Children's home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Runnymede

Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 1 SC461846 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

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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 children’s home is one of a small number run by a private company. The home is registered to provide a service for up to six children who may 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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 8 December 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Key findings from this inspection

 The care and support provided is highly child focused and is responsive to each child’s particular areas of need.  Staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding. They work exceptionally Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 2 effectively with all relevant agencies to safeguard and promote the children’s welfare.  The children feel safe. They are confident that their views are heard.  The children, parents and professionals are extremely positive about the supportive relationships they all enjoy with the staff.  Staff warmly welcome the children into the home, and trusting relationships quickly flourish, helping the children to settle quickly.  The majority of the children make great progress from their starting points as a result of the good quality care, support and guidance they receive from the staff.  The manager and staff ensure that a wide range of activities are on offer, both

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Key findings from this inspection

inside the home and in the local community.  The children continue to receive emotional support from the staff, and maintain friendships with each other, after they leave the service.

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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 statement of purpose contains out-of-date information, and does not clearly state the model of care used.  Risk assessments in relation to pets and new admissions are not always documented effectively.  Some children’s records do not contain all of the legally prescribed documentation.  The host local authority has not been notified of the admission and discharge of all children placed by other authorities.  A number of staff who have worked in children’s residential care for more than two years have yet to achieve a suitable level 3 qualification.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/12/2016 Full Good 23/05/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/01/2016 Full Good 06/08/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 3

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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 maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which are kept up to date, are signed and dated by the author of each entry and include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 18/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, the level 3 diploma in residential childcare (England), within two years of working in a care role in a children’s home. (Regulation 32 (3)(b)(4)(a)(5)(a)) 02/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify, without delay, the local authority for the area in which the children’s home is located of every admission of a child into the home and every discharge of a child from the home. (Regulation 41 (1)) 18/12/2017

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Recommendations

 The information set out in the statement of purpose is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6) In particular, if using a specific model of care clearly detail the model in the statement of purpose.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that risk assessments in relation to pets in the home cover all key risks. Furthermore, ensure that detailed group impact risk assessments are completed for all new admissions.

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home makes a difference for the vast majority of the children who are placed. The children consistently rate the home as ‘excellent’ and say they like all of the staff. The children experience a stable environment in which they are nurtured and, as a result, they thrive. Within a relatively short period of time, the children arriving at the home develop strong bonds with staff. The staff always have time to listen to the children, and they provide sensitive, non-judgmental support. Parents and professionals describe consistently warm nurturing interactions between the staff and the children, which give them a real sense of a deeply caring team of people around the child. One of the children, in discussion with the inspector, referred to the manager as ‘mum’, and said she did this because the manager was like a mum to her. The good levels of support that the children receive mean that the vast majority make great progress. The children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

improve their confidence, personal safety, behaviour, resilience, social skills, and ability to reflect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive highly individualised, child-focused care and support. They feel consulted on all aspects of their lives. One child enthusiastically described how they recently instigated the redecoration of the lounge, choosing the replacement wallpaper with their peers, as they ‘hated’ the old wallpaper. This level of involvement gives the children a sense of pride and personal ownership. As a result, damages to the home is rare. The children really enjoy the typical family experiences of owning pets and celebrating seasonal holidays. One child showed the photos of everyone having fun at Halloween, including dressing the dog up as a pumpkin. The home is a warm and welcoming environment which the children enjoy living in, and professionals and family members enjoy visiting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work well in partnership with families and partner professionals to ensure that the children receive appropriate support. One parent said, ‘Honest to God they’re all really lovely. They are really nice and want to help them.’ Parents say that they continue to feel absolutely involved in their child’s life. One previous resident described how the staff helped her to build bridges with her family, as a result of which her family are now back in her life. Families are welcomed into the home as part of the wider ‘home family’. One parent said, ‘When we visited yesterday they made dinner for us. It was so lovely. I felt like I got my daughter back for the first time. It was nice to eat as a family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children feel that staff care about their well-being and future prospects. One social worker said, ‘It’s been really fantastic. I’ve been impressed with the commitment to her. Staff have been really worried, but have stuck with her throughout.’ All of the children are healthy, and are helped to live a healthy lifestyle. The children have access to local mental health professionals and can talk though any issues with the home’s therapist, as well as the supportive staff. One social worker said, ‘The staff deal with challenges in an appropriate way and, emotionally, hold him so he feels safe.’ The staff are very good at being present and available, while allowing the children sufficient Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 5 space. One child said, ‘When I’m sad, there’s lots of hugs and chocolate to make me feel better.’ The staff help the children to understand their past experiences and deal

