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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 1 Registered provider: Keys Child Care Ltd 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 provider. It offers care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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: 28 October 2025

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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: 1164089 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2025 Full Good 04/03/2025 Full Good 07/11/2023 Full Good 26/04/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 3

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Summary of findings

Children are kept safe and provided with effective support from staff. Children build trusting relationships with staff, and they are making good progress from their starting points. Staff work closely with external professionals and internal specialists to meet the children’s needs.

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Summary of findings

There have been some temporary changes in management recently, and an interim manager was brought in to support children and staff. The changes have resulted in some uncertainty among staff and have affected the level of leadership oversight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 4 children have lived in the home. At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living in the home. One child has recently moved into the home. Before the child moved in, staff carefully assessed whether the home was the best place for the child and how all the children’s needs would be met. Another child successfully moved on to supported accommodation. Staff prepared the child well for this move and helped them develop the skills and confidence needed for greater independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child spoke with the inspectors. The child spoke positively about living in the home and said that staff listen to them and provide help when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek out children’s voices. Children regularly take part in house meetings and individual key-work sessions. Staff involve children in decisions about their care and ask them how they would like to be supported. As a result, children receive care that is tailored to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of experiences that help them develop confidence, interests and positive memories. They have enjoyed holidays abroad and activities such as go- karting, driving experiences, shopping trips and music festivals. Children spend meaningful time with staff as well as friends and family. This helps them maintain important relationships and develop a positive sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a pet rabbit, which children help to care for. Looking after the rabbit helps children develop a sense of responsibility, empathy and routine. It also provides comfort and emotional wellbeing for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements. These include educational successes, such as good attendance and completing examinations. Staff also recognise children’s progress in building positive relationships with staff and other professionals who support them. Thoughtful memory books capture children’s successes and happy moments. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 4 encourage children to think positively about their futures and support them towards their aspirations and goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s independence in practical and meaningful ways. Children learn skills such as budgeting, shopping, cooking and cleaning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. Children’s bedrooms reflect their individual interests and personalities. A display of children’s achievements and photos of children and staff throughout the home create a nurturing and homely environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of inspection, children could not access the utility room without staff unlocking the door. This may prevent children from further building their independent life skills. In addition, parts of the garden are poorly maintained.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use creative ways of helping children to understand and manage their behaviours, and the level of incidents is low.

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

Staff know how to keep children safe. They make sure that when children are missing, there is a quick and coordinated response to try to locate them and bring them home. Staff work closely with external agencies when needed. Staff show compassion and care and encourage children to meet with their social workers to discuss their feelings. As a result, missing-from-home episodes for all children have remained low since the last inspection.

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

Staff help children to understand healthy and safe relationships. Staff have positive discussions with children and help them learn about friendships with other people who are important to them. The internal therapeutic team consists of a psychotherapist and a behaviour specialist who offer ongoing training to staff. In addition, the therapeutic team provides consultation to staff when they carry out assessments with children to inform their care. This allows for a personalised approach that suits children’s individual needs and positively influences their progress.

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

The gates in the back garden were locked, which prevents staff and children from using the fire exit in the garden effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The suitably qualified manager is currently away from the home. An interim manager, a senior manager and the responsible individual are supporting children and staff. The changes have caused some anxiety among staff. This has not affected the overall care delivered to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 5 Communication between managers and professionals is positive. Professionals are regularly informed about any areas of concern or changes for the children. There is evidence of effective multi-agency working in place that benefits the children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are child focused and they know the children well. They are committed to ensuring that children’s experiences are positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff role model positive practice for newer staff members, which informs their development. Staff say they feel valued and supported and they praise the culture of the home. Staff retention is good, and the team is stable and experienced, which means staff are confident in delivering a good-quality service to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular therapeutic support. Leaders ensure staff have regular training and broaden their knowledge through focused meetings and workshops to help them deliver the best care to the children. Staff benefit from regular and supportive supervision sessions and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to a lack of oversight, incidents have not had the level of scrutiny needed for sharing information promptly. Leaders and managers have not always shared significant incidents with the regulator in a timely way. This reduces the ability of the regulator to have effective oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s review of the quality of care does not consistently include feedback from the children. As a result, the review is not fully informed by children’s experience; this limits the leaders’ ability to evaluate the quality of care provided from the children’s perspective. Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)) 31 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they seek to involve the local authority and other relevant persons whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. They are also required by regulation 40 to notify placing authorities, Ofsted and other relevant persons about serious events. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.9-14.15)  The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home, and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is

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Recommendations

welcoming. In particular, ensure that repairs and general maintenance to the home and garden are carried out without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that all emergency escape routes are safe, accessible and can be used by children at all times. This includes reviewing the arrangements for the locked gates in the rear garden to ensure that children can exit the home quickly and safely in event of an emergency. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 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: 1164089 8

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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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Inspectors

Thembie Mzila, Social Care Inspector Anda Roddy, social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1164089 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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