Children's home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Rossendale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC020610 Registered provider: Keys Nhcc Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. Four children have lived in the home since the last inspection. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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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: SC020610 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2025 Full Good 20/02/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to the child who lives in the home during the inspection. The child said they felt welcomed to the home when they first moved in. They said they have recently enjoyed a trip to a theme park, and they are supported by staff to spend time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who lives here has lived in this home since the previous inspection and is loved. Staff are committed to them wholly. They provide stability, which in turn allows children to build a sense of permanence. The positive relationships staff have built and continue to build means children experience a range of activities and achieve progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home make educational progress from their starting points. With the support of the staff team one child has completed an apprenticeship and secured employment after reaching the age of 18. One child has completed GCSE exams. The home is working with external professionals and advocating for one child to return to further education as soon as possible. The staff have also identified online learning, independent skills development and job applications as part of ongoing informal education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in activities that they enjoy. The children in this home have had driving lessons, gone on holiday, visited theme parks and been to football matches.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Support to promote the development of children’s independence is provided in an effective and timely way. The children are helped to develop their skills in line with their individual needs. Skills needed by children to live independently as adults are identified and guidance is provided by staff consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to access local health services. Arrangements for the management of medication are safe. The children were supported to have all their childhood immunisations brought up to date. However, staff have not followed all advice in one child’s health assessment, which has meant the child’s health needs have not been addressed in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home since the previous inspection. This move was well planned. The child was welcomed, and there was adequate preparation with others to understand the child’s needs before they came into the staff team’s care. There was consideration of the other children living in the home. Three children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Two were natural moves, due to a change in circumstance and age, and one was due to the child’s change in needs. All endings have been planned, and the welfare of the children and their needs has remained paramount. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity, and they are supported to manage their emotions in a way that they can understand, through talking or visual cues. The staff approach each child with consistent care in line with their plans, as well as providing boundaries, which allows the children to develop resilience and relationships both in and outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, one child has made a complaint. The management of the complaint did not wholly follow the home’s complaint policy. Although policies were not fully followed, the child was listened to and age-appropriate verbal feedback was provided.

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

The staff are aware of each child’s vulnerabilities, and they work in a way which reduces the risk of harm to each child by working in a way to reduce vulnerabilities. There is regular and effective communication with the child’s social worker to promote safety. The staff in the home talk to the children about a wide range of topics. Providing important learning opportunities. The staff listen to children and respond with curiosity, not judgement. These discussions are recorded in a child-friendly way.

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

The staff support one child to work with external professionals from the youth justice system well. There are individual risk assessments in place for each child’s vulnerabilities. Staff implement these consistently well to promote the well-being and safety of children.

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

There are physical restraints in the home in the form of window restrictors and external door alarms. There is agreement from the child and the social worker for them to be in place. However, there is a gap in the review of them. Although the manager has reviewed the use of them, they have not captured the child’s feelings about them for the purpose of review.

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

There has been one missing-from-home incident since the previous inspection. There was a well-coordinated response. The plan in place was followed and staff looked for the child. Children are supported after incidents well. Plans were updated after the incident to consider ways to revise the approach to the child’s individual needs to reduce further harm.

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

Children who are at an age of developing independence are supported by staff to take age-appropriate risks. These include travelling alone on public transport, spending time in the community and spending time online. The staff know who the child is spending time with and ensure that they remain in good communication with them for the well- being of the child in their care.

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

There has been a proactive and effective working relationship with the police team in charge of ‘Prevent’ duty. This has been to support and protect one child in the home and to reduce harm to them and others. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Restraint has been used since the previous inspection. Incidents are recorded accurately and reviewed and monitored by the manager. Opportunity is provided to all those involved to express their views and be supported. Children are provided with the opportunity to express their views after incidents. During this period, there has been one use of an unauthorised ‘Team Teach’ hold; all other restraints have been approved. The individual involved was subject to an appropriate investigation and has completed training to update their skills.

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

Investigations into allegations are handled fairly. The person involved in the allegation was provided with support, as was the child involved. The investigation was completed by a manager who was not in charge of this home, and the outcome was provided to the person involved. Two investigations have been reviewed during this inspection; one had a clear timeline of work done internally and with external professionals, and one did not.

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

Staff who work in the home are clear on what to do when there are concerns about the safety of a child. Concerns are shared with the local authority in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager. Safer recruitment has taken place, and there is action being taken to fill the two current vacancies in the home. Arrangements for yearly appraisals are in place for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home knows what is happening in the home. She monitors the quality of care through oversight of practice documents, being in the home, supervision, team meetings and internal audits. She also works closely with the independent person to support effective monitoring of the home. Together, they are able to pull out the strengths and areas for improvement for the home. They seek to continually improve to enhance the experiences of the children in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager routinely updates children’s plans and does so in line with the local authority care plans for the children. The manager has built effective relationships with other professionals, which has provided positive outcomes for children. The manager can show how individual children’s progress has impacted positively on their life chances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision that is focused on staff well-being, professional development and the ability of staff to meet the needs of children in the home. Staff speak positively about the impact of supervision on their practice. Team meetings are used to support an environment of shared good practice and to support the staff with the impact of their role on their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have clear responsibilities to support the running of the home. This provides them with shared ownership of practice. Staff report being well managed and supported in all areas of their work and personal life, and there is evidence to support this. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to ensure the physical environment of the home is maintained and is able to meet the children’s needs. Some work has been completed on the home, and some is ongoing. The work has had minimal impact on the child in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records about the children’s everyday lives reflect their time in the home. The child will be able to access theirs in the future, should they want to, and it will give them an understanding of their experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the child’s views around restrictions on the physical setting of the home are gathered regularly as part of the home’s review process. 14 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met. (Regulation 10(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, actions specified within annual health assessments must be actioned. 14 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they lead a team that provides high quality care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose, specifically when responding to complaints. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that all communication with external professionals, in relation to safeguarding matters, is retained and recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraphs 14.12, 14.13 and 14.14)

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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: SC020610 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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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Inspector

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC020610 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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Inspector

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