Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 1 Registered provider: Keys Child 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

The home is owned by a private company. It offers care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home and contributed to the inspection.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s individual needs. They provide children with consistent and individualised care. Staff demonstrate their commitment to children and show that they genuinely care about the children they look after. Children benefit from positive relationships with staff and report feeling safe and well cared for. The home environment is welcoming and calm, as well as having a strong sense of it being the children’s home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff hold positive, meaningful discussions with children, helping them to understand their own needs and develop strategies to keep themselves safe. While these discussions are effective, the quality and consistency of these are not yet fully embedded across the staff team. Further consistency would strengthen staff’s overall approach to support children’s safety and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and support children’s education. One child, whose school attendance was previously low, has shown improvement since moving into the home. When children are not in school, staff ensure that structured routines and purposeful daily activities are encouraged to maintain healthy routines and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Staff have successfully supported children to re-engage with health services and attend appointments that had previously been missed for extended periods. Children are encouraged and supported to access specialist services, including mental health support when needed. Staff receive clinical input to help them understand and respond to children’s emotional and psychological needs, which enhances the quality of care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate effectively on behalf of children, ensuring their voices influence their day-to-day experiences and wider care plans. Children are supported to participate in a range of enjoyable activities, sometimes experiencing new opportunities and ‘firsts’ that promote positive memories and build confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children benefit from a stable, nurturing environment where they feel valued and supported. Relationships between staff and children are a strength of the home and contribute to children’s progress and sense of belonging.

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

Children benefit from personalised support plans and risk assessments that clearly reflect their individual needs and risks. These plans are regularly reviewed and updated following incidents or any changes in behaviour or circumstance. As a result, staff are well informed and able to respond effectively to children’s evolving needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 3 Staff know the children well and respond to incidents in line with individual support plans. Staff are aware of what strategies are effective for each child, which helps to de-escalate situations and support positive outcomes. However, the quality of incident recording is inconsistent. In some cases, incident records lack sufficient detail to demonstrate clearly how incidents have been managed, what de-escalation techniques were used and the rationale behind staff decisions. This limits the managers’ ability to fully assess the quality of care and learn from events.

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

When children go missing, staff follow the organisation’s missing-from-care procedures consistently. Their responses are prompt and appropriate, demonstrating their commitment to the safety and well-being of children in potentially high-risk situations.

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

Staff and managers respond appropriately to allegations and follow statutory guidance and internal policies to ensure that both children and adults are protected. Staff are confident in following these procedures, which supports a culture of safety within the home.

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

Staffing levels and supervision arrangements for children are flexible and responsive to incidents and presenting concerns. Managers have established monitoring systems that ensure that staff increase their level of oversight when required. Staff understand these procedures well and implement them consistently, ensuring that children remain safe and supported during times of crisis.

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

On two occasions, staff did not report concerning information in a timely way. In some instances, staff failed to identify safeguarding concerns, which led to delays in action being taken to protect children.

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

Medication errors have occurred. However, leaders and managers have taken appropriate steps to address these incidents. Additional training and development for staff have been implemented, which has strengthened practice and improved safety in medication administration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager provide strong and effective leadership. They demonstrate a clear and thorough understanding of the children’s individual needs and the development needs of the staff team. Their oversight of the home is strong, ensuring that children receive consistent and well-informed care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they feel well supported by the leadership team. They speak positively about the approachability of leaders and managers and their willingness to provide guidance and support when needed. This open and supportive culture contributes to a confident and motivated staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional supervision of staff takes place regularly and is reported by staff to be of good quality. These sessions are used effectively to reflect on practice, identify areas Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 4 for development and support staff in their roles. In addition, team meetings are held consistently and provide a valuable forum for reflection and the sharing of good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has taken a proactive approach to addressing shortfalls in staff practice. Concerns have been identified and managed appropriately, with clear action taken to ensure accountability and improvement. Where needed, targeted training and support have been implemented to strengthen staff competence and confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates a reflective and insightful approach to leadership. There is a strong focus on learning from experience and using lessons learned to inform future practice. Areas for development are clearly identified, and there is a continuous drive to improve the quality of care provided in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 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(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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to recording and reporting of incidents being consistently thorough and demonstrative of the actions taken by staff.

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Requirement Due date

This also particularly relates to staff sharing and reporting safeguarding concerns to management and in a timely manner. 3 September

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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: 2815690 6

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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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Inspector

Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2815690 7 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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Inspector

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