Children's home run by Keys Group Progressive Care & Education Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 1 SC389178 Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education 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 organisation and provides care and support to up to five children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2023

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Outstanding 20/03/2024 Full Good 28/03/2023 Full Good 05/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make exceptional progress because of strong and secure relationships with consistent and dedicated staff. The stability and routine they consistently provide allow children to thrive. One child said they trust everyone who works in the home. This allows the staff to provide highly individualised care to help children develop their independence, communication and personal care skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is beautiful and provides an enriching space for children to grow up. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their tastes and reflect their personalities and interests. Communal areas have games, a sensory room and musical instruments for children to use. Children’s artwork and achievements are displayed proudly throughout the home, creating a nurturing environment where children’s successes are celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s education is strongly promoted. Most children are in full time education which meets their academic needs. When children are not in school, staff create bespoke timetables to provide structure and valuable educational activities throughout the day whilst managers work with the relevant authorities to swiftly seek new school placements. Staff are determined to minimise any disruption to children’s learning ensuring their learning experiences are meaningful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The approach by staff for family time is superb. Staff invest significant time with the children’s families to develop strong relationships and help parents understand their children’s needs. Children regularly spend quality time with their families in the home. One parent said, ‘They always make me feel welcome’. As a result, children’s relationships with their families have flourished because of the high-quality help and support provided by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children develop an impressive range of independence skills. Staff are creative in helping children stay focused on developing their life and independence skills. Staff provide fun activities in line with each child’s needs, making activities fun and having breaks to make them achievable and manageable for the children. Children are learning ways to better communicate with others, build and strengthen relationships, prepare a range of meals and improve their personal care skills. Notably, children are encouraged to advocate for themselves about matters which affect their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health needs are well understood by staff who regularly consult medical specialists and keep children’s plans under regular review. Staff help children to attend appointments and support them to learn how to make better decisions about their own health and wellbeing. This means that children get the help they need to stay healthy due to the consistently well informed and highly response approach to meeting their needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 4 Children are positively supported to move into the home in an exceptionally well-planned way. Staff work closely with professionals to gather detailed information about the child before they move in, which enables staff to be well prepared to meet the child’s complex needs. Children form relationships with staff at the earliest opportunity and staff gain a thorough understanding of children’s individuals need. This helps children to settle into

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

Staff have a deep understanding of how to keep children safe. Children have complex needs and vulnerabilities; staff work hard to effectively reduce risks for children. There is a well-developed culture of safeguarding, staff are encouraged to transparently report concerns. Staff work effectively with partner safeguarding agencies sharing information promptly when they have concerns.

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

Staff are highly effective at working with specialist professionals to ensure the plans that support children with managing their behaviour are up to date and effective. This means children receive a highly informed and consistent approach from staff. The use of physical restraint is rare, only used when necessary and all other options have been explored. When it is used, the registered manager carries out a thorough review with staff to ensure the use is proportionate and helps staff to reflect on their actions and identify opportunities for learning.

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

Highly effective systems are in place for administering medication safely. Following a medication error earlier this year, managers reviewed the administration and quality assurance systems and put in place enhanced training for staff. This has been effective in improving practice and resulted in no medication errors following.

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

When children experience anxiety or difficult feelings that lead them to self- injure, staff respond with care that helps children feel safe and get the support they need. Staff work effectively with other specialist agencies to fully assess the function of the behaviour and put in plans that help children find other strategies to manage their anxiety. Children are making significant progress in their understanding and how they manage their emotions. One child has made excellent progress, and they now use a wide variety of calming strategies that support them.

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

The home is well maintained, and any damage is promptly repaired ensuring the home maintains its homely appeal. Fire safety measures in the home are well maintained and ensure that staff know what to do to help to protect children in the event of an emergency evacuation.

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

Staff support most children to be safe when using the internet or while online gaming. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and monitor their activity to support them to stay safe. However, one child who uses the internet in this way has not yet been provided with education about the risks that they may encounter or how to keep themselves safe. There has been no negative effect on the safety of this child. Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is highly experienced and appropriately qualified. He has high aspirations for what the children can achieve. Children are at the centre of any decision- making in the home. The care delivered by the team is effectively informed by the home’s model of care to reduce incidents including those of self-injury.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the home’s strengths and the progress that children are making. This is supported through the exceptional levels of monitoring and oversight of the home. There are highly effective systems in place to gain feedback from others to further develop and improve the home. Children’s views and other sources of information allow managers to identify and address and improve areas of the service which need further development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers work effectively and collaboratively with partner agencies. There are strong links in place between specialist services, schools, healthcare providers and safeguarding professionals. This means that children get the right help and support they need, which enables them to make progress. Feedback from professionals and families is consistently excellent. One said that they are ‘impressed by the professionalism and attention to detail from the manager and staff team’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff report being extremely well supported by the registered manager and the wider leadership team. One member of staff said, ‘you couldn’t ask for a better manager’. Staff say they receive regular supervision and appraisal of their practice, and they value these opportunities to understand how they can improve in their roles. Managers understand and recognise the importance of staff wellbeing and reflect this through awards ceremonies and celebratory displays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is an open culture of reflection and consultation within the staff team. Regular team meetings provide opportunities to share learning, receive advice from specialists and review the effectiveness of strategies to help and support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are confident in their ability to meet children’s needs because of the extensive training opportunities provided by managers. When children’s needs change, further training is promptly arranged to ensure that staff have the skills to respond effectively. Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are helped to understand how to keep themselves safe when they use the internet. This should be in line with the child's level of understanding and independence. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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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: SC389178 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Keys Group Progressive Care & Education 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: Michelle Callard

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Inspector

Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC389178 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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