Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 1 SC421063 Registered provider: Keys Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run and provides therapeutic residential 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 the inspection, 4 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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: SC421063 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2025 Full Good 11/02/2025 Full Good 05/03/2024 Full Outstanding 27/02/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 3

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Summary of findings

Children have made progress from their individual starting points. The caring staff team members listen to children and are available for them, ensuring that children enjoy positive life experiences. Managers and staff focus on building meaningful relationships. They support children through consistent boundaries and encouragement.

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Summary of findings

Leadership is effective. Leaders and managers provide staff with regular supervision, expert consultations and team meetings. As a result, staff are well guided and equipped to understand children’s needs and protect them from harm.

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Summary of findings

There are inconsistencies in the support provided to children to maintain their bedrooms, the effective use of learning from complaints, and recording practices. These shortfalls have an impact on children’s experiences. One child has not made significant progress since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff build positive, caring relationships with children. Children, including those who recently moved in, enjoy spending time with staff. Staff know the children well; they respect and understand their unique individual needs. As a result, children feel reassured and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a broad range of purposeful and enriching experiences that support their wellbeing and development. Staff and managers support children with their individual interests. Children enjoy going to concerts to see their favourite artists, football stadiums, go-karting, zoos, beaches, theme parks and shopping, and going on holidays. Children get to choose their own activities and enjoy them as a result. One young person described how much they were looking forward to their first ever holiday, which they helped plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 3 children have moved into the home. All these moves were well planned. Managers ensure that they have all the information they need to plan and meet the children’s needs. As a result, children feel welcomed and listened to, and have settled into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly spend time with those who are important to them. Managers and staff acknowledge and advocate children’s wishes and views about individuals who are important to them. They collaborate closely with the local authority and parents to review and agree arrangements in relation to family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education that meets their individual needs. Managers and staff work hard to support children to access and engage in education. Staff have built positive Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 4 relationships with children’s schools and work closely with them to support children’s needs. This includes using individualised behaviour support strategies and tailored education plans. As a result, children’s attendance and engagement in education have improved significantly from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate well with children’s schools to ensure their needs and behaviours are managed consistently and supportively at both the home and school. However, records do not always use child-centred language when describing children’s emotions. This may make it harder for children to understand and reflect on their experiences when reading their records. Leaders recognise this area for improvement and have plans to work with staff and professionals involved in children’s care to ensure records are more accessible, respectful and meaningful for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and well maintained, inside and out. However, when children struggle to keep their bedrooms tidy, staff have not always used different approaches to support them. In one instance, a child’s bedroom was untidy and had an unpleasant odour. Staff acknowledge this shortfall and have addressed it.

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

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from care. When children are missing from the home without authorisation, staff are proactive in looking for them, contacting them and following the home’s policy effectively. Staff also collaborate with external agencies to manage risks. As a result, children rarely go missing from the home.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour through a range of structured, individualised and spontaneous rewards that motivate children. Their achievements are recognised and celebrated. As a result, children are making progress from their individual starting points.

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

Managers and staff help children manage their emotions safely. They understand and sensitively support children who are feeling anxious. Staff also receive support from therapeutic practitioners to help them better understand and respond to children’s needs. When children need specialist therapeutic services, these are arranged. For one child, the support provided at the home, together with effective partnership working between staff and the child’s school, has helped them remain in mainstream education.

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

Staff practise effective de-escalation techniques and have built positive relationships with children at the home. This enables them to manage children’s behaviour in a way that supports them. As a result, the use of restraint is rare. When it is used, it is proportionate and used for the least amount of time required. Children are supported following such incidents, and managers ensure staff practice is reviewed.

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

Leaders take children’s complaints and allegations seriously. These are reported to the relevant agencies, and effective internal investigations are held. However, on one occasion, this did not result in effective learning being identified for the staff involved. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 5 Staff do not always know their roles and responsibilities when taking children on holidays. This means that an opportunity to support staff to develop their practice, as well as to be effective role models for children, has been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable and consistent management team with a clear vision for the home. Managers ensure that staff work in line with the home’s values and approach. They reflect on their practice and take action to address areas for improvement. They have built a committed staff team that provides children with stability and consistency of care. As a result, children have positive relationships with managers and staff and feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have strong working relationships with children’s families and other agencies. Feedback from professionals is complimentary. They say that communication with managers and staff is good and that they feel children are well looked after. Parents are kept up to date when there are major events in children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff and promote a learning culture in the home. Staff receive regular supervision that helps them reflect on their practice and develop their skills. Managers ensure that staff have the training that they need, and there is a culture of continuous learning through individual practice-specific supervision, team meetings and expert consultations, which offer opportunities for reflection and growth.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel that the management team is approachable and supportive when issues arise. For example, one staff member who experienced racial abuse said that managers and colleagues provided dedicated support during and after the incident, helping them through a challenging time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff know the children well and can show the positive impact of the care they provide. Children currently living at the home are making good progress. However, one child who moved on from the home made limited progress. The provider and professionals involved with the child were unable to fully understand the reasons for some of the child’s behaviours. As a result, the same support strategies were used repeatedly, despite having little success. Leaders have reflected on this and have identified learning to improve future practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they are learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and that learning from complaints and allegations is embedded in practice effectively for the benefit of the children living in the home. The registered person should also ensure that everyone working at the home understands their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to do, including during trips and holidays organised by the provider. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual

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Recommendations

children in a way that will be helpful to the child and that records represent a significant contribution to their life history. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment for children. This includes ensuring that the children’s rooms are regularly cleaned and that different strategies are used to ensure they consistently remain hygienic. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC421063 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O Pinsent Masons LLP, The Soloist Building, 1 Lanyon Place, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT1 3LP

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Inspectors

Rose Joseph, Social Care Inspector Claudia Poienar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC421063 8 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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