Children's home run by Keys Education Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 1 Registered provider: Keys Education Ltd

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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 offers care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children were spoken to as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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: 10 September 2024

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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: 2495335 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Good 23/01/2024 Full Good 10/05/2022 Full Good 08/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home are supported to make progress in line with their age, development and individual plans. Since the last inspection, three children have moved out of the home. The children living at the home experience nurturing care from staff who understand their needs well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive transitions out of the home that are largely in line with their overall care plans, wishes and feelings. Children are supported to visit their new homes and staff ensure that children can meet the new people who may be caring for them in the future. All children living in the home are part of the goodbye and good luck celebrations that mark a child moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they enjoy living at the home and that they get on well with staff. Children are encouraged to pursue their individual interests and have enjoyed going on a variety of trips in line with their hobbies, such as visiting the Harry Potter studio tours, and they have also enjoyed a holiday abroad over the summer period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know and understand children’s health and emotional needs well and ensure that they receive the right support at the right time. Children are encouraged to share their views in relation to their health and are supported to make decisions for themselves where safe and appropriate to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs are well supported by staff, who stress the importance of good attendance and engagement in education. Children attend full-time college courses in their chosen subjects and are supported by staff to raise any issues they have in an appropriate way so that these can be addressed and managed by education professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with their families are supported by staff who understand the importance of positive and consistent communication with children’s relatives. Children are encouraged to spend time with people who are important to them, and staff ensure that families are involved in children’s daily lives. One grandparent said, ‘They [staff] are like family to us and if it wasn’t for them, we probably wouldn’t have the relationship we do with my grandchild now. I can’t thank them enough for that.’

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

Children have trusting relationships with staff who know them well and who know how to keep them safe. Staff encourage children to share their views and support them to contribute towards their risk assessments and plans. As a result, children say that they feel listened to and supported to make decisions in their lives.

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

Staff advocate on behalf of children and challenge external professionals, when needed. Children are supported to attend their meetings and have their views heard. Children have access to their own, independent advocates. Since the last inspection, one child Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 4 has been supported to raise two complaints to the respective external agencies. The child was supported and received feedback throughout the investigations and said they were happy with the outcome and support they received from staff.

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

Since the last inspection, there was a six-week period that was turbulent for all the children living in the home at that time. This was due to an increase in significant incidents in the home. During this period, the manager spent their time supporting children and staff, which resulted in a lapse in managerial oversight. Incidents were inconsistently managed, and police assistance was frequently used to manage behaviour. Staff shared that at the time they were unsure how to rebuild a positive relationship with one child, communicate expectations around their behaviour or help them to resolve conflict more appropriately. This resulted in one child moving on from the home. Reflection and learning from this period were delayed. However, staff have since been supported to reflect on incidents to consider how to better manage incidents in the future.

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

Incidents of physical intervention are rare. However, when physical intervention has been used, this has been as a last resort. Children have been appropriately supported following any incident of restraint. However, details of the actual physical intervention used are not always clear, and on one occasion, a child’s plan was not effectively followed. This was not identified within the managerial evaluation or oversight.

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

Children are supported to develop their independence skills and take responsibility for their own laundry, cooking and getting to and from college. One child enjoys working in a local café and children are supported to take some age-appropriate risks. However, there are some barriers to them doing this. For example, laundry detergent is locked away and children require staff assistance to unlock household cleaning products. This is contrary to their individual needs and capabilities. Further consideration of children’s individual needs and risks is needed to ensure that children are appropriately supported to build their independence and fulfil their individual potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager, who is an ever-present figure in the home. Children identify her as someone they trust to support them and speak up on their behalf. The manager has strengthened relationships with external professionals and is praised by social workers for her communication skills and advocacy for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel very well supported by the manager and that she is approachable and understanding. Staff express genuine warmth about the children and the culture in the home, which they say is open and nurturing. Staff say that when the manager is unavailable, they feel comfortable and confident to approach the senior leadership team to access any support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and is relevant to children’s needs. Training is thoroughly reviewed by the manager, and new staff complete additional training as part of their induction. Since the last inspection, the manager sourced some training in relation to Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 5 one child’s specific needs. This gave staff a better understanding of how to approach and support the child in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are regular and are child focused. The manager uses supervision to identify areas for staff development and provide all staff with the opportunity to address any practice-related issues. Team meetings are well attended and used to reflect on practice and how to better support children. Staff are encouraged to use clinical support and guidance to develop their own practice and work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has improved oversight of the home and has effective systems in place to ensure that all incidents are now appropriately reviewed and any issues around staff practice are identified and addressed. The manager also has a new deputy manager in place, who has been supported to develop her managerial and leadership skills and support the manager in the daily running of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(b) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are always supported to rebuild positive relationships with staff, where safe to do so. 26 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 7 The registered person must ensure that staff support and help children to understand clear expectations around their behaviour and are helped to resolve conflict appropriately.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)(vi)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to make decisions and have the freedoms in line with their age, development and understanding to take age- appropriate risks and have free access in the home to items which enhance their independence. 26 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any placement breakdown is sufficiently reviewed in a timely manner and lessons learned are distributed across the staff team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that all records of restraint are detailed enough to allow for effective review and that any practice issues are identified and addressed with staff, without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2495335 9

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Thomas Cappleman

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Inspector

Justina Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2495335 10 regulates 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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