Children's Home run by Keys Stepping Stones Limited in Tameside

Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 1 SC005567 Registered provider: Keys Stepping Stones 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

The home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

3 children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. 2 of the children spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2025 Full Good 21/02/2024 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Outstanding 19/01/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection one child has moved into the home and one child has left. Children do not always benefit from care that is carefully assessed and planned to meet their individual needs. One child reported that they only sleep at the home and were therefore unable to share their experience of living there. Furthermore, staff supervision of children in the community is variable and does not always reflect the known risks in the local area. Consequently, children are not always supported effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to learn and develop in accordance with their interests and ability. All are enrolled with an education provider and are encouraged to attend. Staff support them to do this by arranging for children to be transported safely to and from education daily.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped and encouraged to remain connected to their family where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Staff support children to spend time with their friends in the home and on day trips in the community. Additionally, they take part in activities of their choice. This supports children to retain a sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

The environment is homely and decorated to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are well presented and personalised to reflect their personal interests and promote their identity.

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improvement to be good

Investigation records following allegations do not always include all the relevant information obtained as part of the investigation to evidence that a thorough investigation took place. Consequently, records do not accurately reflect the investigation process, which makes it difficult to monitor practice and ensure that children are fully protected. However, outcomes of allegations are shared with children.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used appropriately to protect children. Children are supported to take part in debriefs following incidents. However, staff debriefs are not always completed to ensure that staff are supported to reflect on their practice.

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improvement to be good

Responses to children who go missing from home are not always effective. Staff search for children and work with safeguarding partners to support their safe return. However, when one child was missing for two days, staff attempted to contact the child by telephone on the second day and did not undertake a physical search. This reduced the effectiveness of their safeguarding actions and delayed efforts to locate the child. Additionally, children do not always have the opportunity to speak with an independent person about the reason why they were missing from home. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 4 Leaders and managers do not consistently challenge poor safeguarding practice. Consequently, shortfalls in safeguarding practice were not identified until this inspection. Furthermore, there is a delay in practice learning to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of children is not compromised.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not ensure that medication is always safely stored away from children. As a result of this, children are exposed to unnecessary risks, such as accidental ingestion of medication.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments accurately reflect their individual risks and provide staff with appropriate guidance on how to respond to safeguard children. However, for one child, the guidance in their missing from home plans is inconsistent, which means staff may not always have a clear understanding of how to respond when incidents occur.

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improvement to be good

Staff spoken to have a good understanding of children’s risks and support children to understand the risks associated with their behaviour through frequent direct work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager post is currently vacant. A new manager, who has a good understanding of the children and their needs has been appointed. She has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say that they feel supported and meet regularly with leaders and managers to discuss their practice. Supervision records vary in quality, with some records being illegible and not reflecting that staff can reflect and learn from their practice. Additionally, records about children are not consistently positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. However, they are not always used effectively. For example, leaders and managers have not supported staff to collectively reflect on incidents where one child went missing on two occasions during the night. This is a missed opportunity for group reflection and learning to develop and improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff receive training that enables them to meet children’s specific needs. This means that staff do not always have the skills or knowledge to respond appropriately to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Monitoring systems in the home are not effective. Consequently, shortfalls in leadership and management, care planning and safeguarding practice, which reduces the quality of care that children receive were identified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Notification of significant events have not always been shared with Ofsted and the local authority’s designated officer. This reduces the opportunity for independent oversight and scrutiny of the providers safeguarding practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 5 Social workers and family members speak positively about the care that children in the home receive. Social care professionals commend leaders, managers and staff for their effective partnership working. Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person 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

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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that statements from staff members who are the subject of an allegation, and statements from any witnesses, form part of the investigation.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that children's safety plans provide consistent information to staff about how to respond to children's risks and vulnerabilities.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders, managers and staff must ensure that children's missing from home protocols are followed. This includes ensuring that staff continue to physically search for children until children return home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that medication is always stored away from children. 8 April 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that following significant incidents, staff are supported to reflect on the incident. Leaders and managers must ensure that this reflection is used to promote best practice, by identifying any areas of further development and putting support for staff, where suitable in place.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that team meetings and supervisions with staff consider and reflect on safeguarding incidents that have occurred within the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff are suitably trained to meet children's identified needs.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that there are effective monitoring systems in place to monitor the quality of care that children receive. These systems must identify any shortfalls in 8 April 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 8 practice and provide clear accounts of how these have been addressed.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that there is a clear record of any investigation conducted following an allegation made against staff. This must include the statements of all involved.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that records, such as supervisions, staff meetings and children's meetings are legible.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that language about children used and recorded in records, is not derogatory. The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home;

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(a)). 8 April 2026

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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

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)(ii)). 8 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 8 April 2026 Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 9 Regulation 40(4)(c)(e)).

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Requirement Due date

This includes ensuring that safeguarding partners, such as the local authority designated officer, is always informed about significant safeguarding incidents.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when children go missing they are always offered an independent return home interview upon their return. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30).

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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: SC005567 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Stepping Stones Limited

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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(s)

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005567 11 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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