Children's Home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Rotherham

Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 1 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions 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 privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager is committed to providing care for children and young people on a long-, medium- and short-term basis, depending on the needs of the child or young person. The home endeavours to provide a holistic, safe, stimulating and supportive family environment in which children and young people are cared for and can live, learn and develop. A manager was appointed in January 2019, but is not yet registered.

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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: 1263201 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2018 Full Good 06/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 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, the 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

With particular reference to the details of the experience and qualifications of staff, including any staff commissioned to provide education or healthcare. (Schedule 1(19) matters to be included in the statement of purpose.) 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that the risk assessments are amended to reflect the level of risk, emerging risks and whether risks have reduced or increased.  When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and

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Recommendations

suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location, and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) In particular, ensure that there is consultation with other key professionals to Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 4 identify the risks that relate to that area, for example county lines activity.  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. Everyone working at the home must understand their roles and responsibilities and what they are authorised to decide on their own initiative. There should be clear lines of accountability. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) In particular, ensure that documents are signed to reflect they have been read and understood by staff, including risk assessments, behaviour management plans and placement plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality and individualised care which demonstrates that their needs and vulnerabilities are clearly understood. This has helped the children to thrive and form positive attachments with staff. This is due to the unconditional care they receive. One child said: ‘I can go to staff anytime for a cuddle. I feel safe living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a variety of activities and experiences in the home and in the local community. One child attends a local drama club, and another is gaining invaluable work experience at a horse-riding stable. These opportunities are helping the children to integrate and develop positive peer relationships. Risk assessments are completed to enable friends to visit the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children go on outings to the cinema or ice skating, or out for meals, either as a group or individually. Good staffing ratios make this possible, and the children are appropriately supervised. In addition, children are exposed to a range of learning experiences, such as going to museums and places of interest. This complements their education, particularly for one child who is being home tutored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have the children’s best interests at the heart of what they do. They support and encourage the children to achieve to the best of their ability, and equip them with the vital skills and knowledge to help them to understand the world around them. Much work has been done on a whole range of issues, such as diversity, sexuality, refugees and in relation to their goals for the future: ‘Don’t let your goals go up in smoke, which road will YOU choose?’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted, and the children are being supported and encouraged to attend. When children have faced challenges with their education, or have been excluded, much effort has been made to identify the right provisions to meet their individual learning needs. This has enabled them to successfully move on and experience more positive learning environments. Staff attend meetings and keep in regular communication. When necessary, staff act as the ‘pushy’ parent to ensure that children’s needs are being met. Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 5 Staff regularly engage and consult with the children and have built trusting relationships with parents and carers. One child and her mother are receiving the right level of support through a shared-care arrangement and another child is now having contact with her father following a lengthy period of time during which he was absent from her life. These positive developments have occurred because staff promote and encourage

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the importance of maintaining and developing family contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of the relationships with other professionals is a key strength and facilitates multi-agency decision-making and planning. This has proved particularly useful in meeting the children’s therapeutic needs, as consistency of care and approach has enabled the children to make positive changes in their behaviour. The manager promotes challenge and will question decision-making if it is not felt to be in the child’s best interest.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff clearly understand the children very well. The children participate in making day-to- day decisions about their lives. Plans for the children are exceptionally child centred and the work done with them through key-work sessions is both thematic and responsive to their individual vulnerabilities.

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

The risks that relate to each child are clearly understood, and any risk-taking behaviour is managed and responded to in a way which ensures that future risks are minimised. Placement plans and behaviour management plans are thorough and well documented; they underpin the strategies used in managing challenging behaviour.

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

The voice of the child and their contribution to their day-to-day care shines through in all recording activity. This has not only helped the children to understand the consequences of their behaviour, but has also helped them to reflect and gradually make positive changes as time moves forward. This has resulted in a marked reduction in the need to use any form of physical intervention and restraint.

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

Risk assessments clearly identify known risks and vulnerabilities, but would benefit from being updated more regularly when risks have either reduced or increased. All assessments are individualised and underpin good, effective practice. Staff do need to evidence that they have read and signed off all plans.

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

Staff understand the triggers for the children’s behaviour. This informs their ability to de- escalate crisis situations. The children are more able to regulate their emotions, as staff are more attuned to their needs. In response to the children’s wishes, there is a sensory room and a reading tent for the children to have quiet time.

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

The manager is proactive in chasing up referrals for specialist work with children and staff, such as child sexual exploitation. One child is currently waiting for specialist support, but staff have undertaken training so that they can provide this child with Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 6 suitable support in the interim. Staff have also done themed work with children to enable them to understand issues such as bullying, racism and exploitation.

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

The appointed manager remains unregistered and there has been a delay in the registration process due to some foreseen and unforeseen circumstances. The manager has taken proactive steps to ensure that her application has been submitted.

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

The manager has worked at the home since it opened and is ambitious, self-driven and resilient in her efforts to provide consistent, high-quality care. The children and the staff team are her priority. New initiatives demonstrate a continual drive for improvement. For example, the staff’s and the children’s personal development files are now completed in more detail.

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

The manager leads a dedicated staff team in a home where the young people have effectively grown up in the care of a core staff group. Staff know the children well. They are listened to and nurtured and are appropriately supervised as a result of the good staffing ratios. Children reported that they feel a sense of belonging and permanence.

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

Any new admission to the home takes place as a result of a robust and safe referral process that matches the children and assesses compatibility. A well-planned introduction ensures that children are welcomed sensitively into the home and any disruption is kept to a minimum. This has helped the children to settle down quickly.

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

Staff recruitment is both robust and safe. Checks that are undertaken ensure that staff are suitable to undertake this role. All new staff complete the organisation’s and the home’s own induction programme to ensure staff are familiar with their roles and responsibilities. All mandatory training is completed prior to commencement of their roles.

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

The environment is well maintained and cheerful and has a homely feel. Consultation with the children is promoted and facilitated through a variety of processes, and they contribute to the personalisation of their rooms and have a say in how their home should be decorated.

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

There is a location risk assessment in place. However, it would benefit from including additional information the sources of the data that informs the assessment.. The statement of purpose does not meet regulatory requirements, and information on staff, their experience and qualifications needs to be included. Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 7

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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: 1263201 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Merchants Place, River Street, Bolton, Lancashire BL2 1BX

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Inspectors

Cath Sikakana: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263201 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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