Children's Home run by Keys Care Limited in Windsor and Maidenhead

Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 1 SC438624 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 is a privately owned children’s home that is registered to provide care for 2 children aged between 11 and 17. There were 2 children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2022.

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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 outstanding

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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: SC438624 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2025 Full Good 04/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/02/2024 Full Outstanding 07/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s needs are consistently met, with staff providing safe, nurturing care that maintains routines, privacy and family relationships. Children feel safe and have positive relationships with staff. While behaviour is generally managed well, not all staff are confident in using de-escalation techniques in relation to physical intervention, and one child did not receive sufficient internet safety work, although no harm occurred. The registered manager is an inspirational leader whose advocacy significantly improves outcomes for children. Staff feel supported, and leaders have clear plans to address shortfalls and drive further improvement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and spend quality time with them. Children form positive relationships with staff, who use each child’s preferred communication style alongside the provider’s chosen therapeutic approach to support them. When children do not feel understood, staff are committed to learning more about their needs and improving their practice to provide better individualised care and support. This helps children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet children’s health needs and support them to access primary and specialist healthcare services. Staff lead by example, promoting nutritious meals and a healthy lifestyle. Staff and leaders develop effective relationships with health professionals to promote children’s health and wellbeing. Staff’s gentle encouragement and child-friendly reflection following meetings with a child’s medical team have enabled a child to make excellent progress towards their health-related targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend educational provisions that meet their individual needs. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to set educational goals that reflect their aspirations and interests while remaining realistic and achievable. Effective communication with education providers helps to ensure that children receive individualised education packages. This supports children to learn and make good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity and respect. Staff and leaders value children’s views in the day-to-day running of the home and provide age-appropriate explanations when it is not possible to act upon their wishes. Children’s identities are actively promoted. Where it is safe to do so, staff support children to maintain family relationships. Staff encourage children to express and explore their identities and make appropriate adjustments to the home environment and children’s personal spaces to support this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home benefit from a range of positive experiences. Staff support children to access their preferred activities, holidays and recreational trips. These Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 4 opportunities are used to promote healthy lifestyles and help children develop independence skills. Staff encourage children to try new activities that they have expressed an interest in but may have lacked the confidence to pursue. Children’s achievements are celebrated. This increases children’s self-confidence and supports their social and emotional development. For example, one child’s social skills have improved since moving into the home, and they said, ‘This home is the best for me.’ Another child’s confidence in accessing community facilities has significantly improved since the last inspection, positively influencing their health and lifestyle choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving into the home benefit from carefully planned introductions that take place at a pace that is right for them. Staff take time to understand each child’s needs, preferences and wishes before they move in, helping them to feel safe and reassured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with each child to develop their independence in line with their individual needs, abilities and goals. When staff have concerns that plans for a child’s future may not fully meet their needs, leaders actively advocate on the child’s behalf and challenge others to help secure the most appropriate outcome.

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

Staff work collaboratively to provide stability for children. They implement clear, consistent and age-appropriate boundaries for the children living in the home. Children understand staff’s expectations and say that they feel safe and protected in their care. Staff’s predictable approach provides children with stability and a sense of permanence and belonging.

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

Children know how to complain, and staff take their concerns seriously. The registered manager supports children to understand what actions have been taken in response to their complaint, and restorative work is considered where appropriate. Prompt action is taken, and practice improves accordingly.

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

Children have secure relationships with the staff who care for them. They say that they feel safe in the home and can identify staff members they can approach when they are worried or upset. Children feel that staff are helpful and care about them. Staff respond proactively to reduce the risk of harm, and the overall number of incidents has reduced since the last inspection. However, not all staff are able to support children when they experience an emotional crisis, such as heightened anger or self-harming behaviours. There is always a leader at the home who is proactively helping staff to develop their skills and improve the support they provide to children.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are comprehensive and child-centred and provide practical guidance on how best to communicate with children. They are effective in identifying and reducing risks associated with going missing from home, exploitation, self-harm and difficulties in managing emotions. The registered manager promotes reflective practice and risk analysis when incidents increase. They ensure that consistent responses are implemented to support children experiencing periods of crisis. Staff and Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 5 leaders work effectively with children’s professional networks to provide a well- coordinated safeguarding response.

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

Staff have a good understanding of risks and support strategies. However, a small number of staff are not sufficiently confident or skilled in implementing the provider’s de- escalation techniques, particularly when considering the use of physical intervention. For example, inconsistencies were identified in staff responses to challenging behaviour. Some staff reported feeling uncomfortable using physical restraint, while others resorted to restraint before fully exploring verbal de-escalation strategies. On one occasion, this contributed to an incident escalating rather than supporting the child to settle.

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

Risks associated with online safety are understood and responded to appropriately by staff, particularly in relation to older children. However, direct work with younger children is not sufficiently individualised. Consequently, children are not always supported to understand how generic online safety advice relates to their own experiences and online interactions, particularly in relation to forming and maintaining safe friendships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed efficiently by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. She is supported by an experienced regional manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders demonstrate an ambitious vision for the children living in the home. They are strong advocates for children’s needs and aspirations and ensure that individual plans are in place to provide the best possible care and experiences. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points. For example, one child’s significant educational progress secured them a place in a college that aligns with both their interests and individual needs. Another child enrolled in and now enjoys education for the first time after a prolonged period out of education. Another child’s social experiences at college improved because of leaders’ excellent advocacy and effective partnership working with their educational provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Where services are unavailable or children experience significant delays in receiving support, the registered manager is proactive in challenging and escalating concerns within the children’s professional network. The registered manager is inspirational and influential in changing the lives of the children living at the home. For example, her remarkable advocacy and commitment to achieving the best possible outcome for a child was instrumental in securing a brighter future for the child after they reached the age of 18. The registered manager’s active involvement was pivotal in identifying a home that could meet the young person’s complex needs. By maintaining a positive relationship and continuing to offer support after the move, she helped the young person settle successfully and continue to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear understanding of the factors influencing children’s progress and takes effective action to ensure that children receive the highest quality of care. Robust monitoring systems are in place to ensure that children’s plans are well Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 6 understood, consistently implemented and effective in reducing risks and meeting needs. Documentation is written in child-friendly language and adapted to children’s individual learning styles, enabling them to better understand key risks. Records reflect children’s views and their progress is regularly monitored against identified goals, alongside achievements being recognised and celebrated. The recommendations from the previous inspection were met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has an impressive understanding of the children’s needs and lived experiences. She is visible within the home and makes herself available to support children whenever needed. Children have formed trusting and secure relationships with the registered manager and say, ‘She is always there for me.’ The registered manager leads by example, promoting positive and nurturing relationships between staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is innovative in fostering trusting relationships between children and staff. She introduces reflective practice and creative approaches that actively promote professional curiosity about children’s needs. Children’s participation is meaningful and influential. For example, one child was supported by an internal specialist to discuss their needs with staff. This empowered the child to reflect on how their needs affect their emotions and behaviours, while helping staff to better understand the child’s perspective. In addition, a bespoke development plan is in place for staff who are less confident or experienced in implementing de-escalation strategies in line with the provider’s therapeutic model and approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders provide a supportive environment for staff through reflective supervision, effective team meetings and specialist consultations. These focus on children’s experiences, needs, vulnerabilities, care planning, and learning from feedback and incidents. Induction and training programmes are tailored to meet both the needs of children and the professional development needs of staff. The registered manager and regional manager have a strong understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development and have a clear improvement plan with realistic timescales. Staff report feeling well supported by the management team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm, specifically, through online safety and at times of crisis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: SC438624 8

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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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Inspector

Claudia Poienar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC438624 9 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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