Children's Home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Bedford

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.2

because:

 Approaches to behaviour management are not always clearly recorded, proportional and relevant. Incidents of restraint are not always subject to independent scrutiny.  Risks to health and safety are not always identified and addressed.  Staff are not always provided with core training and updates sufficiently frequently.  Recruitment practices do not fully explore potential gaps in employment history or the reasons for the ceasing of previous childcare employment.  There have been significant changes within the staff group over the past six months which have greatly impacted on young people and their feelings of security. The provider has recruited to the vast majority of vacant posts and the home is beginning to move out of this unsettled period.  The home provides accommodation to a small number of young adults, however, there is no documented assessment of any potential risks that any such individual may present.

p.3

because:

 When young people indicate they would like to see changes within the service it is not always clear that their voice is heard or change where appropriate, implemented.  Security systems within the home safeguard young people from leaving the building unaccompanied. However, their use is not clearly documented in care plans and risk assessments nor is there evidence that such measures have been agreed with parents and the placing authority.  The statement of purpose is not suitably detailed regarding the type of young person whose needs, the service can effectively meet.

p.3

The children's home strengths

 Young people have made good progress in relation to their education, health, personal care, behaviour and social skills.  Young people appear to feel safe and are safe in settled long-term placements. Staff and young people have positive caring relationships with each other.  Staff and young people have fun together, playing with staff and doing appropriate family activities.  A wide selection of activities means that young people have opportunities to try new things. Young people are a settled group who generally get on well together and there no issues around bullying  Staff provide individualised child focussed care. High staffing levels ensure that there is always someone available to support young people.  Good partnership working and communication with parents, schools and placing social workers ensures young people’s needs are met.  Significant improvements to the building have enhanced living

p.4

Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard:

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard with particular reference to behaviour management the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(a) (i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; (iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. In particular; ensure that all responses to behaviour are appropriate and proportionate to the incident and are not punitive in approach. 16/11/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard:

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard with particular reference to health and safety the registered person must ensure that: (2) (d) the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. In particular; provide seating, pathways and patios which are safe. Furthermore develop an individual emergency evacuation plan for each child. 14/12/2015

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. Provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI. (Regulation 16 (1)(2)) 18/01/2016

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular; ensure that all staff undertaking recruitment activities receive training in safer recruitment, that potential gaps in employment are identified and explored, and ensure that where an applicant has previously worked with children references are sought in respect of this employment. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61 paragraph 13.1)

p.6

Recommendations

Ensure staff are alert to the possibility that children may be at risk from relationships including with other children in the home, staff, family members, friends and others outside the home. In particular; undertake an assessment of the potential safeguarding impact on children of any person over the age of 18 living in the home. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 43 paragraph 9.13)

p.6

Recommendations

Ensure that staff can access appropriate training to support their training needs. In particular; ensure all staff complete all core training. In particular ensure all staff undertake suitable training in restraint, food hygiene training, epilepsy awareness and safeguarding. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53 paragraph 10.8)

p.6

Recommendations

Ensure staff understand the importance of careful objective and clear recording ensuring information regarding the child is recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular; ensure records of sanctions and physical intervention fully evidence reasons for their use, that each incident of restraint is recorded separately, and includes a debrief with the child conducted by a person independent of the physical intervention. (The Guide, page 62 paragraph 14.4).

p.6

Recommendations

Any decisions to limit a child's access to any area of the home must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child's welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child's needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15 paragraph 3.10)

p.6

Recommendations

 Staff should encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. In particular; ensure that staff act to explore, attempt to understand and address issues when young people say they want to complain. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 23, paragraph 4.13)

p.6

Information about this children's home

This section should outline: This children's home is run by a private company. The home is registered to provide a service for up to four children or young people with learning difficulties and or emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.7

