Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 1 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and operated by the Keys Group in collaboration with four local authorities, which are Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Good 19/04/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 09/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from being cared for by staff who know them well. Staff are keen to capture children’s wishes and feelings. When house meetings have not worked well for all children, they have tried different ways to encourage children’s participation. This includes discussions in key-work sessions and ‘Friday catchups’, where children can share their views individually. These actions reinforce for the children that their contribution is welcomed and valued. A social care professional said that all staff are ‘absolutely brilliant’ and that they know the child ‘inside out’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy the time they spend with the children. They show the children that the things that matter to them also matter to staff. One way they do this is by supporting children to explore and enjoy their interests. A child who has an interest in horses can spend time with a horse at a local stable. Another child is supported to go shopping for items of their choice. This approach from staff helps children to have enriching experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise time spent with the children. A child spent time chatting with staff in the lounge and appeared quite content. Another child approached staff freely and started a conversation, while another went shopping with staff. Staff recognise the importance of time spent with the children, which has supported positive relationships between the children and some staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work effectively with external professionals to support children to make progress. This has influenced progress made by two children in their education and with children continuing to enjoy safe contact with their family members and other important people in their lives. A child’s personal care routines have also improved. Additionally, a social care professional for one child said that the actions of staff have contributed to the number of the child’s missing-from-home incidents being massively reduced. The good-quality care and support that children receive is making a positive difference in their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individuality and rights are promoted by staff. Children are shown respect and are referred to by their preferred names. Staff at times communicate with two children using methods that they have found work well for each child. The acceptance shown to children gives them confidence to be themselves.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home where they have different spaces outside of their bedrooms to relax or spend time with others. This includes a games room, the lounge and a spacious garden where they can enjoy the outdoors. However, areas of the home need maintenance and decorating. This includes two children’s bedrooms and the carpet on the stairs and landing, which is dirty. These issues detract from a comfortable, homely feel throughout the home. Positively, the manager shared plans for improvements to be made to areas of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 4

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s background and the possible links with their current behaviours. They are mindful that children have had difficult past experiences. Input from the home’s in-house therapeutic team supports staff to better understand children’s behaviours, adapt their approach and develop new strategies to support each child. As a result, children receive good-quality, individualised care in line with their needs.

p.4

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

Detailed risk assessments in place provide clear guidance on actions to take to keep children safe and to promote their well-being. The risk assessments are individual to each child and indicate different techniques that may work well to support the child. While the manager and staff have recognised that a child communicates well via text messages when feeling unsettled, this is not indicated in the child’s plans. Consequently, all staff may not be aware of a child’s preferred communication method in times of distress.

p.4

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

Staff respond appropriately to challenging behaviours from children. When incidents occur, staff are patient and use de-escalation techniques to help children to become calm. At an appropriate time, they encourage children to reflect on their behaviours and do so through a non-blaming approach. Physical intervention is used by staff as a last resort to ensure the safety of children or others. Social care professionals are kept updated and are confident that staff manage incidents effectively.

p.4

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

Staff have a sound understanding of safeguarding processes, including actions to take if there was a concerning disclosure from a child or a missing-from-home incident. The skilled staff team has contributed to a reduction in missing-from-home incidents for one child. A child expressed that they would speak to their preferred members of staff about any worries. The actions of staff help children to become increasingly safe.

p.4

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

Recruitment processes are robust and ensure that pre-employment checks are carried out to a good standard. This helps to minimise the risk of unsuitable individuals being employed to work at the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by leaders who are child focused. They have put in place regular therapeutic input from the home’s in-house therapeutic team. This ensures that staff maintain a trauma-informed approach when caring for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is attuned to the needs of the children and is passionate about supporting them to thrive in different areas of their lives. He ensures that the children remain a focus in discussions during team meetings, supervision sessions and other review meetings. This has reinforced the importance of staff ensuring that children are at the forefront and their needs are prioritised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 5 Leaders have instilled a positive culture in the home of staff seeking to understand situations from the children’s point of view. Staff hold in mind that children have experienced past trauma. Consequently, they respond sensitively and are non- blaming when children present behaviours that may be challenging.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders recognise the importance of investing in their staff. They have supported staff to progress in their career. Staff welfare is explored during supervision sessions and outside of these. Staff say that they are comfortable to approach managers for support. A member of staff also said that they love coming to work and that they all feel like a family. The actions of leaders mean that children are cared for by a motivated staff team.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A range of relevant training, and new training introduced since the home’s last inspection, is provided to staff. This includes training on selective mutism and child criminal exploitation in line with the needs of children in the home. These actions from managers demonstrate a commitment to maintaining a skilled, knowledgeable staff team. However, refresher training for some core courses is overdue for several staff. Consequently, some staff may not have up-to-date knowledge that could potentially enhance their practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders recognise the strengths of the home and areas for development. They are committed to ensuring that there is continuous improvement. Plans in place include areas of the home to be decorated and the quality of recording in some records to be improved. Currently, some records, such as team meeting minutes, are not sufficiently detailed and do not clearly reflect discussions that have occurred. This hinders a full understanding of practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records demonstrate that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and that the manager understands the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Staff should complete refresher training in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  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. Records are to be updated in a timely manner and should be sufficiently detailed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. To maintain a homely environment,

p.6

Recommendations

maintenance and decorating should be carried out when needed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

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: 2543427 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Sasha Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2543427 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8