Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Unique reference number SC051739 Inspector Philip Cass Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Pathway Care Solutions II Limited Registered person address 14 Regent Street NOTTINGHAM NG1 5BQ

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Responsible individual Ameer Rehman Registered manager Kirsten Margaret Cocksey Date of last inspection 18/03/2014 2 of 8 Inspection date 06/11/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness outstanding

Outcomes for children and young people outstanding Quality of care outstanding Keeping children and young people safe outstanding Leadership and management outstanding

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Overall effectiveness

The home’s very competent staff team build exceptionally strong and trusting relationships with young people. These relationships are the foundation of very effective behaviour management systems. They enable young people to achieve excellent outcomes. Placing social workers note ‘consistently good outcomes for young people’ placed at the home. They reflect positively on the commitment of staff who, ‘go above and beyond their duties’. Young people also have very positive views about the quality of care in the home. Their views and wishes are fully reflected in decision making processes.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are significantly safer as a result of moving to the home. They value the bully-free environment. Risk taking and self-harming behaviours are greatly reduced. Young people do not place themselves at risk by running away. The supportive and empowering culture of the home means that young people are confident to express their individuality. Rigorous management systems ensure that care standards are routinely monitored to improve outcomes for young people. Outcomes are further improved because the manager is a highly effective advocate and is very skilled in ensuring that young people have access to a wide range of specialist resources. A parent states that the home ‘has been a really positive placement’. Parents also note that ‘staff go out of their way’ to support young people. 3 of 8

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered for three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a private organisation which has several homes within the area.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2014 Interim good progress 07/11/2013 Full good 20/12/2012 Interim satisfactory progress 16/05/2012 Full adequate 4 of 8

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people feel secure in their placement and greatly value the stability that the home provides. Consequently, they build strong attachments. The sense of stability enables young people to make exceptional progress towards developing emotional resilience and a positive self-view. Incidents of risk taking behaviour reduce markedly following admission to the home. Self-harm is greatly reduced also. This makes young people much safer. Anti-social or offending behaviour stops as young people progress in the home. Social workers report ‘brilliant progress’ in young people’s social skills. They learn to behave more appropriately in the home and in the community. Significantly better social skills mean that the life chances of young people are greatly improved.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are confident that they will gain qualifications that lead to realistic employment opportunities. They feel that they are making great progress at school, particularly in relation to their starting point at the time of admission. They say that, since being placed at the home, they have ‘caught up’ with their education. Social workers also confirm that young people make progress beyond their expectations. The educational impact of complex health disorders is addressed sensitively but effectively. Consequently, young people overcome their anxieties and learn to enjoy education. Young people are fully involved in decision making processes in the home. There is a very positive sense of ownership felt by the young people. This means that they learn to take responsibility for their home environment. Young people also contribute well to their community. They engage positively with neighbours, interacting in a helpful

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

manner. They also speak passionately about recent involvement with learning disabled young people, embracing the opportunity to spend time with and support them. Young people give presentations to staff and external professionals on disability issues that affect them. The social awareness of young people is further improved by recent involvement with a local homeless charity. They take pride in their fund-raising efforts.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people describe their home as ‘amazing’. They enjoy exceptionally strong relationships with staff. These relationships underpin significant improvements in their self-esteem and well-being. Staff demonstrate great sensitivity and compassion in their interactions with young people. However, they ensure that empathy and understanding is well balanced with high expectation and high aspiration. Social workers say that staff are ‘exceptionally good at supporting the emotional development’ of young people. Young people are respected as individuals and given 5 of 8 every opportunity to achieve success.

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Quality of care outstanding

Care planning and review processes are thorough. Care plans reflect the broad range of personal, social, educational and health needs. They also reflect needs that stem from young people’s culture, religion and personal identity. As a result, they promote very high quality care. Physical, emotional, and mental health needs are very well understood by all staff. This is because health plans are comprehensive and provide very clear guidance. Staff are highly attentive to the presentation of young people. As a result, they respond very well to changing health needs and make prompt referral to specialist health services where appropriate. This ensures that young people receive the best possible treatment and care when they are unwell. The quality of health care arrangements is further demonstrated by the home’s safe and effective medication administration systems.

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Quality of care outstanding

The home environment is highly supportive of young people’s educational needs. Young people often require considerable reassurance and support during the school day. Staff ensure that they are constantly available to provide this. Where complex emotional and mental health conditions present barriers to education, realistic multi- agency plans are in place. These ensure that strong outcomes can still be achieved. Managers work exceptionally well with schools to identify sources of funding that enable specialist services to be commissioned. This particularly benefits young people who are not able to cope in formal classroom settings. For example, a highly tailored education package for young people with anxiety disorders and autistic spectrum disorders has led to significantly improved education participation. Because young people are actively involved in the planning of their education programmes, attendance improves.

