Children's home run by Keys Care Limited in Belfast

Inspection report children's home: 1242216 1 Registered provider: Keys 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 private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may require support with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2024.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home, and two children were spoken to.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children's home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1242216 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 16/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1242216 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from exceptionally warm, nurturing and trusting relationships with staff. Staff demonstrate consistent, genuine affection which creates an atmosphere filled with fun and laughter. Children are confident that staff will stand by them, advocate for them and never give up on them. As a result, children settle quickly into the home, feel valued and make sustained and meaningful progress in all areas of their development. One family member said, ‘some of the chaps that work with [the child] have great relationships and [the child] will talk to them, [the child] is not shut down by them’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make good progress in education. Staff actively support and encourage children to attend regularly. Staff advocate strongly for children and ensure that their education plans encourage their ongoing participation and progress. Staff work closely with educational professionals to support children’s engagement and regularly collaborate to assess support strategies required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from a consistent, skilled and highly effective approach to their care. Staff are attuned to children’s physical and emotional needs and respond swiftly and sensitively to even subtle changes in their presentation. Staff demonstrate a deep understanding of each child’s past experiences and the impact of childhood trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Reflective practice is embedded throughout care which is supported by bespoke training. All staff work hard to embed the model of care, alongside regular consultation with the organisation’s therapeutic team and the wider professional network.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff use their in-depth knowledge of children’s interests to support and encourage activities. Children and staff spend valuable time together and undertake a wide range of activities at home and in the community. Activities include trips out to cities and playing sports alongside having fun at home. The children get to try new things and have experiences that they will remember.

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

Children’s vulnerabilities decrease because of living here. For example, one child arrived with high safeguarding risks, including being missing from home and increased vulnerability to exploitation which have since reduced significantly. Managers ensure that robust assessments of risk are in place to guide staff care practice. Children’s risk management plans are continually updated and amended. Monthly risk strategy meetings with partner agencies take place. This means that all agencies work in a coordinated manner with up-to-date information about children. One professional said, ‘I really can’t fault the home, they have sat in a significant amount of risk with [the child] and everything they have done has worked so well, communication is second to none.’ Inspection report children's home: 1242216 4 Safeguarding is embedded in staff practice with them demonstrating an exceptional commitment to protecting children from harm. Staff regularly strengthen their

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

safeguarding knowledge through ongoing specialist training, team meetings, upskilling sessions and reflective supervision. Staff also benefit from tailored guidance from the organisations therapeutic team, which deepens their understanding of the complexities behind children’s behaviours and supports the safe and effective management of these.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff use a nurturing and individualised approach and tailored de-escalation strategies with each child if they are becoming overwhelmed with emotions. As a result, behaviours are managed effectively without the need for physical intervention.

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

Staff undertake regular one-to-one discussions with children and are not afraid to tackle sensitive subjects. Staff are aware of the individual ways that children process information. Therefore, alongside guidance from the therapeutic team, staff plan and complete regular discussions and re-visit these where required, to ensure that the children are supported to understand the discussions and take learning from these. For example, following a discussion, one child was provided with a training account on the online training system and has completed training in administering their own medication. This is a skill that can be taken forward into adulthood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a committed, knowledgeable and aspirational manager. She is very well supported by an equally committed leadership team. Together they provide excellent leadership. Managers create a culture of high aspiration and positivity for staff. As a result, staff say they feel very supported in their jobs and staff morale is consistently high. One staff member said, ‘the change since I started in the home has been a breath of fresh air, [the manager] is very proactive and invested in the home, the children and the staff, and will go above and beyond.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are always visible and work directly with children. They have a detailed understanding of each child as they are involved in the care planning from the outset when children move in. This allows managers to not only build relationships with children, but to role model their styles and strategies to support staff in their learning and development. Staff practice is underpinned by a research informed approach which is reinforced through regular clinical and team development meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent quality assurance processes in place. She knows what is happening in the home daily. The manager reviews staff recordings and all incidents. Management audits are regularly undertaken, and any outstanding actions are promptly addressed. The manager values advice and guidance from the independent visitor, and this helps as part of the overall quality review of the home. However, there has been no point-in-time survey distributed to all relevant people in this inspection period. This is a missed opportunity to seek independent scrutiny of the care provided to children. Inspection report children's home: 1242216 5 The manager has fostered strong links with both professionals and family members. One parent said, ‘I have never been so supported in my life to have [the child], and that is down to the relationship with the staff’. A professional said, ‘I feel that we have worked amazingly and collaboratively with the home’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Thorough recruitment procedures are in place that ensure staff working with children are suitable to do so. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review their continued suitability. Inspection report children's home: 1242216 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure they actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. This also includes ensuring that the point-in-time surveys are distributed to all relevant people, so they have the opportunity to provide feedback. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24).

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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 children's home: 1242216 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: C/o Pinsent Masons Llp, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1242216 8 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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Inspector

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