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with family and personal crises in a very sensitive way. For example, one child was being assisted by staff to make a memory book for a sibling who is to be adopted. The child’s social worker said, ‘I’m seeing an amazing improvement in her resilience and well-being.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have recently been some changes in the resident group and, on occasion, the manager has not always ensured that all of the documentation that needs to be provided by the placing authority is received. This has the potential to impact the level of knowledge that the staff have about the children’s backgrounds and needs. The manager has not conducted a formal exploration of the potential impact of every new placement on the existing group; however, this has had no demonstrable negative effect on the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of the children placed have struggled in education prior to placement, and they have all made progress from their individual starting points. All of the children have received well-planned educational support to ensure that they engage in some form of education. The staff are very responsive to each child’s particular emotional needs, while continuing to promote the importance of lifelong learning. For example, one older child has been undertaking staff e-learning courses while staff assist her to access a suitable college place. One child’s headteacher said, ‘They [the staff] really want the best for him and he’s been very well supported. They are really keen to get him in and engaged.’ The local virtual head said, ‘The staff are committed to promoting the children’s education.’ An independent reviewing officer described how one child hid her distinction exam grade from the staff, and added, ‘It never occurred to her that she

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are well prepared for living independently. One of the older children regularly cooks dinner for the whole house, using the skills they have learned from the staff. One of the other children referred to this older child as making a ‘mean spaghetti bolognaise’, and on the day of the inspection the house was planning on tucking into her home-made chicken pie. Transitions to independent living are well planned, and the staff maintain regular contact with many of the children who have moved on. This means the children continue to have emotional support from the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children said the three best things about the house are:  ‘The staff, the activities, the home.’  ‘The staff are all nice. X [the manager], she makes it. The house dog.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

They said the worst things are:  ‘Nothing. It’s all really good.’  ‘Ofsted!’ Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 6

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

Effective help and protection are at the core of all practice in the home. The staff are well trained, and are aware of key safeguarding issues that are currently affecting children nationally, such as gang association, child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Consequently, the staff understand that one of their most important responsibilities is to keep the children safe and have a good understanding of the relevant safeguarding issues pertinent to the children placed. The manager ensures a robust response to any safeguarding incidents which occur.

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

The children say they always feel safe and well protected. They are consistently positive about the relationships they have with staff. The staff’s ability to elicit the children’s trust in a short space of time is a strong protective factor, and helps the staff to keep the children safe. The children know there is always someone there for them any time, day or night. One child said, ‘Staff are very supportive. They’re easy to talk to. You can tell them anything and they won’t judge you. They’re like another family.’ Another said, ‘[X] is the Queen of the home. I love her to bits.’

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

In the majority of cases, good-quality written risk assessments help guide the staff in how best to keep the children safe. However, on occasion the written risk assessments do not cover, in sufficient detail, all of the potential risks and actions to reduce risk. There is no demonstrable negative effect of this on the children’s well-being as the staff team understands the individual risks presented for each of the children, and manages risk extremely well. The children are involved in the development of their support plans and, as a result, begin to better understand risk. For example, when the children are allowed unsupervised free time they are supported to develop individual journey planners, to consider potential issues and how they will manage these. When unsupervised free time is not appropriate, the staff explain to the children why this is the case.

