Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2709844 1 Registered provider: Keys Child 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

The home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children resident at the time of this inspection. The inspector spoke to both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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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: 2709844 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2025 Full Good 04/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2709844 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong trusting relationships with staff who they know well. A successful recruitment campaign means there is a full staff team, with newly appointed staff working hard to develop relationships with the children. Professionals say that the children like living at this home and they trust their adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health and ensure they attend routine appointments. Staff work with specialists to support children with specific physical and mental health needs. Staff efforts have supported one child to build enough confidence to access new community activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is a priority in this home. Staff work diligently with education professionals to remove barriers for the children. Children who have previously been out of education for years, now attend full time and are making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide variety of activities and staff ensure they always have the specialist equipment they need. The children have enjoyed a holiday abroad together and staff encourage them to try new things. This helps the children to develop their confidence and their socials skills. Children are comfortable in the community, and they reach out to neighbours to share in some of their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work closely with other professionals to prepare children for the next stage in their lives. Staff contribute to a well thought out and individualised moving on plan, with effective communication and information sharing. This ensures that children have time to adjust to changes in their lives in preparation for moving.

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

Staff know the children and their risks well. Risk assessments and care plans are up to date and include clear strategies that support staff to recognise early signs of distress. Staff help children to increase their resilience and find healthy coping strategies and ways to express themselves.

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

Staff know what to do and follow children’s missing from home procedures. They routinely follow the child and contribute to their safe return. Staff are professionally curious in their discussions with children to find out why they have gone missing, reducing the risk of this reoccurring. This successfully keeps missing episodes to a minimum.

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

Children’s behaviour management plans are detailed and provide guidance for staff to support children to manage their behaviour. Staff review events and the effectiveness of each strategy used. Children are only held when it is proportionate and necessary. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709844 4 Children and staff can reflect on what happened and restorative work to repair relationships is undertaken.

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

The manager takes all allegations seriously. They undertake a thorough investigation and establish the views of everyone involved. These investigations are child focused and the manager takes effective action when staff practice falls short, ensuring children are safe. However, there is no record of children being informed of the outcome of their allegation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic and highly committed to the children. She is a strong children’s advocate, recognising children’s needs and presenting their voice in all aspects of their lives. This keeps the children central to planning and decision making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of staff wellbeing, its impact on staff retention and the consistency of care for the children. They use team meetings as a tool to share information and deliver training. Reflective discussion empowers staff to update the practice and provide meaningful care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is regular, well recorded, and reflective. The manager is familiar with staff training and development needs and uses supervision to track its progress. The manager is therefore confident that staff have the skills needed to meet children’s needs to a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring and review systems in place. They have an established system of quality assurance and home development. Records are child friendly, innovative and demonstrate that the manager has good oversight of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong working relationship with partner professionals. Those spoken to have consistently high praise for open and reliable communication and the care provided to the children. However, feedback is not routinely reflected in the managers evaluation of practice, or evident in the planning for the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2709844 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children are formally informed of the outcome of any complaint which they make. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered manager should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with children, families and other professionals and records the outcome in their report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: 2709844 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2709844 7 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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