Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 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

This is a privately owned children’s home that is registered to care for four children up to the age of 18 years. There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2024 Full Good 18/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a relaxed atmosphere, and the children say they are happy and settled. There are positive, nurturing relationships between staff and children. Staff provide care that is sensitive to children’s identity, personal history, disability and faith. This makes children feel comfortable to discuss their worries with staff and develop a sense of permanence and belonging. The feedback from external professionals is positive about staff’s effective communication, which supports consistent care and routines for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive relationships between the children living at the home, including when new children move in. Staff consider the children’s needs and support them to develop safe strategies to manage conflict when this happens.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s educational needs. Two children attend full-time education. There are planned learning activities for the other two children who are not in mainstream education. All children are making good progress. A child’s school provided positive feedback about the child showing ‘steady improvement in both academic and personal development since living at the home’. Another child’s school and independent reviewing officer talked about the support that staff provide to the child to improve their school attendance and overcome their anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and are supported to access local health services or specialist help when needed. The manager has safe arrangements for medication and a good monitoring system in place. There have been two medical errors since the last inspection. These did not have a significant impact on children’s health, and staff attended additional training and supervision, which has prevented further incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access their preferred activities and maintain relationships with their families or individuals who are important to them. Two family members spoke positively about staff’s ability to promote family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to understand why staff may not be able to act according to their wishes and feelings. Children know how to complain, are supported to do so and are informed about the outcome.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop independence skills in line with their individual needs. The manager challenges transition plans when worried about the timing of children’s move to independent accommodation. The manager and staff consider children’s views and identify support for children when they leave the home. The work that they carry out with children and their professional networks promotes positive, safe endings, whether these are planned or unplanned moves. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 4

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

Children feel safe, and staff can keep them increasingly safe. Children are helped to express their emotions safely, for example, via art therapy, which appears to be one of the children’s favourite activities at the home. Children are supported to take age- appropriate risks and develop good community links. Managers advocate and negotiate with the local community and neighbours to ensure that children use relevant facilities and develop a sense of belonging and security.

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

Restraint is used as a last option to protect children and those around them. All staff are trained in the home’s preferred de-escalation and restraint techniques. The manager and staff have completed additional training and use proactive, preventative strategies to help children safely manage their behaviours in a way that makes sense to them. This has contributed to a reduction in restraint incidents.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are rare. When they happen, there is a well-coordinated response to locate the child and support them during the incident. There is good collaboration with the children’s social workers to ensure that children are offered return home interviews.

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

There is effective multi-agency work with the local authority’s designated officer, social workers and the police when investigations into allegations are taking place. Internal investigations are dealt with fairly and the children’s needs are prioritised. Staff are offered the necessary support while waiting for an outcome.

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

Risk assessments are individualised to the children’s needs. This helps staff to use these as tools to address children’s behaviours and needs, particularly the agency staff who do not always know the children well.

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

On two occasions in 2024, staff’s responses to children’s behaviours were disproportionate, with significant impact on one child. The team’s actions were then led by an inexperienced deputy manager, who did not have the skills and knowledge to manage crisis situations. Staff were not confident enough to challenge the management decisions to prevent unnecessary escalations. The management support team has since changed, and staff have attended more training related to behaviour management and trauma-informed practice. This has supported staff to reflect on their responses, better manage children’s behaviours, and adjust positive or negative consequences to their individual needs and understanding. A child’s school commented that staff team ‘works collaboratively with the school to address any challenging situations or behaviour in an effective manner’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a permanent, suitably experienced registered manager who makes child-centred decisions about the children living at the home. The provider’s ethos is demonstrated in practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 5 The feedback from families and external professionals demonstrates that the manager and staff build effective relationships with them to achieve positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well as a team to provide stability and consistent care for the children. There is a high number of agency staff working at the home. When agency staff are used, a manager or a senior member of staff is always around, alongside permanent members of staff who know the children well. Children’s views are considered when agency staff are used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the manager use learning from practice, including the children’s views and testimonies, to improve the experiences at the home. The manager reflects on practice and has a clear plan in place for how to address the weaknesses within the service. The manager and the deputy manager offer staff effective support and challenge through supervision, team meetings and bespoke training. Staff feel supported and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is maintained to a high standard and looks like a family home. The nurturing environment and the consistency of routines and boundaries make children feel at home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The incident reports and key-work sessions reflect the children’s needs, behaviours and experiences. However, the children’s views and the impact of their lived experience on their well-being are not always clear. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 6

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

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 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (2)(c)) 10 February 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff use available support when making decisions about how to respond to children’s behavioural needs. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff record information on individual children in a way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child should 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)

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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: 2692062 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: Keys Care Ltd, Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Claudia Poienar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2692062 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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