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

Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 1 SC357159 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 a privately run children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 2017

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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: improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 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 make exceptional progress from their starting points. They are extremely well supported to develop their confidence, emotional resilience and self-esteem.  Young people are fully invested in their placements and feel a real sense of belonging. The house feels like a family home; it is a friendly and welcoming environment where young people feel happy and relaxed.  On a day-to-day basis young people report very high levels of satisfaction with their experiences. One young person commented: ‘Staff are mint, and I like it here. Everything is cool.’  Aspirations for young people are high and staff advocate strongly on their behalf to ensure that their rights are preserved and their outcomes maximised.  The home develops strong relationships with parents, carers and other professionals, creating inclusive working partnerships, which reflect the team- centred approach taken by the home.  Young people become increasingly safe when they come to live at this home

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Key findings from this inspection

and remain so.  Behaviour management is effective. Staff are consistent in their response to negative behaviour and have been successful in their efforts to help young people to manage their frustrations and worries.  The registered manager promotes a positive culture of improvement in the home. She is forward-thinking, inspirational, creative and dedicated to meeting the individual needs of young people.  The staff are very well supported in their roles by the manager and have regular supervision and team meetings. They participate in regular training. This ensures that they are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the young people placed at the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/07/2016 Full Outstanding 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/12/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

This home has made a real difference to the lives of young people who currently live there. Staff are good role models and adopt a parent-like approach to their care. They demonstrate high aspirations and a genuine drive to help young people achieve. This was confirmed by a professional stakeholder who said: ‘The staff team is so caring, really nurturing and really wants the best for the young people. Relationships between young people and staff are great. You can just see how relaxed and happy X [young person’s name] is.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff team provides child-focused care and support to enable young people to achieve positive outcomes. Observations during the inspection confirm that young people enjoy a high level of nurture and care, which enhances their life chances. This is confirmed by unequivocally positive feedback from external professionals and parents. One relative said: ‘The home is very much like a family home. Staff are part of the extended family, and I know that X [name] sees them as family. I really can’t fault them. They have been fantastic.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are making excellent progress with their education. This has been made possible by the support they receive from a highly committed staff team that provides a strong message about the value of education. Both young people access education appropriate to their needs and abilities. From their starting points they are making significant progress. One young person achieved excellent examination results and has real ambition for his future. Education success has truly enhanced this young person’s confidence and self-belief.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have excellent opportunities to engage in activities that they enjoy and that support their overall development. These community-based activities enrich their understanding of the wider community and help to prepare them for adult life. Recent examples of activities include swimming lessons, youth club, going to the gym and trips to places of interest. Staff ensure that the smallest achievements are celebrated, and this gives young people a strong sense of personal development and accomplishment. Similarly, birthdays and seasonal activities are all celebrated. This ensures that important events are never forgotten.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Care practice is underpinned by excellent care planning. Young people contribute to the development and review of their placement plans. This has been effective in helping them gain a good understanding of their specific needs and what they would like to achieve. Frequent dialogue between young people and staff allows young people to shape the culture and care that they receive in the home. No complaints have been made. However, young people are confident and more than able to express themselves. They have confidence that the staff team will help them overcome issues arising in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Managers control admission and departure processes effectively. For young people Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 4 arriving or leaving, each process is sensitively handled and mindful of the effect for all of those residing in the home. Managers make child-focused decisions about matching and priority is given to the safety and stability of the group environment. This helps to ensure that needs are compatible and promotes stability of placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are very gradually prepared for independence, and this is achieved in a thoughtful and sensitive way. Young people are fully involved in the planning and target- setting, while still being offered a high level of support from staff. One young person has made tremendous progress in acquiring not only the practical skills needed but also the emotional intelligence required for adult life. He has grown in confidence and enjoys appropriate freedom and autonomy, which have significantly improved his sense of well- being.

