Children's Home run by Keys Educational Services Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 1 SC363422 Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is managed by a private company. The home can provide care for up to 3 children who may have social and emotional needs. At the point of the inspection, there were 2 children living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The home refers to people who provide care for the children as adults, and this will be reflected in the language in this report.

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Information about this children's home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: 7 and 8 October 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/10/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/02/2025 Full Outstanding 05/03/2024 Full Outstanding 14/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 3

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Summary of findings

Adults in the home know the children well and speak about them positively. Adults are supporting children to feel settled, and children are making positive progress. Managers are embedding a compassionate and non-judgemental approach and adults seek to understand children's behaviour. In-house therapy services are utilised well, and risk assessments are reflective of the risks that surround the children. There is positive management oversight of incidents. This is reflective of an emerging learning culture.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the adults is their unconditional positive regard and belief in the children. Adults have high hopes and aspirations for them. Even during difficult incidents, adults remind children that they are wanted and cared for. Adults have a warm and kind approach. Children have responded positively to this way of working and like the adults caring for them. As a result, the children have good relationships with adults and are making positive progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults have a strong working relationship with an in-house therapy team. Therapy services have helped to support the adults with their communication styles with children and have developed their skills in unspoken communication. Furthermore, significant worries or risks about children are joined up well with adults. Therapy services support with formulation and strategies to care for children. As a result of this approach, children are supported by a team who have a therapeutic understanding of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making steady progress in education, and adults advocate on the children's behalf when needed. Adults recognise that it is in the children's interest for progress in education to be thoughtfully supported. Time outside of planned education does not reflect well-structured routines for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels energetic and an enjoyable environment to live in. Children are supported to do the things they like, such as playing the guitar, baking and shopping. Children are supported to keep and care for pets, which add to the homely feel. Adults recognise that the home environment could better reflect the activities, likes and wishes of the children who live there.

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

Any allegations against adults are managed thoroughly and transparently. Managers consult with the local authority designated officer and conduct single-subject supervisions, where needed, and there is reflective management oversight. Children are consulted with consistently and reflectively, and their experiences are central to any investigations. This has helped to enable an environment that is transparent with clear processes. Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 4 Physical intervention is not frequently used by adults. When it is used, it is after deescalation strategies are attempted. Adults contact the appropriate agencies after the use of physical intervention and there is reflective management oversight. Children are offered the chance to discuss their thoughts after any instances and these discussions are compassionate and seek to reduce risk.

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

Adults understand the risks relating to the children and have comprehensive plans to support them to manage risk. Adults have recently begun to record and update risk assessments on a new system. This also has details of relevant support and care plans. Adults update the assessments frequently. They are reflective of the risks surrounding the children, are contemporary and detail strategies to reduce or manage risks. This has helped support safer outcomes for children.

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

There is a comprehensive response to any incidents. Adults regularly consult with social workers, external services and children's family members. There is consistent, reflective management oversight that seeks to improve the experience for children. The recording of these incidents evidences a compassionate and non-judgemental response from adults. This has helped to build positive relationships between children and adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been working to improve experiences for children. Team meetings are held frequently, and adults discuss the home's culture and the experiences of the children. Managers intend to ensure that they adopt a more reflective approach during meetings going forward. The registered manager is seeking to learn and develop in their role and has committed to a development programme with measured and targeted goals. This is all with the intention of improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strength of this home is the compassionate and caring way that adults speak about, and to, children. The registered manager is embedding this approach in staff practice. This was highlighted as a strength of their leadership by several of their colleagues. As a result of this approach, children are building trusting and positive relationships with adults, and they feel able to be themselves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults receive frequent supervision. A particular strength of adults' supervision is considering helpful, and potentially unhelpful, working cultures in the home. This is a standard agenda item. Managers have begun to implement case scenarios during supervision, and sessions are becoming more structured. Managers intend to ensure that, going forward, reflection and analysis are explicitly referenced in supervision sessions. Not all supervisions are signed by the respective participants. Managers recognise that they need to ensure consistency in this area to be sure that lessons learned in supervision are embedded in the team's practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are beginning to embed a reflective and transparent culture in respect of lessons learned. When managing a small medication error, adults swiftly informed all the appropriate agencies. There were necessary in-house investigations, with learning Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 5 opportunities provided. There was a clear and transparent discussion with the child. This is reflective of managers and leaders seeking to continually improve the care for the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered, and records should be signed by supervisor and supervisee. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable, structured activities. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 28, paragraph 5.15.)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that for children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. The home environment should reflect the activities, wishes and feelings of the children living there. ('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: SC363422 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Keys Educational Services Limited

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Dan Griffin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC363422 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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