Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 1 SC020610 Registered provider: Keys NHCC Ltd

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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 privately owned home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager, who registered with Ofsted in May 2015. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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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: 20 February 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: SC020610 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived at the home for several years. One child, who has lived at the home for the longest, has lived there for over four years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a nurturing and supportive environment, where they are able to develop strong and caring relationships with staff. Children value the relationships that they make with the adults working at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders encourage and facilitate opportunities for children to enjoy typical childhood experiences, such as spending quality time with friends and family. One child has plans for a holiday abroad with friends and family. This promotes children’s emotional well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements and children receive a significantly disproportionate amount more praise than consequences. Positive reinforcement helps develop children’s skills and assists them in making good choices as they develop and grow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child, who is approaching adulthood, is being supported to achieve their travel goals and is making plans to take a gap year abroad. They are also having driving lessons and developing independent skills through work and training. This will support their successful transition into adulthood. This child told the inspector that their success and achievements are a direct result of the care that they have received since living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For some children, their attendance within school and training has been excellent. Personal circumstances relating to one child has hindered their access to education. This is not a shortfall of the staff, and since the child has no longer been able to engage in formal education, staff have been supporting them to engage in educational work at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some parts of the home were warm and homely. However, not all aspects of the home have been well maintained, in keeping with a nurturing environment. For example, children who are unable to maintain their personal space independently have not consistently received support from staff to be able to do this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s looked-after health review identified actions required that had not been identified by staff and managers, specifically around missed immunisations. This lack of oversight means that the child has not received necessary interventions and may have compromised their health and well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 4

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

The manager takes action when she recognises that children may require additional services to support them to stay safe. When one child’s vulnerabilities to external influences could have impacted their safety and well-being, she sought guidance and education to help them make positive choices. This multi-agency approach will support the adults being able to keep this child safe.

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

There have been occasions when staff have been unable to deter children from unsafe behaviours. Physical intervention has been used as a last resort. During these instances, staff have taken the least restrictive measure, and the manager has ensured that the use of restraint has been necessary and proportionate.

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

Staff undertake regular key-work sessions with children to provide them with the education and guidance they need to overcome some challenges they may be experiencing. Staff support children to develop age-appropriate independent skills and help prepare them for a successful adulthood by helping to equip them with skills they will need.

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

There has been one incident when there were concerns around staff practice. Staff were slow to follow the appropriate safeguarding procedures and this could have placed the child at risk of harm. When the manager was made aware she was prompt to take thorough action to reduce the likelihood of similar issues occurring in future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child focused and holds children’s well-being at the heart of her decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision. They report that they find these opportunities beneficial. Annual appraisals are also carried out to support staff’s continued development. As a result, staff feel supported to undertake their roles and responsibilities and many of the staff team have worked at the home for a significant length of time. This has enabled staff to provide consistent care to the children and helped them to build stable and trusted relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a good advocate for the children. When responses from professionals have been lax, she has appropriately challenged this. For example, she has advocated on behalf of a child who was unhappy about a planned placement move as they approach adulthood. As a result, the child is now happy with the plans in place and feels listened to and that their views have been taken into consideration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a varied training program available to them. New staff receive a thorough induction to the home and their roles, and this supports the quality of care provided to children. Most of the team have the required qualification for their role. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 5 While there are systems in place to support the oversight of the home, monitoring systems failed to identify that the home did not have a child’s most up-to-date local authority plans. This means that leaders cannot be assured that staff are working in line with the most current information. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 6

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(iii)(vi)(vii)) 30 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)) 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met. (Regulation 10 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children’s immunisations are up to date and actions specified within annual health assessments are actioned. 30 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

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph 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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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC020610 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Inspector

Chrisoula Contoyianni, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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