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

Young people become increasingly safe when they come to live at this home and remain so. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and keeping young people safe is integral to daily practice. Staff are highly motivated and work hard with young people to help them address their risk-taking behaviours. Young people confirm that they are safe and feel safe. This is because young people feel a strong sense of attachment to the home and have excellent relationships with staff.

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

Staff are skilled and meticulous in using de-escalation techniques and are effective at channelling young people’s behaviour in a positive direction. For example, young people are encouraged to use their worry monsters, emotion cards and soothe boxes when they feel stressed. Records verify that restraint has not been used since the last inspection. This means that staff are extremely successful in helping young people to manage their frustrations and anxieties in a positive manner.

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

Highly effective behaviour management in the home is based on dialogue, negotiation and sensitive guidance from staff. This helps young people work things out for themselves and take responsibility for their decision-making. Staff make good use of a restorative approach to help the young people reflect on their behaviour and understand its impact on others. As a result, young people have improved impulse control and are more equipped to manage difficult emotions.

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

The registered manager acts on safeguarding issues in a timely manner and ensures that robust action is taken to safeguard young people. This includes ensuring that notifications are made to relevant agencies. As a result, safeguarding services, placing social workers and Ofsted are able to review the home’s response to incidents. This level of transparency enables appropriate safeguarding action to be taken across a multi- disciplinary team. This ensures that young people’s safety and protection are given optimum priority.

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

No children or young people have gone missing and none are identified as being at risk of child sexual exploitation. However, these potential risks are clearly identified in risk assessments and staff have a good awareness of the signs and symptoms of abuse. Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 5 Staff are knowledgeable and confident in all areas of child protection and this is very much the foundation of everyday practice.

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

Robust recruitment and selection processes ensure, as far as possible, that young people are only looked after by suitable people. The home is very well maintained and regular health and safety checks ensure that the home is a safe environment for young people and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This home is well managed by a very experienced and qualified individual who has been in the role since 2008. She is highly skilled and extremely passionate about supporting young people and is committed to helping them to achieve their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team remains stable and managers are committed to continued staff development, acknowledging and valuing the individual strengths and skills brought by each member. The staff work very closely together, and share positive and supportive relationships with each other. The staff share the manager’s ambitions for young people, and work well together to promote positive outcomes. The culture within the home promotes a happy and stable environment that benefits young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that the home is achieving its objectives, as detailed in the statement of purpose. Staff understand how attachment separation and loss and trauma theory inform their practice and support young people to develop positive, healthy relationships and improved self-regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are extremely positive about working at the home. One member of staff said: ‘We are very together as a team and morale is excellent. I can honestly say that I look forward to coming to work to see the kids, and we all feel the same way.’ Staff receive regular supervision and feel well supported. Annual appraisals are undertaken and professional development and competency are key focuses throughout. Appraisals also take into account the views of young people. This enables the manager to undertake a robust review of professional practice to ensure that staff remain effective in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high expectations of her staff and motivates them to be creative in their work. She regularly monitors the quality of care provided at the home, learning from practice and seeking feedback from young people to improve their care and experiences. External monitoring is also effective. Shortfalls are quickly identified, and prompt action is taken to effect improvements. This results in a home where there is ambition to provide good care for children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Learning and development are key strengths within the home. The manager takes every opportunity to develop staff skill. This creates confidence and forward-thinking practice throughout the staff team. Staff undertake individual learning and share their findings with colleagues. As a result, the staff team has a real sense of purpose and is highly motivated. Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 6 The manager has established strong and collaborative working relationships. Communication with external agencies is exceptionally strong and effective. Shortfalls in responses from other agencies are assertively challenged and the manager and staff are persistent in their efforts to ensure that young people’s needs are met. This ensures that young people’s needs are given optimum priority from a range of professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are no recommendations or requirements made at this inspection. This further demonstrates that the home is managed by a very effective and competent manager.

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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: SC357159 7

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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

Ceri Evans, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC357159 8 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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