Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 1 SC410545 Registered provider: Positive Pathways 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 privately owned home provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have complex needs. The home‟s statement of purpose states that staff aim to meet children‟s individual needs by providing a safe nurturing living environment, which reduces emotional distress, encourages personal growth and maturity, and promotes the development of coping strategies to help children overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted registered the manager in 2012. The manager has a suitable qualification.

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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 good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/10/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 3

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45(1)) 27/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff 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) Specifically, with regard to the use of bedroom door alarms and staff bringing their dogs into the home.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the manager and his staff engage proactively with the placing authority to contribute fully to the relevant plans for the child‟s care on an ongoing basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 56, paragraph 11.3) In particular, make the targets in children‟s placement plans specific and measurable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a comfortable home that provides easy access to city amenities. Children have personalised their bedrooms. This helps children to invest in their home and develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have improved the admissions process for children. This critical step means that children are involved in the decision to move in and in introductions to the home. Furthermore, leaders and managers ensure that children are compatible with each other. One child has moved on since the last inspection and the staff ensured that he did so in a planned and child-centred way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children show marked improvements in their social skills and personal presentation. They get on well with the staff and enjoy a wide range of activities. They are fully involved in decisions that affect them. A social worker said, „His experiences here are 100% positive. It‟s brilliant! He feels that he belongs and staff advocate for him.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 4 Children experience better emotional health and increased resilience. One child now accepts disappointments with greater understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children understand religious events, such as Ramadan, which helps them to integrate into their multi-cultural community.

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

Children are rarely involved in negative incidents. Since the last inspection, there have been very few restraints. Children seldom go missing. Staff act promptly to address any concerns, in collaboration with other professionals. This keeps children safe and helps them to feel secure.

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

Staff understand the risks that children are likely to face and act to minimise them. Children learn from staff how to deal with hazards and control themselves better. Consequently, their behaviour improves, and they manage the time they spend in the community safely.

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

The home is largely domestic in appearance and operation. However, staff do not routinely review the use of bedroom door alarms. This means that potentially children are subject to this restriction unnecessarily.

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

Children benefit from a staff member implementing a dog therapy programme as part of an approved academic study. This is an interesting and valuable experience for children and staff. However, there is no clear risk assessment in place. Other control measures mean that this risk is low.

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

Staff address children‟s behavioural difficulties systematically and sympathetically. They routinely praise children. This approach benefits their relationships with each child, improves children‟s self-esteem and avoids negative reactions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service achieves its aims to help children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and learning disabilities, partly because of the psychological and social work expertise of the directors. This positively influences the children‟s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the registered manager has been off work for nearly a year, the interim management arrangements, led by the deputy manager, have improved the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior personnel have challenged other agencies effectively when they have not provided children with the necessary support. This is helping one child receive the educational help he needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Close monitoring of the service has contributed to its improvement. However, managers Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 5 do not undertake reviews of the quality of care frequently enough in line with regulation. This reduces the ability of the provider and the regulator to formally assess the service. Staff review each child‟s needs regularly, and this supports children‟s progress. However, some of the targets are less specific than is desirable and this is an area identified for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel positive about the service and the quality of support that they receive. They benefit from a clear training programme that prepares them well for caring for children. Leaders and managers are ambitious. They test the staff‟s understanding of the job, for example at team meetings and by giving them specific responsibilities. As a result, staff show initiative and understanding, and provide children with good quality care.

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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: SC410545 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Pathways Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1556 Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 9HA

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Inspector

David Morgan, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC410545 7 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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