotions. This enables staff and children to think about ways to prevent such events from happening again.

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

Incidents are rare in this home. However, since the last inspection, one significant incident did occur. Staff responded with exceptional skill and professionalism, ensuring that the child’s emotional well-being remained the priority. Their calm, empathetic and non-judgemental approach helped to de-escalate the situation effectively, providing the child with continued reassurance and stability. As a result, the child said they felt supported, rather than judged. The strong, trusting relationships between staff and the child remained intact. This exemplary handling of the situation demonstrates the staff’s dedication to maintaining a culture of care, understanding and emotional resilience in the home.

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

Staff understand the children’s known associated risks. Risk assessments and plans are detailed. The registered manager spends time with the children reviewing their care plans and risk assessments. These opportunities provide children and staff with a chance to reflect on their progress and associated risks. This child-centred approach ensures that suitable plans are in place to keep children safe.

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

Managers are committed to ensuring that children feel heard, valued and supported. When a child made an allegation, swift and decisive action was taken to acknowledge their concerns. The child’s thoughts and feelings were carefully considered, and appropriate measures were implemented to address the situation effectively. The manager provided a timely and thoughtful response, reinforcing the child’s trust and confidence in the care that they receive. This proactive and compassionate approach fosters a safe and supportive environment where children are empowered to express themselves without fear. Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. He is ambitious and has a clear vision for the development of the home and staff team. The manager is aspirational in his approach, which means that staff have a willingness to embrace the ethos of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is ambitious and consistently demonstrates his passion for improving the lives of children. He is confident in his abilities and in those of his staff team. Staff receive regular supervision that is reflective and focused on developing practice and discussing the children’s plans. The organisation's therapeutic services provide support to staff so they can reflect on their practice when necessary. Team meetings provide the opportunity for staff to reflect on research-based practice that is relevant to helping them to meet the children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has built positive relationships with others who are involved in the child’s care. The manager and staff team are committed to a multi-agency approach to ensure that the children are receiving the right support. This strong partnership working ensures that children have access to local services tailored to meet their individual needs. When children have additional learning needs, the manager ensures that the assessment of the child’s requirements informs the care that they will receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff are extremely positive regarding the support they receive from the registered manager. Staff said, ‘The manager is the best manager.’ Another staff member said, ‘I am confident and know that I can reach out for support whenever I need it.’ Staff morale is exceptionally high in this home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 6

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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: SC009651 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: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Sally Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC009651 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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Inspector

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