Children's home run by Pathway Care Solutions Group Limited

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good. There are concerns in respect of senior leadership.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people who live at this home are making good progress in all aspects of their lives. They have developed good, trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. These relationships underpin continuing progress and help to keep young people motivated.  Young people living at this home are safer due to the actions of the staff who care for them. The deputy manager provides clarity to the team in terms of expectations and this ensures a consistent approach to care. When practice issues arise the deputy manager tackles these issues effectively in a supportive, yet firm way.  Placing social workers are overwhelmingly positive about this service. They report that the dedication of the staff team is outstanding and that communication is good. One social worker reported that the staff team exceeds all expectations and the young people are always the focal point of its work.  The deputy manager is driving good practice forward. She has identified areas

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The children's home provision is good because:

of practice that require improvement and is supporting the staff team to reflect on its work and make the necessary changes to further improve the experiences of young people. This is particularly noticeable in respect of how consequences are now being applied within the home.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: Leadership and management In order to meet this standard the registered person must ensure that they: (2)(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and (e) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. In particular, the registered individual must ensure that satisfactory arrangements are in place to support staff and lead the home effectively, in the absence of the registered manager. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

19: Behaviour management and discipline In order to meet this requirement the registered person must ensure that: (1) No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. 30/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

26: Fitness of registered provider In order to meet this requirement the organisation must ensure that: (7) A responsible individual must— (a) satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and (b) have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. 30/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

33: Employment of staff In order to meet this requirement the registered individual must ensure that: 30/12/2016 (1) The registered person must— (a) ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; and (b) ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation. (3) For the purposes of this regulation, ‘the appropriate person’ is the registered person, an officer of HMCI, an officer of the local authority in whose area the home is located or a police officer. (4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to care for up to four children and young people who may have some emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a large national organisation based in the north of England. This is currently the only children’s home in the south west region.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/02/2016 Interim Sustained Progress 08/07/2015 Full Good

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Good

The deputy manager who is currently in day-to-day control of the home is highly skilled, effective and dedicated. She is child-focused and she instils this ethos within the staff team. Where poor practice has been identified, she has tackled this effectively to ensure that young people do not receive poor care. Her tenacity and application to her work are key elements to the success of this home.

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Good

Despite significant building work being undertaken in the home, the focus remains on the stability of placement for young people, and the staff continuing to offer them a safe and homely environment to live in.

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Good

Young people are making good progress in aspects of their lives. One young person who was not previously attending school now does so regularly. This provision has provided a much needed structure for the young person, improving their motivation and has resulted in reduced risks in other aspects of the young person’s life.

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Good

One young person who was regularly misusing substances has now made progress to reduce this behaviour. This in turn has enabled the young person to be able to attend education on a regular basis rather than being missing from school.

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Good

Placing social workers speak highly of this service and the work that they are doing with the young people and their families. They report that the deputy manager challenges other agencies and holds them to account when they are not providing the service that young people are entitled to. This work supports improved outcomes and young people benefit from this approach to their care.

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Good

Care planning arrangements for young people are robust. They offer staff clarity in respect of expectations upon them and underpin practice in the home. As a result, the approach that staff take to risk management and care planning is consistently delivered.

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Good

Young people are cared for by a staff team that knows them well. The deputy manager meaningfully considers young people’s presenting behaviours in terms of their life experiences and the impact of these on their emotional well-being. As a result of this approach, young people are receiving good care that effectively meets their individual needs.

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Good

Staff have developed good relationships with young people’s families. They take the time to understand the family history and difficult relationships so that they can improve family contact and make this as positive as it can be for young people. Support is provided to families as well as the young people to ensure that sustainable relationships are in place as young people move forward into adulthood.

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Good

Not all consequences given to young people for poor behaviours are reasonable. The deputy manager has identified this concern and has started to implement a system that focuses more on restorative practice and natural consequences.

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Good

Young people have effective and detailed plans in place to ensure that any identified risks for them are reduced. Young people are consulted about the worries that adults have for them and are involved in discussions about reducing risks. Staff implement risk reduction strategies effectively to help young people to become safe.

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Good

Young people have made positive relationships with staff. Relationships are built upon mutual trust and respect. Young people are able to identify and talk to staff if they are worried or concerned. They trust the staff to keep them safe and to advocate on their behalf.

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Good

The risks for one young person are dangerously high due to a recently diagnosed serious health condition. The plans that staff have put in place to support this young person significantly reduce the risk of harm. The deputy manager has worked hard to ensure that all of the staff and key partner agencies, such as the police, fully understand the health risks. Appropriate safeguarding strategies are in place should the young person not return in time to receive medication or if they are absent without authorisation. All of the staff have been trained to administer crucial medication should the need arise.

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Good

The risks associated with young people going missing from home are understood well by staff. They are clear about expectations on them to encourage and support the young people to return quickly and safely to the home. Young people are not always afforded independent return from going missing interviews from the local authority. Leaders and managers have not challenged this omission. As a result, young people are not always being provided with an independent person to talk to should they have any worries or concerns about the home.

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Good

The staff are dedicated to supporting one young person who is no longer residing at this home. There is a good support plan in place offering daily contact to the young person and their family. This ongoing level of support plays a major role in reducing risks in the community for this young person and their ongoing engagement at school.

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Good

Effective strategies have been put in place to reduce the risk of criminalising a young person who can present with highly aggressive behaviours. Good multi- agency support and intervention is in place to work alongside the young person, supporting alternative channels and options to prevent anyone getting hurt.

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Inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that the requirements made at the last inspection have been fully met. In particular, some behaviour management strategies that have been used are not reasonable, and not all staff are provided with practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Inadequate

The registered individual has failed to ensure that the deputy manager and staff have been provided with effective support in the absence of the registered manager. The registered manager has been absent from the home for eight weeks. This absence has left the deputy manager and the team in an unsustainable position. The deputy manager is clear that she does not want to manage the home. However, there is a current expectation on her to have day-to-day charge of the home.

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Inadequate

The registered individual has failed to ensure that the deputy managers are provided with regular and meaningful supervision in line with the organisational policy. Telephone contact has been provided, but this has not been effective. Staff report a lack of current emotional and practical support from the organisation’s leaders. As a result, some staff said that they did not feel valued.

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Inadequate

The deputy manager has not been provided with an effective induction into this role. For example, she states that she has not been provided with specific supervision training despite this being an expectation of her role. As a result, not all supervision being provided to staff who work in the home is adequate or monitored for quality by senior leaders.

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Inadequate

The registered individual has not effectively addressed concerns about the leadership and management capacity that have been raised with her. This has been compounded by the difficult and challenging situation in the home. One member of staff described the team as being ‘at breaking point’. It is a credit to the team that it has pulled together and that the organisational issues have not impacted upon the care of young people. The logistics and lack of effective organisational infrastructure adds additional pressures in terms of being able to provide on-site support for this team. The director recognised the leadership and management weaknesses identified during this inspection. Steps were taken during the inspection to rectify some of the concerns. For example, a contingency plan is now in place should the deputy manager not be available for work.

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Inadequate

The staff respect the deputy manager who is inadvertently in day-to-day charge of the home. They report that she supports them well and that supervision is reflective and meaningful. Staff state that the deputy manager is approachable and that they are able to access additional support from her should they require it.

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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 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or that 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, 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. 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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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