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.7

Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

p.7

Requires improvement

Young people make good progress from their starting points, for example, some young people are now able to enjoy solid food. Others have become more socially confident which has helped them have friends for the first time. Some young people have made major improvements in their behaviour, which enables them to enjoy improved relationships with their families and promotes their inclusion within the community. One social worker described a child as ‘calmer and more manageable’. All of the young people benefit from long-term stable placements which help them grow and develop, and their lives are enhanced as result of using the service. The nurturing and warm nature of social interaction in the home is seen through freely available appropriate hugs and praise. Young people are well supported to maintain contact with their family and friends. Comprehensive placement plans, risk assessments and management plans

p.8

Requires improvement

developed by the home effectively guide staff in the day-to-day needs of each of the young people. Staff provide a child focussed individualised service which means young people's individual needs are well met. One social worker commented that: ‘Support is very tailored to his needs.’ Feedback from parents, schools and social workers is consistently positive about the quality of support provided as a whole. Young people seek out favourite staff. High staffing levels means that they are able to enjoy spending time playing games or relaxing with them. This helps them feel settled and comfortable in their environment as well as promoting positive self-esteem. Equality and diversity is threaded through the service. However, profound the young person’s disability, staff ensure that their specific cultural and spiritual needs are catered for. For example, staff take young people to Hindu temple, have cultural evenings, ensure dietary and skin care needs are met and provide diverse

p.8

Requires improvement

positive role models. Young people enjoy healthy and active lifestyles and staff ensure that those with complex health needs have access to specialist health professionals as appropriate. Teachers comment on the good relationships between the school and the home that are particularly important due to the highly complex needs of the young people. Excellent school attendance is maintained, and they are individually progressing well.

p.8

Requires improvement

Staff are keen to encourage young people’s feedback on a daily basis. Pictorial communication systems in place promote this. Regular key working sessions with young people use a pictorial template and seek to gain young people’s views about the quality of care and what they would like to improve. However, where young people have raised issues there appears to be no action taken to explore their feelings or address their concerns. There is also no record of the action staff take to resolve a conflict between two young people.

p.9

Requires improvement

Staff provide a learning environment and a variety of activities enable young people to have a better understanding of the world around them ensuring they remain consistently appropriately stimulated. For example, they are encouraged to read and stories are read to them by staff. Communication systems are encouraged and staff undertake planned activities, such as, cultural days to help them be aware of other people. They enjoy active, varied lives. Good staffing levels means that even those with complex needs are able to have fun safely, participating in a wide selection of activities, such as, swimming walking and sports clubs. The varied activities and holidays including a trip to Disneyland Paris provide them with enjoyable memories. Investment in the building has enhanced the living environment greatly since the last inspection. Young people’s bedrooms have been decorated in a manner which creatively reflects their personalities and interests. For example, one young person

p.9

Requires improvement

has a mural painted on their wall of electrical equipment which is a source of personal major interest. There is also a sensory board created from chains, padlocks and keys which gives them hours of enjoyment. Another bedroom has urban scenes and musical and art equipment reflecting this young person’s creativity.

p.9

Requires improvement

Families and partner professionals have confidence in the ability of staff to keep the vulnerable young people safe. The manager ensures potential safeguarding issues are well managed with partner agencies in an open and transparent manner. Good staffing levels and appropriate security measures, such as, locked doors protect young people from leaving the home or accessing dangerous areas without essential staff support. However, no written agreements are in place around the use of these measures. Transparency with parents and placing authorities is key to ensuring that young people’s freedom of liberty is not being inappropriately curtailed. The building is suitable to meet the needs of the young people. Health and safety arrangements are generally well managed with regular servicing of equipment and suitable fire prevention measures in place. However, the paved area to the side and rear of the building is lifting and cracking presenting a tripping hazard. Some

p.9

Requires improvement

furniture is not of a suitable standard to ensure safety. For example, two dining chairs were broken with either the seat not attached or frame coming apart. Suitable fire precaution arrangements within the home effectively minimise the risk of fire. However, individual personal emergency evacuation plans are not in place for each young person. This means that staff do not have clear guidance on how to support each individual young person to evacuate the home effectively in the event of an emergency. There have been significant changes in the staff team over the past year which has impacted on young people’s feelings of security. Not all staff have received appropriate safeguarding training which addresses the needs of young people with disabilities. Staff are therefore not fully equipped to understand and identify the particular safeguarding vulnerabilities which effect young people with disabilities.

