Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 1 SC066469 Registered provider: Keys 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 home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. The inspector spoke to both children during 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2024 Full Good 26/02/2024 Full Good 18/01/2023 Full Good 11/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of the relationships that staff develop with children is a particular strength of this home. Children enjoy living in the home and have trusted relationships with staff. Both children gave the home ‘10 out of 10’. One said it was because ‘it is a really great home,’ and the other child said it was ‘because of how understanding the staff are.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the individual needs of the children because they spend time with the children and develop a good understanding of the children’s likes, dislikes, hopes, and ambitions. In addition, children directly contribute to their care plans. This means that children receive care that is tailored to their specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by the staff to develop a strong sense of stability and belonging. Staff help the children to make the home their own by personalising their bedrooms and the communal areas of the home. In addition, the staff show children genuine love and affection. They celebrate children’s achievements and are available to help when children are experiencing difficulties in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have positive experiences. Children have access to a range of fun activities, such as attending dance classes, swimming lessons, going to the theatre and dog walking. For one child, the manager and staff supported them to realise their dream of visiting a well-known entertainment resort.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are in good health through the provision of healthy, home- cooked meals, exercise, and attendance at routine health appointments. Equally, the staff support children to make progress with their education and learning. When children require specialist help, this is identified in a timely way by the manager and staff, through close partnership working with external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Decisions about children moving into the home are child centred and children are welcomed in a planned and thoughtful way. One child who has recently moved into the home said that their move was ‘comforting.’ This was because staff understood how nervous and apprehensive the child was about the move and gave them the space that they needed. This approach helps children to settle into the home quickly and ensures that the staff are equipped to meet the child’s needs from the start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and family members speak positively about the relationships that they have with the manager and staff. They said that communication is good and that the quality of care provided is helping each child to make progress from their starting points.

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

Children feel safe in this home because they have trusted adults that they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. In addition, the visibility of staff in the home Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 4 contributes to the children’s sense of safety and security. One child said that they feel safe because the staff are ‘always around.’

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

Staff have a very good understanding of each child’s specific risks and vulnerabilities because they know the children well. This allows the staff to take a proactive approach to keeping children safe. In addition, the staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in promoting children’s safety and follow relevant policies and procedures when they have a concern about a child’s safety and well-being.

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

Staff help children to make safer choices and support children to understand and manage their feelings and behaviours safely through a combination of formal and informal conversations. This has helped one child to develop a good insight into their feelings and behaviours and has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of times that the child has felt distressed.

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

Staff consistently promote healthy routines and boundaries in the home. Staff are suitably trained in behaviour management techniques and manage the home environment to prevent a child from going into crisis. When a child gets upset, the staff work hard to de-escalate the situation to prevent a child from being physically held. When staff have to hold a child, this is done in the least restrictive manner and as a last resort to safeguard the child and others. In addition, the child and the staff are provided with a chance to speak after the incident to help to repair relationships and promote well-being and learning.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. However, as a proactive and preventative measure, each child has a bespoke missing-from-home plan, which helps staff to know what steps they must take if a child does go missing from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager who is very proud of her staff and the quality of care that they provide to children living in the home. The manager is ambitious for children and what they can achieve. She understands the importance of the staff team to support children to achieve their goals, ambitions and reach their full potential. Equally, the manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. To this end, the manager continues to seek out opportunities to develop herself and her staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager feels supported in her role by the current responsible individual, whom she has confidence in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and staff morale is good. The staff have confidence in the manager and feel supported in their roles. Consequently, the retention of staff is high, and this enables children to receive care from a happy, committed, and stable staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 5 Although the home provides a family home environment for children, more could be done by leaders and managers to improve the overall appearance of the inside of the home, so the home fully reflects the ambitions for children as stated in its statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of case records. However, information contained in the management oversight documents and the children’s risk assessments was not all accurate. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires, and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the home environment is decorated and furnished to a standard that reflects the aims, objectives and ethos of the home as stated in its statement of purpose; that all children’s risks assessments contain relevant information to support staff to understand their responsibilities in keeping children safe; and that documents pertaining to the oversight of the home are accurate and fully completed. 1 September 2025

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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: SC066469 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066469 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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