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

Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 1 SC059945 Registered provider: Pathfinders (Childcare) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 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 good

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 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

 Leadership and management are excellent. All managers lead by example. They are passionate about the care that young people receive, and are committed to making continuous improvements to the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home has a strong ethos of care, support and compassion. Staff have wonderful relationships with young people, their families and professionals.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have positive relationships with staff, and know that the staff are committed to supporting them to accomplish their goals.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make excellent progress while living here.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make very positive progress with their education.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff manage safeguarding concerns effectively. They follow procedures well, and ensure that young people are safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people trust staff to care for them. This enables young people to feel safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people receive support to access specialist services that meet their identified needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Risk assessments and plans are to a very good standard. The information is clear and easy to understand.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Liaison with other agencies is excellent. Professionals speak very positively about staff communication and partnership working.

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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

 Not all risks are identified and understood. Strategies for managing these risks are not always clear.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Some areas of the home are in need of repair and attention. Not addressing these in a timely way will lead to health and safety hazards.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Outstanding 15/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/12/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff –

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; and that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that all risks are identified and understood. Strategies to manage these risks should be clear and staff should adhere to these. 28/12/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people make excellent progress while living here. They speak positively about their home. They get on well with each other and the staff. One young person said, ‘I love living here and I love the staff, they are my family.’ They went on to say, ‘If a child came in to care I would recommend that they came to live here, it’s 10 out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Professionals report that they are very happy with the care and support offered to the young people. One professional said, ‘[Name of young person]’s needs are always met to an excellent standard by all staff.’ Another professional said, ‘[Name of young person]’s wishes are that they live at [name of the home] until they are 99 years old.’ They went on to say that ‘[Name of the young person] has made significant progress whilst at [name of the home].’ Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 5 The home is welcoming and the atmosphere is calm. It is reflective of the young people living here. Young people have personalised their home. They have taken the lead in choosing the design and colours of various rooms in the home. Young people display their artwork on the walls. There are also photographs of them having fun with the staff. Young people have access to a number of communal rooms; this allows them to have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

time to be on their own if they choose to. There are areas of the home that are in need of repair and attention. Not addressing these in a timely way will lead to health and safety hazards, for example mould build-up and evidence of damp in two of the home’s bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people trust staff to care for them. This enables young people to feel safe. Young people are encouraged to be honest about their wishes and feelings. As a result, they share their concerns and worries. Staff respond to these in a caring and nurturing way, which supports young people to understand why they feel this way. Furthermore, staff explore options with the young people, which may help them to feel happier. Staff are consistently supportive and proactive, and act in a sensitive and reassuring way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have positive relationships with staff, and know that the staff are committed to supporting them to accomplish their goals. For example, one young person achieved good GCSE results, which led to them successfully securing a place at college. Furthermore, one young person has recently started a hairdressing course and has a work placement in the local hairdressers, which she really enjoys. To support the young person’s confidence and learning, one member of staff had agreed for the young person to cut their hair while she was on the work placement. This was on day one of the inspection. The young person was thrilled with her achievement and the staff were extremely proud of her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When young people first arrive at the home, they are not engaged in education. Staff take a proactive approach to securing education that meets young people’s needs. They work together with the relevant agencies to ensure that young people have access to the correct education at the earliest opportunity. Once young people are accessing education, they engage well and their attendance is good. If young people begin to disengage in education, staff act promptly, identify any issues and work through them swiftly. Staff work in partnership with the educational establishments and ensure that the young people receive the support they need to re-engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s placement plans are of a good standard and are easy to follow. Young people receive individual care that reflects their needs and risks. All paperwork is young- person focused and reflects the young person’s journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff ensure that they know who the young people are associating with, and are proactive in meeting them and getting to know them. Staff form positive relationships with young people’s peers and ensure that they meet young people’s parents. For example, staff have received invites to share a meal with a young person and their friends, at their family home. This promotes positive relationships between young people and the adults that care for them, and helps to keep young people safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 6 Young people receive support to access specialist services that meet their identified needs. Staff are proactive in seeking advice and guidance from other professionals. This partnership working provides young people with the holistic care that they need. It also allows good professional relationships to develop between agencies. Young people benefit from this approach and subsequently outcomes for young people improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are encouraged and supported to develop independent skills. Young people’s independent plans are individualised to their specific needs. Young people are empowered to take a lead in their lives and learn how choices can have an impact on their futures. They learn practical skills, for example budget planning and making meals. Young people speak fondly of this and they enjoy developing their independent skills. One young person talked about their plans to move to semi-independent living and said that they were receiving the support they needed to ensure this was a positive transition. When young people move on to independent living, young people and staff maintain meaningful and positive relationships, and keep in contact with each other. This provides young people with the continuous care that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people are involved in the running of the home. There are regular young people’s meetings. However, these are not always meaningful. Furthermore, the recording of them is not as good as other areas of recording, which overall are excellent. Nonetheless, young people do have many opportunities to share their wishes and feelings and staff listen to them. Young people are actively involved in their independence plans, and have a range of activities available to them. Young people enjoy horse riding, going to the gym, walking the dog, volunteering at a farm and shopping. In addition to this, young people enjoy fundraising, and have recently taken part in the Race for Life and the Colour Run.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have regular contact with their families and friends. They speak positively about this. Staff support and encourage these relationships. When contact arrangements are not working well, staff are able to review these with social workers and revise them accordingly. Furthermore, if there are specific contact arrangements in place, staff actively adhere to these and keep young people safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff promote the achievements that young people make. The monitoring of young people’s needs and the progress young people make is good. Staff capture the progress in informative reports. Relevant people, for example social workers, receive regular updates on the young people’s progress.

