Children's Home run by Keys Nhcc Ltd in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 1 SC020602 Registered provider: Keys Nhcc Ltd

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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 run by a private company and provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living at the home and spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2017 and holds the appropriate qualifications. They are currently seconded to another role in the organisation. The acting manager was previously the deputy manager and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 30 October 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2024 Full Outstanding 11/12/2023 Full Outstanding 10/01/2023 Full Outstanding 18/01/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and make progress in line with their individual plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are well planned. Staff welcome them with sensitivity and show a clear understanding of the anxiety and uncertainty that moving to a new home can bring. They provide warmth, reassurance and practical support that help children feel safe and cared for. Children already living in the home are involved in the process, which helps reduce worries and begins to build trusting relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported as they prepare for independence. Staff help them to learn practical skills by encouraging them to complete everyday tasks, such as cleaning their bedroom, shopping and cooking simple meals. This support builds children’s confidence in their abilities and helps them to feel prepared for adult life. As a result, children develop the knowledge and self-belief they need for successful independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warm and nurturing relationships with staff. Staff speak about the children with genuine affection and enthusiasm, and they prioritise building trusted, secure relationships. When children leave the home, they often express sincere gratitude for the care they have received and describe staff as feeling like family. As a result, children feel valued and know that the adults caring for them are genuinely invested in their wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in a range of ways to share their views about their care. Children’s views inform their plans and help to identify clear goals. Staff encourage children to express their feelings and to have open and honest conversations about relationships in the home and with their peers. This supportive approach enables timely intervention when needed, promotes positive group living and helps children to take responsibility for their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and nurturing environment for children. It is well decorated, spacious and feels homely, offering children areas to spend time together as well as places to relax on their own. Children personalise their bedrooms to reflect their individuality, and photos and certificates displayed throughout the home celebrate their experiences and achievements. This helps children to feel proud of where they live and promotes a strong sense of belonging.

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

Staff have a strong understanding of each child’s strengths, needs, vulnerabilities and risks. They use this knowledge to respond promptly when safeguarding concerns arise and take appropriate action to keep children safe. Staff are guided by thorough and regularly updated risk assessments that include clear risk-reduction strategies Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 4 informed by children’s behaviour and recent incidents. This ensures that safeguarding practice is proactive and effective.

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

When children are distressed or display unsafe behaviours, staff respond with empathy and care. They use therapeutically informed de-escalation strategies and only use physical intervention as a last resort, when this is necessary and proportionate to reduce risk and keep everyone safe. After incidents, staff talk with children to explore their views and feelings. These conversations are age appropriate, sensitive and meaningful. Staff listen carefully and take account of what children say while reinforcing healthy boundaries. As a result, children feel safe, understood and supported, with clear expectations in place.

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

Managers take appropriate action when safeguarding concerns arise. They escalate issues promptly, work collaboratively with other professionals and share information effectively. They also challenge other professionals’ decision-making when needed, highlighting risks and taking action that is in children’s best interests. This ensures there is a coordinated and robust response to safeguarding children.

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

There have been occasions when staff practice has fallen short of expectations. Examples include a member of staff not reporting an allegation in line with internal safeguarding procedures, a vulnerable child leaving the home unnoticed due to a lack of staff vigilance and an inappropriate response to a child by a staff member. In another incident, a member of staff chose to call the police when a child damaged their car, which risked unnecessarily criminalising the child. The manager has acted promptly in response to these concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team knows the children and their needs extremely well. The acting manager is committed to providing high-quality, individualised care and has developed positive and trusting relationships with the children. She works hard to ensure that each child receives consistent support that meets their needs. Although very experienced, she is still developing confidence in her new role and is yet to fully establish her own vision for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and oversight of the home are robust. This ensures that any concerns or shortfalls are identified and addressed quickly, which improves the quality of care and supports ongoing service development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff handovers capture relevant information about children’s daily experiences, presentation and tasks that need to be completed. This helps staff to understand what children have experienced since they last worked in the home and ensures continuity of care. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. These meetings prioritise the quality of care, support effective communication and encourage reflective practice. This consistent and cohesive approach strengthens the staff team and helps to ensure that children receive high-quality, well-coordinated support. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 5 The manager provides a supportive environment for staff. Staff say they are happy in their roles and enjoy working in the home. They feel well supported by the manager and receive regular, reflective supervision. While there is a core staff team, the home relies on a high number of agency staff. The manager mitigates this by requesting

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the same agency workers wherever possible to promote consistency and stability for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 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, The 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— that staff—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff report all allegations in line with the home’s policy and procedures and that children are supervised in accordance with their plans.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff respond to children in line with the home’s therapeutic model of care. 12 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 7

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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: SC020602 8

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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

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC020602 9 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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Inspector

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