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

Physical intervention and sanctions are infrequently used. When significant incidents do occur, staff are extremely skilled at keeping calm and de-escalating very complex situations. Positive behaviour is promoted through discussion and reinforced through praise. This helps the children understand why they act in the way they do, and helps them develop more suitable alternatives. The staff reflect that one of their strengths is holding safe but flexible boundaries. Restorative work is embedded into the behaviour management approach, which helps the children to develop skills in rebuilding fractured relationships. The children reflect that staff are very measured and fair. One said, ‘She [the staff member] is like the mum, strict when she needs to be but also very soft. She gives the best hugs.’ Another said, ‘If you get stressed out they are brilliant and they take you for a drive.’ The effective behaviour management approach, and the

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

esteem in which the children hold the staff, enables the majority of the children, over time, to become much more self-aware and develop improved self-regulation. One social worker said, ‘There’s been a dramatic change in his [the child’s] behaviour and reduction in his missing from care. His behaviour has settled and is much less challenging. He is much more able to communicate his feelings.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 7 Partner professionals and parents have absolute confidence in the support the children receive. They say that the children are much safer as a result of living in this home. The majority of the children make great progress in relation to their personal safety. One social worker said, ‘[Child]’s progress during the time in the home has been huge. We rated levels of worries as extreme, a nine out of10 when she was placed, now they’re down to about a four. This shows the progress she has made thanks to the

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

Many of the children placed are at very high risk of going missing, and some have associated identified risks such as gang associations, offending and vulnerability to child sexual exploitation. The vast majority of the children go missing much less frequently than they did prior to placement, and for some this risk is now almost eradicated. However, when a child does go missing the staff act as a caring parent would, and do everything within their power to try to bring the child home safe and sound. The effective pastoral relationships between the staff, police liaison officers and the children produce exceptionally proactive partnership working. This unusually productive relationship has ensured the cooperation of children, to help locate and bring others back to a place of safety sooner than might otherwise have been the case. The local police missing person’s liaison officer commented, following a recent missing

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

from care incident, ‘I have never experienced this level of help from other homes previously and cannot commend them enough. The teamwork displayed over the 10 days was phenomenal. I am proud to call them a home in my area.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The suitably qualified and experienced registered manager provides consistent leadership to staff. She has high expectations and aspirations for the children, and advocates for them effectively if they do not receive the good quality of support they are entitled to. Consequently, the vast majority of the children make good progress. The manager and the staff work highly effectively in partnership with parents and professionals who hold the manager and staff in great esteem. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘I’m incredibly positive about Di [the manager]. She’s amazing. She has a very can do and positive attitude.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose lacks clarity regarding the model of care used, and contains incorrect information regarding the company senior management. However, this has no effect on the children as the manager ensures that the children receive consistently high-quality care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Individually, the staff are deeply caring and committed to the children in their care. One parent said, ‘The staff are very nice. There is a warm nature about them. She needs to feel she’s loved and she does feel this.’ The staff are highly skilled in dealing with complex situations, and remain calm in times of crisis. The children, without exception, speak very fondly of the staff, whom they describe as relaxed, funny and giving great hugs. Partner professionals refer to an ‘incredibly child-centred and reflective team’. There is a real genuine quality to the individual interactions that Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 8 demonstrates the levels of care, concern and commitment described by the children, parents and professionals alike. These relationships underpin the success achieved, and are at the heart of the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most, but not all, staff who have been working with children in a children’s home for over two years have completed their level 3 diploma in residential child care. For those who have not yet completed the diploma, in the vast majority of cases this is for reasons beyond their control. There is no demonstrable negative outcome of this on the children, as effective staff induction, supervision and training programmes ensure that the staff are competent and well supported. One member of staff spoke animatedly about the recent ‘gang awareness training’ the staff group attended, which had helped to raise the staff’s awareness of the issue and inform their practice should they have to deal with it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff maintain current and relevant knowledge of the suitability of the location of the home, ensuring that they are able to provide responsive risk management. The manager provides suitable notifications of any significant events. However, changes in the resident group are not always notified to the host local authority as required. This has no negative effect for the children, but does limit the authority’s understanding of local demographics.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External and internal quality assurance mechanisms are effective, and the manager has an accurate overview of the strengths and the opportunities for improvement in the home. The manager has ensured that the actions set at the last inspection have been met. Although some requirements and recommendations have been set at this inspection, the quality of care and support that the children receive remains of a high standard. The children consistently rate the home as excellent, and highlight the staff as the thing that makes the home great. One parent summed up their thoughts, saying, ‘I’m really thankful she’s got them [the staff]. It’s breath-taking that they really care so much.’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 9 to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1EG

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Inspector

Joanna Heller, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC461846 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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