Children's Home run by Keys Child Care Limited in North East Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 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

A private company operates this home. It provides care for up to 5 children who may have social and emotional difficulties or a learning disability.

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Information about this children's home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. All children were seen during the inspection and their views were sought.

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Information about this children's home

The home is currently without a registered manager. The deputy manager led the inspection with support from the responsible individual.

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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: 2721832 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Good 06/11/2024 Full Good 07/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home and are nurturing, reflective practitioners. Staff demonstrate warmth, affection and empathy towards children and each other, and work effectively with partner professionals to support children's needs. Children are encouraged to pursue their interests and benefit from enduring relationships with staff, who continue to celebrate important milestones with them after they leave the home. However, for one child, a lack of routine is limiting their engagement with education and progress.

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Summary of findings

Relationships between children are currently strained, which affects the wellbeing of some children. At times, children have felt that their views have not been fully heard or their concerns addressed. In addition, managers have not effectively managed an identified risk in the community for one child, and improvements are needed in relation to maintaining children's records, reporting significant events to the regulator, and completing recruitment checks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff are reflective and show genuine care and affection for the children. Staff speak about the children with kindness. Staff also show warmth and consideration to each other in the home and model positive relationships to the children. Staff celebrate children's time in the home and mark anniversaries for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the complex relationships that children have with their families. Staff are sensitive to children's experiences and support them appropriately and sensitively to have time with their family and others who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out of the home this is well planned and supported. Staff make individualised memory books including photos. For one child who was leaving the home staff framed the ending positively. Staff work effectively with professionals involved in moves from the home. Staff remain in contact with children for as long as they can. One child who left the home said 'My last home has been the best home I've ever lived in. For the first time it felt like a family – the family I'd always dreamed of having. (home) will always stay with me. It reminded me what a home is supposed to feel like'.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to think about their futures and engage in employment where this is appropriate. Managers have supported one child to get a plan to support their education needs since moving to the home. Some children do not access full-time education. One child who does not attend school has a poor routine and structure to their day, being awake through the night and asleep during the day. Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 4 Children are helped to access health care in line with their presenting needs. Professionals noted the supportive relationships staff have with a child who has recently needed additional support. Staff attend appointments and meetings with children and seek medical support when needed. Staff advocate for children about their medication needs and keep these under review.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home are offered opportunities and activities aligned to their interests such as singing lessons. Children also have a wide variety of days out and holidays. Children spend limited time together and prefer to be supported by staff rather than spend time with their peers. There are at times difficult dynamics in the home which have a significant impact on the household. The difficult relationships in the home have led to a child being physically held by staff which has affected their emotional wellbeing. The child did not feel listened to by staff after the incident or able to fully reflect on their feelings about the hold.

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

Staff understand online safety risks for children and demonstrate curiosity when concerns arise. Staff regularly talk with children and explore and use online tools to help them understand risks they may face online, including child exploitation. Staff work with the local authority to create safe plans around children's use of technology.

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

Staff are responsive if children go missing from the home. Staff follow and search for children and staff have come in to work to search while off work. If children go missing, they are welcomed back and managers work with other professionals to understand the reasons for the incident.

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

There has been a reduction in the number of physical interventions with children in the last 6 months. These are rarely used and only to keep children safe for the minimum time possible. There has been timely management oversight of interventions that have occurred. One child felt overwhelmed after an incident and did not feel they had support to talk about how the intervention made them feel, despite several conversations taking place. They also made an allegation which was not shared in an appropriate or timely manner.

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

Managers have reflected and adapted and improved their practice in response to medication errors in the home. Staff practice, practical arrangements, and systems have been addressed, including the moving of the medication cupboard. Medication and health records are accurate and contain up-to-date information, but one child's care plans do not reflect the medication they currently take.

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

Children understand how to make complaints, and these are taken seriously and followed up by managers. However, some children do not feel that they have been listened to and heard or understand that action has been taken when they raise concerns. One child said they retracted a complaint as they did not want to get staff into trouble. Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 5 Risk assessments are in place for children, and staff understand the key elements of risk and know what the plans are for children. Information within risk assessments has not been reviewed or updated to reflect each child's current circumstances.

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

When children spend time with friends outside the home staff make plans to contact them and check on their wellbeing. For one child visiting another home, suspected risks were not fully explored with all adults involved. Levels of supervision were not agreed with the adults which increased risk to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has left the home, and an experienced deputy manager has stepped into the role to provide consistency for the children. She has provided good oversight. She is a reflective manager who is committed to the children and is child focussed. The deputy manager and staff speak with care and empathy about the children and recognise their needs and how their life experiences have affected them. A new manager has been appointed and has completed recruitment checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel very well supported by managers and particularly value the training they receive and are reflective of how training has helped them improve their practice. New staff receive a structured induction and regular supervision which includes safeguarding discussions about children. Staff access a broad range of training to understand the needs of children and specialist input as it is needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work closely with other agencies and seek advice and guidance from specialists to enhance their skills and knowledge. Effective communication has supported plans for children and ensured that their needs are met. Managers share information in a timely manner to ensure consistent partnership working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are subject to safer recruitment checks and all care and child-related settings that staff have worked in are contacted as part of these checks. However, for one staff member managers had not obtained a reference from their most recent employer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While managers usually inform Ofsted of any incidents which are considered to be serious for the children. Managers did not notify Ofsted of 2 incidents relating to a potential risk of exploitation and an allegation made against a member of staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child's behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child's age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child's respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(v)(viii)(ix)(xi)(b)) 16 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 16 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child's needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. Staff should discuss the decision with the child's placing authority where appropriate. If a child makes a choice that would place them or another person at significant risk of harm, staff should work collaboratively with others involved to help them understand the risks and manage their risk-taking behaviour to keep themselves and others safe. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.7).  The registered person should ensure that children are listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or

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Recommendations

abuse must be addressed in line with the home's child protection policy. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 44, paragraph 9.17).  The registered person should consult with children regularly on their views about the home's care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. 'Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 22 paragraph 4.11).  The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education whilst they are of compulsory school age unless their personal education plan states otherwise. The staff must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child's relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests and build helpful routines into their home life to support attendance. ('Guide to the Children's Home

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards', page 28, paragraph 5.14).  The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision, and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.1).  The registered person should ensure that children's records are accurate and kept up to date. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 14.2). Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 8

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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: 2721832 9

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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

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Ali Owens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2721832 10 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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