Children's home run by Keir Lock Children’s Homes Ltd in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 1 SC482415

p.1

Registered provider: Keir Lock Childrens Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home, and they were all spoken with.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 27/09/2022 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in this home are making progress in all areas of their lives. They say that they feel happy, safe, relaxed, settled and supported. They are each making progress in their own ways, highlighting the individual care that staff provide each child. Children share a sense of ownership of their home, where they can participate in their day-to-day living tasks.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work tirelessly with the children with regard to their health. Routine appointments are mostly up to date. When there have been delays in addressing health needs, it has been related to anxieties from the children attending appointments. Staff patiently address this with the children, spending time speaking with them and supporting them to attend any appointments. They also listen to the children’s voices regarding their health needs, and they advocate for them when necessary. This ensures the children feel heard and can make decisions in relation to their own care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals speak highly about the care the children receive and the progress they make. All external parties spoken with emphasised that the progress made by each child was due to the positive, caring relationships between the staff and the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and inviting. Staff have worked hard alongside children to make it a nurturing and homely environment. Each child’s bedroom is decorated to a high standard and personalised according to their tastes. Staff clearly take pride in the home and help children to maintain a pleasant environment to live in.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and in the local and wider community, such as holidays, regular exercise and day trips to the seaside. Staff are passionate about ensuring that children have fun. However, these memories are not preserved for the children in photo albums or memory books. This is a missed opportunity for staff to capture these happy memories for children to take with them as keepsakes so they are not forgotten.

p.3

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

Staff understand the individual risks for each child. Staff openly discuss the risks with the children and educate them on how to keep themselves safer. There is clear partnership working with external safeguarding agencies to further support the children to make the right choices to keep themselves as safe as possible.

p.3

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

There has been a reduction in the number of incidents in the home. There have been no incidents where a child has needed to be held, and there has been a significant decrease in missing-from-home episodes for one child. This is due to staff knowing the children Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 4 well, the relationships between staff and children and the clear boundaries and expectations implemented in the home by the staff.

p.3

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

When children go missing from home, the incidents are managed well. There are clear response protocols that staff follow. Staff work with the children’s families and friends, as well as the police, to locate them quickly. When the children return, they are always offered a return-home interview. When they decline to engage with the relevant professionals, the children will always talk openly with staff about where they have been and whether there are any areas of concern.

p.4

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

Rewards are an important feature in the home. There are many incentives for children to display positive behaviour and achieve their goals. Effective use of incentives helps children to understand that they can have better experiences by working with staff to improve their behaviours.

p.4

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

Door monitors are fitted on some of the children’s bedroom doors. The use of these monitors is highlighted in the statement of purpose, and they are used to assist staff with the movements of all children. However, the continual use of the monitors has not been routinely reviewed by the manager. Therefore, it is unclear as to whether the measure is proportionate or necessary.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated and devoted to the staff and children at the home. He regularly spends time with each child, doing activities with them or discussing any worries or concerns they may have. The manager has high expectations for what each child can achieve, and he celebrates each success with them. The manager has a positive impact on staff and children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the manager. They hold the manager in high regard, with one staff member saying, ‘He is a fantastic manager.’ Staff feel valued and included in the decision-making in the home. This has led to high staff morale.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular individual supervision sessions, and the children’s well-being is the central focus of the discussions. Staff receive feedback on their practice, and there is an emphasis on their career development. Additionally, staff training focuses on the individual needs of each child. This ensures staff have the skills and knowledge to support good outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager rigorously challenges the actions and responses of services that could impact on the safety and lives of the children. He works with outside agencies and professionals to ensure that the children are protected and safe. Through the manager’s tireless tenacity and commitment to the well-being of the children, he ensured a potentially significant safeguarding risk was eradicated and the children were kept safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 5 The records system in the home is currently being moved to a new system. The move has been delayed due to complications with the new system. As a result, important documents are not on file and some information relating to children is not up to date. The monitoring and review systems do not ensure that the manager has effective oversight of the home while they go through this transition. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 6

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any decisions to modify the environment of the home are only made where it is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and kept under regular review. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the need for the activation of door alarms on children’s bedrooms is regularly assessed and is in line with the children’s presenting risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date. In particular, the registered person should have regular oversight of children’s case records through an effective monitoring system so that appropriate changes can be made when required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

p.6

Recommendations

quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

p.6

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: SC482415 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keir Lock Childrens Homes Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Thompson’s Yard, New Street, Ossett, West Yorkshire WF5 8BH

p.7

Inspector

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482415 8 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.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8