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

Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 1 Registered provider: Keys Child Care 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 privately owned children's home provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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Information about this children's home

This is the first inspection of this home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 2

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress and having positive experiences living in this home due to warm and trusting relationships with staff. Staff listen to the children well and act on their views. Staff plan children's moves into and on from the home thoughtfully. Staff motivate children to return to and engage in education. Staff have a good understanding of the children's needs and how to keep them safe, including having regular conversations with children.

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Summary of findings

Managers have recognised the effect that the a high turnover of staff has had on children, resulting in one child moving out at their request. They are providing support and training to staff to increase retention and improve staff skills to provide consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy warm and trusting relationships with staff, who know them well. Staff talk to and about children with care and respect. The relationships that children have with staff enable them to be secure and develop a sense of belonging. One child said, 'I love it here, it's a great place to be.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that there is good planning and support for children moving into or on from the home. Managers make child-centred decisions about such moves and consider the needs of the other children in the home. This helps to ensure that children's experiences of moving into or on from the home are as positive as possible. For one child, staffing capacity in the home was a deciding factor in the decision for them to move on. However, this occurred in a planned way to a home within the organisation that is more suited to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's education engagement is supported by staff, with staff having a good understanding of the individual barriers to education that some children had. Children are supported to re-engage in education when this is difficult for them to do. For one child, this has led to them feeling excited about starting a college course in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are sharing their views, wishes and feelings on a regular basis. Their views are generally being listened to. However, staff need to ensure that these views are responded to, where possible, or reflect if there are reasons why these cannot be acted upon.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels homely. It is beautifully presented and furnished in a child-friendly manner. There are photographs of the children proudly displayed in the communal areas. Children are helped to personalise their bedrooms, which they have been able to select Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 3 upon moving in. This all helps children to settle in and gives them ownership of their environment.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children's individual vulnerabilities and of their own safeguarding duties. Systems for communicating new developments and changes to safety plans work well and there is robust management oversight of incidents of concern. This underpins a strong safeguarding culture. As a result, staff take effective action when there are concerns about children's safety.

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

Systems for storing and managing medication are suitable and there is effective management scrutiny of these. In addition, staff are well attuned to how medical needs present for one child and have, at times, taken immediate action to ensure their emerging health needs are met swiftly.

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

Children and parents know how to make a complaint or raise concerns. When they do, managers acknowledge these quickly and follow the home's complaints procedure when required. Their responses are open and reflective in nature. This enables the children and their parents to be listened to and ensure that any concerns are resolved in a positive way.

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

When there are allegations or concerns about staff's practice, managers take prompt action to manage any potential risks and investigate concerns. They liaise with other relevant professionals, such as the local authority designated officer, and ensure that the children and staff involved are provided with support.

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

Children benefit from regular, focused conversations with staff to explore a variety of difficult and challenging topics. Feedback is provided in a way that is specific to each child to help them to engage and reflect upon the discussions. Staff are consistent in their efforts to help children make choices to keep themself safe, even when topics are difficult for children to engage with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff levels and retention have been a challenge, with 4 members of staff leaving since the home opened. Leaders and managers responded by ensuring that consistent agency and support staff were used to limit the level of disruption for the children. Recruitment has been an ongoing priority, with new staff identified and in post. Leaders and managers understand the importance of ensuring that the staffing is stable and established before more children move into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete a suitable programme of training to support them in their roles. This includes training in areas that are specific to the needs of children living in the home. The organisation's clinician also provides guidance and resources to support staff's understanding of children's needs, so that they are well informed in the care they deliver. Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 4 Staff are well supported by senior leaders. The regular team meetings and individual supervisions are reflective and engaging. These help to develop staff expertise, ensuring that they feel appropriately challenged and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have effective working relationships with partner agencies, ensuring the best possible care, experiences and plans for children. This is particularly evident in relation to a child's health needs. Managers provide weekly written feedback to the child's network, which informs safety plans that are reviewed each month by the lead consultant.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The newly established management team at the home is working well and managers and staff are supported by a network of support managers from local homes. The area network has also enabled children to link with children and staff from other homes at social events and creates a community feel to living in the home and being part of the wider organisation. Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 5

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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: 2871706 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Gemma Bullen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2871706 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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Inspector

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