Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd 04004053 in Nottingham

Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 1 SC029504 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Limited 04004053

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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 home provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted on 1 February 2019 and she has an appropriate qualification in leadership and management.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC029504 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2018 Full Good 09/08/2017 Full Outstanding 03/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 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

within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (―the authorised person‖)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) 31/05/2019

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home‘s manager. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 4 regulations including the quality standards‘, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  All children‘s case records must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress, and in some cases exceptional progress, as a result of living in this home. They are all very settled in their long-term placements and they are clear that they want to remain in this home until they reach the age of 18. Children have benefited from having this stability and from being cared for by staff who are committed to them, despite the challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy. They have very positive relationships with staff. The atmosphere in the home is relaxed, warm and friendly. One child said: ‗The staff are lovely. They are always there if I need to speak to them.‘ Another child said: ‗Staff are comforting, and you can have a laugh with them.‘

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are listened to and they say that they can share any worries with the staff. Children are consulted regularly about their care and they influence the choice of decor and facilities in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress with their education. Some children had very poor experiences of attending school prior to coming to this home. Now they have good attendance, they are aspirational for their futures and they are doing well. One child spent a lengthy time attending an alternative provision, but is about to return to mainstream education in order to take GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have become more confident and self-assured because of the positive regard that staff have for them. They now all take pride in their appearance. They have developed friendships outside of the home and they are becoming more independent.

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

Children have become safer as a result of living in this home. Their drugs misuse has decreased significantly and the number of incidents of children going missing from care is minimal. There have been a small number of occasions when children have had unauthorised absences from the home. Staff are guided by clear and detailed written protocols in relation to each child that address specific vulnerabilities. Although staff have managed these absences well, they have not consistently challenged the local authority to offer independent return home interviews or obtained information from the interviews to inform their practice. This was a recommendation at the last inspection and has been repeated. Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 5 Risk is assessed well and there are comprehensive written risk assessments that provide staff with strategies for minimising known and potential risks.

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

Behaviour is managed well. Children have become calmer and they have learned to manage their feelings in more socially acceptable ways. Incidents have significantly reduced in number and there has been no need to use physical intervention since the last full inspection. Sanctions are also used rarely. However, although the recording of these has improved, on each occasion the oversight of the sanction has been carried out by the person who gave the sanction. Opportunities to reflect on the use and appropriateness of the sanction are therefore lost.

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

Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to keeping children safe from harm. They benefit from receiving training that is relevant and up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are some shortfalls in the management of this home, but these have not had an impact on the high quality of care that children receive. Three issues that were raised at the last inspection have not been fully addressed and are therefore repeated. In addition, children‘s case records do not contain all the required documentation, for example the most recent statutory reviews and personal education plans. The manager has not been robust in trying to obtain these documents from the local authority in a timely way. As a result, staff may not know the most up-to-date plan for the child or be able to support this consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feel well supported. However, they have not all received supervision regularly and the records of the supervision are poor. Consequently, opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice or be challenged appropriately may be lost. The record of the staff‘s training is not up to date and this makes monitoring of their competence and developmental needs more difficult.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In many respects the manager has provided good leadership. She is child focused and is passionate about providing a service of the highest quality for the benefit of the children. She has a happy team of staff who enjoy working at the home. She has worked hard to repair the poor relationships that existed between the home and the community and she has been successful in achieving this. A member of the community commented: ‗I can‘t give the manager enough praise. She has turned the home around.‘

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has developed a system for monitoring children‘s progress through the home‘s placement plans. This is in its early stages and is going to be developed further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Partnership working is good. Stakeholders commented that there is good communication and information sharing, so that all agencies work together for the benefit of the children. Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 6

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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: SC029504 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Limited 04004053

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Merchant‘s Place, River Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL2 1BX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Gregory

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Inspector:

Ros Chapman: social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC029504 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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