p.10

Requires improvement

Staff have, however, received induction ensuring staff have basic awareness of the home’s safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures. Effective risk assessment and management plans guide staff on how to manage challenges and risk. However, no assessment has been undertaken in relation to potential risks posed by young adults with disabilities living in the home. This means that staff may not give full consideration to any particular area of potential concern. However, the individual needs of these young adults’ means that there has been no impact for young people in this regard. Staff have been successful in helping young people manage their own behaviours which has meant some young people have drastically reduced their previously aggressive behaviour. Thresholds for physical or environmental restraint are clear with no young people being physically held unless it is to ensure their or another person’s safety. However, a number of staff have not received suitable initial

p.10

Requires improvement

training or training updates within the specified timeframes. On occasion this has meant that physical intervention has not been used. However, records indicate, that had there been sufficient suitably trained staff, its use would have been helpful. Sanctions and restraint records are not always suitably maintained. For example, on occasion these do not clearly evidence the reason for a sanction, and each incident of restraint is not always separately recorded. Furthermore, the review of restraint has on some occasions been completed by a person involved in the restraint. This undermines the principle of independent scrutiny which is essential to ensure a robust management of restraint. Whilst the ethos of the home is to enable young people to understand their behaviours and moderate these, this is not always effectively implemented. On occasion responses to behaviour have been punitive in approach and not

p.10

Requires improvement

proportionate to the incident. For example, on one occasion staff applied a financial sanction to replace an item of intimate clothing the young person had taken from a staff bag. It is not clear that this young person understood their actions nor the relevance of the financial sanction. On another occasion, staff required a young person to clean up a mess they had made and in addition to this restorative approach, removed their favourite toy. Such approaches do not meet each young people’s behavioural and emotional needs enabling them to develop socially aware behaviour in accordance with their age and understanding. Staff vetting procedures are not sufficiently robust to ensure young people are fully safeguarded from unsuitable people gaining employment within the home. The manager and deputy undertake staff recruitment activities but have not received suitable training to equip them to do so. They ensure that no staff are employed

p.11

Requires improvement

until checks on their identity and suitability are verified. However, application forms are not always fully scrutinised to identify potential employment gaps and there is not always robust investigation into any previous childcare employment.

p.11

Requires improvement

The home has been in transition over the past eight months, experiencing two new managers and significant changes in staffing. These changes have had significant impact on both staff and young people in the home. The new staffing and management arrangements in the home are now established and this is beginning to have a positive impact on the home as a whole. The acting manager has submitted an application to Ofsted for registration and their suitability has yet to be fully established. They have during their short tenure developed a positive working relationship with staff and introduced improvement. The home is suitably resourced to ensure that the service meets the aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. However, the document is not an accurate reflection of the care and facilities provided by the home. It is not clear on the type of young people to be accommodated. It refers to providing care and

p.11

Requires improvement

support for both young people with emotional and behavioural issues and those learning disabilities. Without clarifying exactly what individual needs of young people, the home is able to meet. There is no current impact in respect of this as this group of young people with learning disabilities are well matched in long term placements. However, where agencies do not have accurate information this does mean that potential referrals for any future vacancies may be inappropriate. Staffing levels are high and meet the individually assessed needs of each young person, with a staff member allocated to support each young person throughout the day. Young people benefit from an enthusiastic and committed staff team who enjoy their work. Professionals and parents refer to staff who ‘know the young people very well’. Staff receive a thorough induction process which helps new staff gain skills and confidence prior to taking on their new role. Staff are well supported through

p.12

Requires improvement

regular supervision and team meetings. The manager demonstrates a strong commitment to enhancing staff professional development and within a short time has ensured that the majority of staff have undertaken suitable training. However, some staff are yet to undertake training or suitable training updates, in restraint, food hygiene, epilepsy awareness, medication and safeguarding. Staff professional awareness and competence has the potential to be undermined where key training has not been undertaken. This is particularly important where there have been significant staff changes and where young people have limited ability to communicate their feelings. Staff have a good history of working well in partnership with families and other agencies ensuring young people gain access to appropriate levels of support. Parents, placing authorities and schools rate the home as a ‘strong good’ reflecting that recent difficulties have reduced the consistency for young people and

p.12

Requires improvement

impacted on effective communication. They have confidence that the new management and staffing arrangements will improve the working relationships. The manager provides good quality notifications of all significant events to the relevant authorities and takes appropriate action following any incident. The majority of requirements and recommendations set at the previous inspection have been met. The manager and deputy share a clear vision for the service and are passionate and enthusiastic about improvement. They are knowledgeable about the strengths and areas for growth within the home and have effective and timely plans in place to continue to develop the service. This means there is good capacity for improvement.

p.12

What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

p.13

What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

p.13

What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.13

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

p.14

Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.14

Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection.

p.15

Information about this inspection

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.15

Information about this inspection

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government- licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.15

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.15

Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.15