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Quality of care outstanding

The home facilitates a wide range of stimulating and enriching activities that are enjoyed by young people. Staff are skilled at providing craft activities, and make sure that the art work of young people is displayed around the home. Established links with community organisations enable young people to publicly display and market their work. As well as boosting self-esteem and self-confidence, this helps young people to understand business and entrepreneurship. Barriers to participation in planned activities are challenged robustly by managers, including the initiation of legal proceedings where necessary. Young people express considerable gratitude for the great lengths staff have gone to in facilitating a ‘brilliant’ summer holiday to Spain, as well as other memorable experiences such as concerts, theatrical performances and educational visits.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people feel safe. Strong safeguarding procedures reduce the risk of abuse. All staff are provided with safeguarding training commensurate to their role in the home. As a result they have a good understanding of how to recognise the signs of potential exploitation, and how to respond to suspicions or allegations of abuse. 6 of 8 Recruitment practice also minimises the risk of abuse taking place. Staff are carefully vetted. Application processes clearly deter unsuitable adults from applying for positions of trust at the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

The home provides care to young people who have a limited understanding of how to keep themselves safe in the community. Staff are very proactive in the way that they keep these young people safe. They have a very strong awareness of the particular vulnerabilities of each young person. This enables effective risk management strategies to be developed and implemented. Young people do not place themselves at risk by running away from the home. Strong relationships with police and other safeguarding agencies ensure that intelligence is shared promptly about individuals who may present a risk to young people. As a result, the safety of young people is greatly improved. A social worker says that the home is an ‘ideal placement’ for young people who display risk taking behaviours.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Behaviour management is a key strength of the home. Staff have a very good understanding of the home’s ethos and implement it consistently. This means that behaviour management strategies are highly effective. Staff show great resilience to provocative and hostile behaviours. Their resilience enables them to focus on achieving long term goals rather than responding in a punitive manner. The experienced staff team are confident in their ability to manage complex group dynamics. The reassuring presence of very skilled staff reduces instances of challenging behaviour and promotes a strong sense of safety. There is no bullying in the home. In addition, there has been no use of physical restraint since the last inspection.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Effective health and safety systems mean that hazards are identified and removed promptly. Young people have detailed individual risk assessments. Because these are quickly updated when risk levels change, the home has a dynamic response to risk taking behaviour. Fire risk assessment is robust. Routine checks on fire safety equipment and regular fire evacuation drills mean that the risk of injury is minimised. Periodic testing of gas and electrical systems further reduces the risk of fire. The standard of food hygiene has been graded as ‘five star’ at a recent local authority Environmental Health Department inspection. This confirms the excellent health and safety systems in the home.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered Manager has been in post for over two years. She is suitably qualified and experienced to undertake the role. Staff report that they are exceptionally well supported through formal and informal mechanisms in the home. This contributes to the low levels of staff turnover, enabling consistent care to be provided to young people. On-call arrangements are robust and ensure that good quality guidance and assistance is available during challenging periods. The personal commitment of the manager and her deputy is particularly valued by staff during periods when young 7 of 8 people are in crisis.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff receive regular supervision that helps them to implement the ethos of the home and meet the high expectations of the manager. Annual appraisal is used positively to identify developmental opportunities and to challenge staff to enhance their own practice. Staff meetings are used very well. They provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their own practice. They also provide a forum for staff to make suggestions to improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The Registered manager conducts herself in a very professional manner. As a result, she has built strong relationships with a range of external service providers, parents, and her own managers. However, when constructive challenge is required to ensure strong outcomes for young people, she is tenacious in her efforts. As a result she acts as a highly effective advocate for young people in her care.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff benefit from a comprehensive programme of training. New staff undertake the Children’s Workforce Development Council’s induction standards. They go on to complete the Children and Young People’s Workforce Diploma. In addition, staff receive training in a range of areas such as safeguarding, first aid, food hygiene and the administration of medication. When the home cares for young people with particular needs, specialist training is provided. For example, staff have received training in the management of self-harming behaviours, attachment disorders, and autistic spectrum disorders. Consequently, staff are knowledgeable and suitably qualified.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The home’s aims and objectives are set out clearly in its Statement of Purpose. This means that families and placing authorities are provided with accurate information about the home. A very good quality children’s guide is provided to young people when they move into the home. The guide is particularly innovative, well designed, and helpful. It is updated and personalised for each new admission. This means that young people are provided with relevant, useful information that is appropriate to their age and understanding. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management outstanding

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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