Children's Home run by Knossington Grange School Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 1 SC436386 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Group 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties/learning disabilities. It is owned and run by an independent provider. There is an appropriately qualified and experienced registered manager in place.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 9 to 10 September 2019

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2017 Full Good 04/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at this home because they are receiving structured and consistent care, delivered by staff who care about them and understand their needs. Children have formed positive relationships with staff members and they are enjoying new experiences. For example, children have been to a number of places of interest during the summer holidays and they are now accessing community resources such as army cadets and dance clubs. One child said: ‘I really like the staff. They are really nice, and they encourage me.’ Children who have lived at the home for a longer period of time have increased their self-confidence and they have an improved sense of worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. The manager and staff understand the value of education, and advocate for children when this is necessary to obtain the right school placement. They communicate regularly with the schools so that everyone involved in the children’s lives has relevant information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are attended to well. Children access local universal services and have regular check-ups to ensure that they maintain their good health. When specialist services are required, these are sought. Staff are vigilant and show appropriate concern when children tell them about health issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children in maintaining relationships that are important to them, and they advocate on the children’s behalf to ensure that contact arrangements are appropriate and safe. Family members are encouraged to visit the home and they are made welcome. One family member said: ‘The manager was brilliant. He went out of his way to reassure us when we had concerns.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical environment has improved significantly since the last inspection. It now provides a homely, well-decorated and well-furnished place to live. Children choose the colour schemes for their bedrooms, and other requests for furnishings and fittings are attended to when this is possible. The manager has plans to develop the environment further and has put together a proposal for senior management approval.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to and they have a number of ways to give their views. These include regular meetings, individual key-work sessions and questionnaires. They are also actively involved in care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that he only accepts children whose needs the home can meet and who will be compatible with the rest of the group. Where possible, transitions are planned well and include introductory visits as well as information sharing. Staff make every effort to make a child feel welcome when they come to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 4

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

Children are kept as safe as possible because staffing levels are good and there is a high level of supervision. Staff are guided by clear, up-to-date and detailed written risk management plans that address known and emerging risks.

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

Children’s behaviour is managed well. Detailed behaviour support plans provide staff with information about possible triggers and strategies for managing situations that are challenging. Staff are trained to de-escalate situations when this is possible. The therapeutic model of care that underpins the service helps staff to look at the reasons why children are behaving in certain ways, and respond in a more therapeutic way. If physical intervention is used, it is appropriate, well recorded and subject to thorough managerial oversight. The manager is reflective and analytical, and uses this information to improve staff practice. Incidents are reducing in intensity and frequency.

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

Children do not engage in risk-taking behaviour such as going missing from the home. Children for whom this was an issue in the past no longer go missing, because they do not feel the need to do so. Staff have engaged them in positive activities and they have encouraged a more positive self-view.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home has gone through a period of change. It was not functioning well at the last inspection, so senior managers took decisive action and ceased its active operation for a few months. A new but experienced registered manager is now in post, along with a new staff team. Children started to be admitted to the home again in April 2019.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although, with the exception of the deputy manager, the staff team is new, all staff have had good inductions and they have undertaken a lot of relevant training. They love working at this home and they feel very well supported. Staff described an open-door policy along with regular planned supervision and team meetings as the main structure for their support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their needs. They are assisted by well-written placement plans that also include a child-friendly version, written in the voice of the child and signed by them. This helps children understand the reason why they are at the home, and the care and support they should expect. A child’s social worker said: ‘Staff are very supportive, and so approachable and warm.’ A parent commented: ‘I have been impressed with the staff that I have met. They are very therapeutic and have a trauma-informed perspective.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager have good arrangements in place for monitoring the service. They prepare regular reports for senior managers, who also audit the service regularly. The manager’s monitoring is reflective and analytical, and is used to drive improvement. He has a good development plan for the home that is based on the quality standards and is regularly reviewed. Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 5 Partnership working is good. There are effective relationships with children’s social workers, schools and family members. Communication is excellent, and the manager was described as being very approachable. Even so, the manager will challenge other services to ensure that children receive their entitlements. One stakeholder said: ‘If the manager had not been so tenacious, the child would not have started school on time. This would have had a significant impact on his feelings about his self-worth.’

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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: SC436386 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector:

Ros Chapman: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC436386 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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