Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2816118 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 home is owned and operated by a large national provider. It provides care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection following registration in January 2025. The manager is registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home, and they were seen and spoken to as part of this 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: 2816118 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is maintained to a high standard and is attractively decorated, creating a warm and welcoming environment for children. The child living in the home is encouraged and supported to personalise their own spaces, enabling them to develop a sense of ownership and belonging in the home. This contributes positively to their emotional well-being and helps them feel settled and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from external professionals confirms that the child receives high-quality care and support from both staff and the registered manager. Professionals acknowledged that the staff team and manager take all reasonable and proactive steps to ensure that the child is well supported during a challenging period. This demonstrates a strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The support provided to the child following a traumatic event has been of a high standard. The staff team and registered manager know the child well and have delivered care tailored to their individual needs at this time. The consistent focus on ensuring the child’s safety has been instrumental in gradually building trust and beginning to form positive relationships with new staff members. This approach has created a stable foundation for the child’s ongoing emotional recovery and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The collaborative development of the child sexual exploitation support plan reflects highly effective multi-agency working. This ensures that risks are clearly identified, protective factors are strengthened, and the child receives timely, coordinated and trauma-informed support. This proactive approach enhances safeguarding and promotes the child’s safety and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The use of caring and respectful language in written records is not consistently evident across the staff team. While some reports reflect a nurturing and child-centred approach, others contain language that is overly clinical or lacks sensitivity. This inconsistency indicates that the practice of using language that cares is not yet fully embedded within the home’s culture.

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

Physically holding children is only used as a last resort and is proportionate to need. However, there have been delays in evaluating the effectiveness of these instances and in conducting staff and child debriefs. This has limited the child’s opportunities to have their voice heard and potentially slowed timely responses to concerns.

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

Incidents of going missing from the home have reduced for one child, supported by effective multi-agency and collaborative working. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of missing-from-care protocols and respond consistently in line with these procedures, ensuring that the child receives appropriate support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2816118 3 There have been incidents of suicidal ideation for the child, but staff actions have not always been clearly recorded. On some occasions, responses have not aligned with existing risk management plans. The lack of clear and robust risk management plans has affected the consistency of staff responses.

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

When a child raised concerns about staff conduct, there is limited evidence that this had been explored directly with the child or with relevant professionals. This limits opportunities for staff to remain professionally curious and for the child to feel listened to.

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

Since the home’s registration, no formal consequences have been recorded. Staff have prioritised restorative practice, providing support that helps the child understand the impact of their behaviour and promotes positive development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to providing a high standard of care. She demonstrates a thorough understanding of the child’s needs and has established strong relationships with the staff team, ensuring effective oversight and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling highly supported by the registered manager and her deputy. They describe an open and honest culture that encourages mutual support. Robust support has been provided to staff who have experienced difficult or traumatic events. This has ensured that they are able to continue providing compassionate and nurturing care. This approach has been vital in maintaining consistent, positive support for the child living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear vision and development plan for the home and child. There is a strong drive to achieve positive outcomes. She works closely with the deputy manager, providing effective communication and oversight, which ensures that the home operates efficiently and staff maintain high standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment is robust, with thorough processes in place to ensure that only suitable candidates are employed. The manager maintains clear mechanisms to monitor the ongoing suitability of staff, supporting safe and effective care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in staff training, which are compounded by the home’s small team. The registered manager has completed a six-month plan to address identified training and learning needs. However, this has not yet been fully implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: 2816118 4

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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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk management plans and policies to keep children safe are completed and are effective. Staff must be aware of the content of these plans and policies, and that they are followed to keep children safer. 10 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and 10 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2816118 5 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that any measure of restraint is recorded and evaluated by the manager within timescales. This includes staff talking about the use of the restraint and the child.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must 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)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This includes ensuring that staff are adequately trained to meet the needs of the child in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph

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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: 2816118 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 Limited, Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Eleanor Quanbrough, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2816118 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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