Children's home run by Pathway Care Solutions Ltd in Nottingham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 1 SC406063 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 home is owned by a large private company. The children who live here have either physical or learning disabilities. The home’s statement of purpose states: ‘The home provides a high standard of care, educational support and accommodation for up to five children and young people, aged between six and nineteen years. It provides a holistic, safe, stimulating and supporting family environment where children and young people cared for can live, learn and develop.’

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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: SC406063 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/08/2018 Full Good 05/09/2017 Full Outstanding 09/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 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

(1) 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.

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Requirement Due date

(2) In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

(a) the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

(b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

(c) and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

(3) After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

(a) supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

(b) make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(5) The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 31/03/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 4 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Recommendations

 A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live at this home have differing but equally highly complex needs. All the children have lived here for some time and they are very settled. Staff know the children very well and they have a thorough understanding of their needs and how to meet them. Children’s individuality is respected, and they are accepted for who they are, including their gender identity. There are warm and positive relationships between staff and children, and staff express pride in the children’s achievements. One child’s social worker said: ‘The staff are knowledgeable and have emotional warmth.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The consistently high quality of individualised care and support has resulted in the children making good, and in some cases outstanding, progress. Parents’ comments include: ‘I could not wish for anything better. They are constantly making improvements,’ and, ‘My child has improved enormously.’ Parents and carers are welcomed to the home, and staff provide support so that the children can maintain the relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children’s health has improved significantly, and the number of hospital admissions have reduced drastically as a result. This means that the children benefit from opportunities to socialise and their quality of life is improved. An independent reviewing officer said: ‘They have really transformed his experience.’ Other children are managing to regulate their emotions more effectively, and their life skills, confidence and communication have improved. Another independent reviewing officer commented: ‘There has been a transformation. My child has come on in leaps and bounds.’ All the children attend school regularly and are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A real strength of this home is the effort that staff make in ensuring that the children have positive experiences. Staff have a ‘can do’ attitude and they are committed to ensuring that children are not disadvantaged because of their complex needs. For example, children go to theme parks, they go to the cinema and the theatre, and they go swimming. One child who has very complex health needs was able to participate fully Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 5 in an adventure weekend that involved kayaking, abseiling, caving, tube sliding and climbing, to name but a few of the activities on offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation is also a strength. Although some of the children do not have verbal communication, staff explore their wishes and feelings regularly. Managers act on these expressed wishes if at all possible. For example, one child loves butterflies, so the bedroom is adorned with butterfly stickers and butterfly lights. One independent reviewing officer commented that the main progress for the child whom she reviews is the fact that the child’s voice is now heard.

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

Children are kept safe from harm because the staff provide a good level of supervision. Although the children who live at this home do not go missing or engage in risk-taking behaviour, staff are aware of the additional vulnerabilities of children who have such complex needs. Staff are well trained and have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. They place the needs of the children at the centre of their practice and they raise any concerns with the manager.

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

Risk is assessed, reviewed and documented well. The risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance about how to minimise identified, potential and emerging risks. Staff are not risk averse, however, as children are encouraged and enabled to engage in exciting and challenging activities.

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

Behaviour is well managed. The staff use a therapeutic model of care, and the use of physical intervention is minimal. Staff have the necessary training to enable them to use physical intervention safely. The manager reviews these records regularly to ensure that it is used appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong and effective leader who is passionate about the children in her care. She knows them well and wants the best for them. Since her appointment as the home’s manager, she has worked hard to establish a family ethos in the home. She has also recruited a full staff team and has retained most of the existing staff. This is providing better continuity of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is good. The manager ensures that there is regular and effective communication with the other professionals who are involved in the children’s lives. Consequently, services work together and use a consistent approach that benefits the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained and well supported by the manager and her deputy. The management team is accessible and approachable, and its members lead by example. The frequency of staff supervision has increased, and it is now regular. However, the records of supervision are limited and do not demonstrate how supervision is used to develop staff’s competence. The manager’s supervision records were not available at the Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 6 home, so it was not possible to evaluate her support and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a systematic approach to monitoring the home, and this is done well. The reports from the independent visitor are used to drive improvement and the manager welcomes and acts on the suggestions to improve practice. However, the six- monthly report that is used for driving improvement within the home is limited because it does not use the feedback from children, parents, staff and local authorities as part of this important monitoring mechanism. This is a missed opportunity.

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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: SC406063 7

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Gregory

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Inspector:

Ros Chapman, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC406063 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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