Children's home run by Pathfinders (childcare) Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 1 SC381722 Registered provider: Pathfinders (childcare) Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of a number of children‟s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children‟s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children‟s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None. Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people‟s needs are at the heart of service delivery. Care planning is highly individualised with a clear focus on helping young people come to terms with their past and plan positively for their future.  Care practice is underpinned by warm, parent-like relationships. Staff exuberate a passion for their work and are aspirational in their efforts to provide young people with opportunities to succeed.  Feedback from professionals is exceedingly positive and highly complimentary of the services and support available in this home.  Keeping young people safe is integral to daily practice. Staff demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the young people in their care and provide the necessary support to enable them to better manage and reduce risk-taking behaviour such as going missing from home.  Staff are skilled at helping young people to understand their behaviour and regulate their emotions. Positive behaviour is incentivised and rewarded, while

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Key findings from this inspection

negative behaviour is proportionately challenged and used as an opportunity to learn.  The home is effectively managed in the best interest of young people. The manager provides excellent leadership that enables staff to deliver a high quality of care.  Professional development is encouraged and promoted. Staff take responsibility for their own learning, including researching a range topics that can be linked to the needs of the young people and used to inform practice.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager must ensure that the home‟s statement of purpose is updated to include details of the arrangements for the professional supervision of staff and a description of how the home promotes appropriate male role models.  The registered manager must ensure that all staff are up to date with mandatory training, specifically medication training. Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/12/2016 Full Outstanding 17/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

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. (Regulation 16(1)) This is with specific reference to including arrangements for the professional supervision of staff and a description of how the home promotes positive male role models. 06/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, ensure that all staff refresh medication training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people benefit from the care and support from staff who make every effort to understand them and take an interest in their lives. Staff have worked effectively with each young person to develop and maintain positive relationships, which have created a sense of belonging and stability. These relationships underpin the culture and ethos of the home and are used to provide a nurturing and supportive environment in which young people thrive and make very good progress relative to their individual starting points. An independent reviewing officer said, „This is not like any other residential home I have been to. Staff are really nurturing and know (name) really well. They are very child centred and this is the most stability (name) has experienced, I would say in his life.‟ Two young people have left the home since the last full inspection, one of whom had lived there for over three years before making a planned transition to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

This was a well-planned move which the young person had been prepared well for. For example, by completing the independent living programme, the young person was able Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 5 to acquire essential skills such as budgeting, cooking and travelling independently. Staff worked closely with the placing authority to ensure that the right accommodation and college placement was in place for the young person, and that appropriate support networks were available to her when she left. Staff supported the transition, taking the young person to view accommodation prior to her leaving and helping her purchase items for her room. This support has continued since she left with staff remaining in contact with her, providing parent-like advice and support when she needs it. One young person has been admitted since the last inspection. This was a well-planned and considered admission which resulted in a well-matched pair of young people. The

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

manager clearly prioritises the needs of young people and is careful when making decisions about admissions. She uses detailed impact risk assessments that accurately reflect the needs of each young person and the type of young person that would be suitable for them to live with. An independent reviewing officer said, „I am aware that the manager has refused referrals since the last young person left. She clearly prioritises (names‟) needs and has really considered the impact of offering those young people a placement. (Name) will be difficult to place with, but I am confident that the manager will get it right.‟ Young people benefit from well-planned care that is personalised to their individual and specific needs. The home‟s records are of a high quality and provide a good insight into each young person‟s past experiences, current needs and individual goals. These are regularly reviewed and updated and fully understood by staff who have high aspirations

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

for the young people in their care. Strong partnerships with parents, carers and external professionals promote a collaborative approach to care planning. This, in turn, ensures that young people receive an individually tailored programme of support, relative to their unique and specific needs. A social worker said, „Communication with the placement is excellent. I am provided with thorough monthly reports and weekly logs. Staff keep me updated of any issues and I have attended their team staff meetings. Any questions or queries are responded to in a timely way. We are all working to the same plan.‟ Young people‟s views and opinions are integral to all aspects of their care. The manager and staff routinely engage young people in meaningful discussions and activities that enable them to influence the day-to-day running of the home and the decisions about their care. Staff talk to young people about their plans and encourage them to reflect