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

Young people are safe and they know that staff care about them. Staff have a caring and nurturing approach and young people respond well to this. Young people spend meaningful time with staff. They enjoy the staff’s company and it is evident that they get along well. Young people benefit from one-to-one support. They have regular key- working sessions that are both planned and ad hoc. All key-working is relevant to the Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 7 young people’s needs and young people engage well.

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

It is evident that young people and staff value their relationships and this is a key strength of the home. These relationships provide a solid foundation from which young people can grow and develop into happy and confident young people. One social worker said, ‘[The staff are] understanding of the [name of young person] needs and provide time to talk through any issues or worries without the [name of young person] feeling judged.’

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

Risk assessments and plans are of a good standard. The information is clear and easy to understand. Furthermore, they highlight areas of significant risk well, which enables the reader to have a good insight into the young person’s risks and associated triggers. However, sometimes staff do not always identify all known risks. Furthermore, some of the terminology used is ambiguous. Consequently, the unidentified risks do not form part of the assessments and plans. This is particularly evident in the identification of preventative strategies. On one occasion, staff did not follow the agreed risk strategies. Consequently, a young person took part in avoidable risk-taking behaviour. When this happened, managers responded effectively and ensured that staff learned from their experiences, and that practice improved.

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

When staff know the risks, young people receive excellent help, support and guidance. This enables young people to make safer decisions to keep safe. Staff work proactively with young people, their families and the relevant agencies to reduce risk. For example, missing from home was a key risk indicator for young people when they arrived. This risk has reduced considerably.

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

Staff manage safeguarding concerns effectively. They follow procedures well and ensure that all relevant people receive the required information in a timely way. In addition, they follow advice and guidance from other professionals and agencies, and ensure that the young people are safe. Staff work well with other agencies to assess and manage risk. They take the lead from specialist professionals and assessments. Young people benefit from this partnership approach and, as a result, multi-agency risk management is good.

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

Staff give excellent support to the young people and show empathy and understanding. This gives young people the reassurance they need to feel safe and supported.

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

Staff and young people are clear about the standards of behaviour that are acceptable. Young people receive support that enables them to take responsibility for their own behaviour and respect the boundaries that are in place. Sanctions are rarely used. When they are used, they are restorative in nature and have the desired outcome. Young people respond very well to the consistent praise offered by staff. Furthermore, the rewards system is very effective. This supports young people to develop the skills to manage their own behaviours in a safe and responsible way.

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

The recruitment and selection of staff is sufficiently robust. Staff are vigilant and take appropriate steps to verify each visitor’s identity to protect young people. Health and Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 8 safety checks are completed and this ensures a safe living environment. The community risk assessment is sufficiently robust and takes into account nearby hazards, for example a stream that runs by the side of the house.

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

Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities with regard to keeping young people safe. Staffing levels are very good. This allows young people to have access to good levels of support that are in line with their individual assessments and plans. This ensures that young people have the required safeguards in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership and management are excellent. The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. All managers lead by example. They are passionate about the care that young people receive, and are committed to making continuous improvements to the home. Managers provide clarity on the standards of practice that they expect; they support staff to learn and develop in order to reach these standards. Managers provide excellent oversight, which is evident throughout the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The relationships between the managers and staff are positive. Staff speak very positively about working here. They feel supported and valued. The home operates in line with the aims and ethos of the statement of purpose. Staff are suitably qualified or working towards this. The team is very well established and staff provide a consistent approach to the care they provide for the young people. Staff have a good understanding of the needs of young people. Staff work effectively together to ensure that young people receive consistent positive messages.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has a strong ethos of care, support and compassion. Staff have wonderful relationships with young people, their families and professionals. They take pride in their work and endeavour to deliver the best possible care to young people. Staff receive good supervision and support. They are encouraged to develop and enhance their knowledge and skills. Furthermore, managers recognise key strengths of the staff and facilitate these well, for example by giving staff lead roles in particular areas of practice. Training is varied, and is reflective of the young people’s needs. Staff speak positively about the training they receive, and say that it enhances their practice. Staff were able to say how they use this learning in their everyday practice, for example the training they have had around child development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The external and internal monitoring of the home are effective. The registered manager has quality assurance practices in place, which overall are effective. Managers have awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. It is clear that there is a commitment to listening to feedback and learning from experiences to enhance practice further. There is a clear and measured development plan in place which is very young- person focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Liaison with other agencies is excellent. Professionals speak very positively about staff communication and partnership working. They receive regular updates on the progress Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 9 that young people are making. In addition, staff share any incidents in a timely way. Agencies value the home and the positive changes that young people make. One professional said, ‘I believe it is probably the best children’s home I have dealt with and I can’t think of any improvements they could make.’

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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: SC059945 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

Lisa Gregoire-Parker: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC059945 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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