Children's home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 1 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run and managed by a large private company and provides care for up to four children who may have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 10 September 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: 1247491 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Good 07/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/12/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built positive relationships with children. This promotes a sense of belonging and provides children with stability. Staff speak positively about children and support them with kindness and nurture. One parent said, ‘My child is genuinely loved there.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have their voices heard through their preferred communication method. Staff complete regular direct work sessions and provide opportunities for children to express their views, wishes and feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend routine health appointments. When additional health and well-being support is needed, they work with health professionals to ensure that children have access to specialist support. Children who are new to the home are registered with the necessary local healthcare providers.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education needs are met. When there have been challenges in identifying suitable schools for children, staff and the manager have worked with the placing authority and virtual schools to ensure that children have access to a school that can meet their needs. Two children had been out of education since they moved into the home. They have now both started their transitions into school. They are due to attend school full time when the new school year starts.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family in line with agreed plans. Staff support children and their family members to spend time with those people who are important to them in ways that meet the individual needs of each child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive behaviour is promoted, and achievements are celebrated with children. All children recently attended the organisation’s prom. They received awards for their achievements in areas such as communication skills, brightening the home and garden, shining in home education and having a positive transition into the home and school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to a wide range of activities to meet their sensory needs. They are encouraged to maintain their hobbies and interests, such as shopping, visits to the park and trips to the farm and the cinema. They also do activities in the home, such as trampolining, arts and crafts and sensory play.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. Any damage or wear and tear are quickly repaired. Each child has their own area in the home that is personalised to them with their interests and home comforts. There are photographs of the children and their families throughout the home. This helps children to have a sense of belonging and ownership of their space. Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 4

p.3

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

When safeguarding concerns have been raised, staff have responded suitably and followed safeguarding processes. Managers have taken swift action to investigate and ensured that relevant professionals, such as the local authority designated officer and social workers, are notified. The child’s best interest is a priority throughout the process.

p.4

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

Behaviour support plans and risk assessments are detailed documents that provide guidance and strategies for staff to ensure that children have consistent levels of care. These documents are created and updated with input from the organisation’s positive behaviour support lead and internal clinical team.

p.4

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

When it has been identified that strategies used during an incident are not suitable, the manager has addressed this with the team in team meetings and sought advice from behaviour support specialists. However, these amended strategies are not always clearly detailed within children’s support plans.

p.4

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

When the need has arisen to physically hold a child to keep them safe, it has been reasonable and proportionate and the least-restrictive method possible. Following these incidents, children and staff have a debrief to support them to reflect on the incident and identify any learning.

p.4

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

When children are going through a difficult time, staff and managers work with specialist professionals, (and child and adolescent mental health services), to help identify strategies and methods to support children’s changing needs. This has supported children to have a reduction in their number of incidents.

p.4

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

When it has been necessary to impose restrictions to keep children safe, the manager has consulted with the child’s social worker and the positive behaviour support lead to ensure they are reasonable and balanced. These restrictions are regularly reviewed, with a plan to reduce restrictions when it is safe to do so.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is no registered manager in post. There is a manager who has applied to register with Ofsted. Senior managers and a team of deputy managers support him. He worked with the previous manager to ensure that there was a detailed handover into the role. He has a vision for what he wants to achieve. However, there has not been enough time since he has been in the role to embed his vision.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are some shortfalls in the monitoring and oversight of the home. This means that when there have been staff practices that could be improved, they have not been addressed by managers. Leaders and managers have identified this and put systems in place to improve oversight; however, these are not yet embedded.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. However, leaders and managers have ensured consistency for the children through a core team of staff. When Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 5 agency staff have been used, there are procedures in place to ensure that safer recruitment is adhered to. Regular agency staff have been used to ensure that the children are cared for by staff who know them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have completed a wide range of training to meet children’s individual needs. However, there are some relevant training sessions that have not been completed by all staff, such as deprivation of liberty training and the refresher sessions in physical intervention.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The statement of purpose states that staff adopt a specific model of care to support children. However, staff spoken to were unable to explain the model or how they implement it, which means that they are not able to deliver care in line with the statement of purpose.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision sessions have not regularly taken place for all staff. When they have occurred, they have not been practice related or a supportive or developmental tool for staff. In addition, not all staff have had their annual appraisal. Since the new manager has been in post, he has used supervision sessions to identify staff strengths and areas for development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are held regularly and are used as a supportive tool for staff. When necessary, the in-house therapist also provides input to the meeting to support staff well-being. Team meetings are used as an opportunity for the team to come together and share any information and updates about the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there are suitable systems in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home. 26 September 2025

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and 26 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 7 promotes their welfare.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(a)(b) (2)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training to meet children’s specific needs and that refresher training is completed within timescales.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand, and are able to implement, the model of care detailed in the statement of purpose. 26 September 2025

p.7

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 26 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 8 that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s support plans and risk assessments give clear and specific guidance and strategies for staff to provide consistent care.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.8

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.8

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 26 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 9

p.8

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: 1247491 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited

p.10

Children’s home details

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

p.10

Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1247491 11 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.10

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.11

Inspector

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

p.11

Inspector

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

p.11