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

and share their views. For example, the current young person has an age-appropriate „review book‟, which he is supported to complete using pictures and notes. This provides an ongoing reflection of his views and opinions about his experiences in the home, which are shared at the children looked after review. Staff recognise and promote the importance of education. They support young people well to engage in school and college and provide time for them to complete homework as part of their daily routines. Levels of attendance and engagement are high with young people meeting their individual targets. Staff maintain good links with each young person‟s education provider and promote a collaborative approach to participation. For example, staff use a home/school diary to share key information on a daily basis. Through effective information sharing, staff in both settings are able to identify potential barriers to participation and put in place individual support plans to mitigate against

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

these. Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 6 Staff ensure that young people are encouraged and supported to maintain healthy lifestyles. Staff assess and monitor each young person‟s physical and emotional health to ensure that they are able to understand and respond to any issues and/or concerns. For example, staff have researched topics including autistic spectrum disorder and body dysmorphic disorder to better understand and support young people. When necessary, staff make referrals to specialist agencies and work with them to facilitate and support specialist assessments and interventions. Young people are encouraged and supported to engage in age-appropriate, risk- assessed and purposeful activities. Each young person has a weekly activity planner that is based on their individual hobbies and interests. These are highly individualised and designed to combine fun with opportunities to try new things while developing self-

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

esteem, confidence and opportunities for social interaction. The young person spoken to during the inspection said that he likes the activities he does, which include going to the youth club, having swimming lessons and attending a football skills club. He was keen to show the inspector his football skills and tell him about his recent holiday to Blackpool, which he says is the best holiday he has been on. These, and other experiences, are captured in a „memory book‟ that young people take away with them when they leave as a positive reminder of their time at the home. Staff recognise the importance of young people maintaining contact with their family and other important people. The arrangements for contact are clearly outlined in each young person‟s care plan and are fully supported by staff. Staff work hard to help young people to understand and manage the complexities of family relationships and provide good

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

support before, during and after contact. This contributes to making contact a positive experience for all those involved. Young people live in a pleasant and homely house. There is a good sense of family living, with young people regarding this as their home. It is decorated and furnished to a high standard and is personalised throughout with photographs of young people and staff.

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

Young people feel safe and are safe. This is because safeguarding arrangements are highly effective and keeping young people safe is integral to daily practice. Staff are trained in safeguarding, including child sexual exploitation and radicalisation, and are fully aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. They demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of each young person‟s risks and vulnerabilities and are effective in the management and reduction of these. Risk assessments and trigger plans are frequently updated and set out clearly the actions for staff to take in order to manage any known or emerging risks. When necessary, these plans are developed in conjunction with external agencies such as the police and the specialist team for child-sexual exploitation. This ensures that risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing from care, is managed effectively through well- thought-out and collaborative responses that minimise the risk for the young person.

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

There are good safeguarding systems and procedures for staff to follow in the event of any safeguarding concern or allegation. The manager has a good understanding of her Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 7 safeguarding responsibilities and has ensured that the two allegations against staff have been appropriately managed in the best interest of the young person. This has included referral to the designated officer and thorough investigation that is fully recorded in the home‟s records. The manager keeps her safeguarding knowledge up to date through regular training and attendance at the local authority provider forum. Information from this forum is used to keep the home‟s locality risk assessment up to date. This ensures that the manager and staff are aware of local patterns and trends which are considered when managing risk in the community. There is a calm, parent-like approach taken to helping young people manage their

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

frustrations and regulate their own behaviour. Positive behaviour is encouraged through the use of role modelling, negotiated target setting and individualised incentives and rewards. Negative behaviour is proportionately challenged through the use of imposed consequences that are mainly restorative in nature. For example, when young people have caused damage, they have contributed to the cost of the repair and gone out to purchase the materials with staff. This encourages young people to understand the impact of their own behaviour and goes some way to helping them make better choices in the future. Staff are skilled at getting to know what influences and motivates young people‟s behaviour and are creative in finding ways for them to express their worries, frustrations and concerns. For example, for one particularly young child, staff have developed a sooth box which contains a range of items that are designed to refocus his behaviour.

