Children's home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Bolton

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 The home has only been registered for a short time but already the child living there has made good progress in her emotional health and well-being, education and social skills.  Staff provide consistent care, implementing routines that have enabled the child to settle well into the home.  Incidents of poor behaviour have decreased as staff develop consistent strategies to support the child.  Staff have a good range of skills and experience and this, combined with positive work with partner agencies, has created a team around the child providing good care.  The manager is very experienced and well qualified, providing continuous improvement to the home and to the care of the child.  Some records require clarity and a recommendation is made in this respect.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This relates to the standard of recording in incident records and medication records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to care for one child with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by a private organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 14/12/2015 Interim Not judged 18/11/2015 Interim Not judged 17/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/10/2014 Full Good

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Good

This home has recently re-registered as a one-person home. Following re- registration, one child has resided here since July this year. In this short period, she has made good progress.

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Good

Her educational journey has previously been erratic, with several placement breakdowns leading to several changes of education provider. An alternative education provider currently provides education within the home. The child’s attendance has increased steadily, with a view to her returning to mainstream education next year. She is now enthusiastic about her education and is keen to return to school.

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Good

She mixes well with her peers from the organisation’s other homes nearby, enjoying an increasing range of activities with them as well as activities undertaken on her own with staff. Staff are acutely aware of the risk of social isolation resulting from the solo placement and education on-site, and work hard to encourage activities in the community and with others to promote her social skills and confidence. Contact with her wider family has increased and this also helps her to develop appropriate social skills.

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Good

Her health is good, she does not smoke or use drugs and her primary healthcare needs are addressed well, ensuring that minor ailments are treated appropriately, and regular check-ups are performed. Staff provide a range of healthy meals, although she does not always choose to eat them. Staff discuss diet and exercise in key work sessions to promote a healthy lifestyle. She engages positively with the therapy team, exploring her emotional well-being and behaviour. Her confidence, self-esteem and range of social skills have improved as a result.

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Good

Although not yet ready for independence, she is learning life skills to help her take responsibility for herself in both the home and community. She helps to cook and prepare meals, sorts laundry, makes her bed and cleans her room. This provides useful skills for when she is older.

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Good

Staff provide a caring environment and have adapted well to providing care for a younger child. Relationships between staff and the child have improved through consistent implementation of boundaries and routines, enabling her to settle and interact positively with staff. The establishment of a stable core staff team has enhanced relationships in the home.

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Good

Care planning is good. A detailed care plan outlines the care needed to meet the child’s needs. Good key work sessions provide a forum for staff and the child to address the objectives of the care plan, enabling positive progress in a number of areas. Key work is also used effectively to discuss incidents, enabling the child to understand better her actions and their consequences, providing a forum for her to express her feelings.

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Good

The child enjoys sharing her views on the home and care provided and utilises key work and resident meetings to voice her opinion and make choices about her care.

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Good

One professional summed up the success thus far, stating: ‘I am confident that she is now in a placement which can provide for her holistic needs.’

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Good

Staff understand how to keep the child safe, especially given her age and increased vulnerabilities. This is because training in matters of safeguarding are wide- ranging, including the creative use of various resources, and online training complements mandatory courses.

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Good

Good, detailed risk assessments for the child ensure that staff are aware of any potential risks and how to reduce these. This ensures that she is able to take part in activities, enjoy the experiences offered, and remain safe in and outside of the home. There have been no absences or incidents of going missing from the home. A raft of policies and procedures ensures that staff understand what to do should such an event occur.

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Good

The home is well maintained, clean and kept safe and appropriately secure. Fire, maintenance and health and safety checks are carried out regularly, ensuring that the home is safe. The holding of regular fire drills means that the child and staff know what to do in the event of a fire.

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Good

Incidents of negative or challenging behaviour continue to decrease. This is because staff develop a better understanding of the child and the appropriate responses, and they implement consistent routines. Input from the therapy team assists staff in developing these approaches and provides support for the team in managing their own feelings and emotions. The need for physical intervention is also decreasing. When it is used, recording of the event is generally good. One record lacked clarity on elements of the behaviour displayed by the child. This has been discussed with the social worker, and staff acknowledge the need for clear and accurate recording. Review and analysis of incidents is robust, ensuring that any trends and patterns can be addressed.

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Good

Medication practice is generally good. Training in administration of medication provides staff with a good level of knowledge and understanding. Recording of the child’s refusal to have some medication is not always done. Staff are exploring with the general practitioner the consequences of refusal. This ensures that the child has continued good health. A recommendation is made to ensure that all records are correctly maintained to provide an accurate picture of medication administration.

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Good

The registered manager is very experienced and appropriately qualified. As well as managing this home, he undertakes the management of another registered service. He is very ably supported by a deputy manager. This ensures that the home is managed very well.

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Good

The manager clearly understands the strengths of the home, progress made thus far and areas that need development. A good improvement plan acts as a steer for these developments. The plan identifies targets for improvement and provides a monthly review of progress with evidence to support this.

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Good

A recent influx of new staff brings new skills and experiences to the team, helping to form a core group of consistent staff without reliance on staff from other homes. This helps to build the team and provides consistency for the child. Staff either have the required qualification or are new to the role and will enrol once they have successfully passed their probationary period. This ensures that all staff are appropriately qualified.

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Good

Staff benefit from good training and regular supervision, and attend staff meetings to share any concerns and develop effective strategies for working with the child. Trainee staff benefit from having a mentor guiding their practice and helping them to develop the necessary skills to care effectively for the child.

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Good

Partnership working is very good, helping build upon the good care already provided and the knowledge of the staff team. One professional stated: ‘She is a really different little girl, who has come on so much in just three months. This is due in part to the really supportive network of professionals who work well together.’ External and internal monitoring is robust. The independent visitor attends monthly, providing an account of progress and identifying any shortfalls in the home. The manager acts swiftly to address any concerns raised. The registered manager’s own review of care and progress provides an in-depth account of progress and areas for further action. A detailed statement of purpose ensures that stakeholders clearly understand what the home provides.

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Good

Complaints are very rare, with just one from the community. This has been handled respectfully, with all those in the home forging closer and more positive links with the community and immediate neighbours.

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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’.

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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 children looked after 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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

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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

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the 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 .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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