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

Staff have made particularly good use of the „worry monster‟, which the young person uses to share his worries by writing down what is upsetting him, putting the note in the monster‟s mouth and giving this to staff. The effectiveness of these types of approach is evident in the fact that, despite the volatility and complexity of this young person, physical restraint has never been required. The young person‟s social worker said, „The staff know (name) really well. They have a very good understanding of his life experiences and how this impacts on him and is reflected in some of his behaviours. He is provided with clear, consistent boundaries and routines and is responding well to these. The staff engage with him on a level that he understands and is appropriate for his age. They provide an excellent level of care and this is the most settled that he has been.‟ There have been no new staff since the last inspection. Safer recruitment practice is

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

followed throughout the organisation. This includes careful vetting and assessing practice through shadow shifts prior to staff being allowed to work in the home. This has been effective in ensuring that only those suitable to work with vulnerable young people do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This home is effectively run by an enthusiastic registered manager who drives a strong child-focused approach to caring for young people. She holds a relevant qualification and has the necessary skills, knowledge and experience that enable her to provide strong leadership for her stable and well-established staff team. She also manages a second Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 8 home within the organisation and divides her time between the two. This is of no detriment to the running of this home. This is because the manager maintains good management oversight, ensures that she is fully involved in all aspects of care planning and clearly prioritises young people‟s needs. An independent reviewing officer said, „I am really impressed with the manager. She is very proactive and a real advocate for (name). She wants to get things right for him. She attends every LAC review and always ensures that she provides written reports that are thorough and contain all of the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

relevant information. What I am really impressed with is that (name‟s) views are always reflected in the reports. I know the manager and staff work really hard to ensure that this happens.‟ The manager is well supported by a competent and experienced staff team that shares her aspirational commitment to the young people in their care. The team is highly motivated in its role and each individual exuberates a passion for their work. Staff spoken to during the inspection recognise the significant progress that young people make, are proud of how they have contributed to this, and attribute much of their effectiveness to the leadership and standard setting of the manager. Young people benefit from one-to-one care and support from staff who have a comprehensive understanding of their individual needs. There is a good balance of age and experience in the team, although only one of the nine staff is male. The team was

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

developed on the basis of young people who have now left the home. The manager is aware of the need to provide young people with positive gender-specific role models and has creatively found ways of doing this, including the occasional use of male staff from within the organisation. She is hopeful that another male can be appointed to fill the current vacancy. Staff receive regular, purposeful supervision and have their performance appraised annually. Underpinning these systems of support is a clear focus on professional development. For example, each member of staff takes responsibility for undertaking a piece of research that is shared with the team and integrated into practice. This has been useful in helping staff to develop an insight into some of the needs and behaviours of the young people and provide them with well-thought-out strategies of support, for example when supporting a young person with autistic spectrum disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have access to a range of training opportunities that enable them to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to support young people. This includes needs-specific training such as autistic spectrum disorder and child sexual exploitation, as well as mandatory courses such as safeguarding, behaviour management and restraint, and first aid. Scrutiny of training records confirmed that, with the exception of medication training, which three staff have not refreshed within the timescale, all training is up to date. This shortfall has not had any direct impact on the safety or well-being of young people. The manager and staff are proactive in their efforts to develop and maintain effective links with partner agencies, including placing authorities, safeguarding professionals, the police, education placements and healthcare providers. Underperformance is professionally challenged and concerns are escalated if required. The manager is intent

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

on ensuring that young people receive the services and support that they need and Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 9 professionals confirm that she is a strong advocate in this respect. The manager knows what the home does well. She makes good use of a range of quality assurance processes to ensure that all aspects of the home‟s performance and young people‟s progress are routinely monitored. The home‟s development plan is comprehensively detailed and reflects the current needs of the home. The plan clearly links to shortfalls and areas for improvement identified through monitoring activity, and the needs of young people as identified through care planning. The plan is followed by the team, which shares the manager‟s commitment to an agenda of continuous improvement. Suitable action has been taken to address the requirement from the interim inspection in March 2017. Information pertaining to serious incidents has been shared with Ofsted in

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

a timely manner, with the manager providing updates as required. One requirement is raised in relation to the statement of purpose. This document does not detail clearly the arrangements for staff supervision or how the home intends to promote positive male role models based on the current absence of them in the team.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children‟s home: SC381722 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathfinders (childcare) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Middle Red Lumb Farm, Red Lumb, Rochdale OL12 7TX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Elizabeth Cooper

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Inspector

Paul Scott, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC381722 11 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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