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

Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 1 SC374405 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd

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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 privately owned and is registered to care for four young people who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 December 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

Date of last inspection: 5 December 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2018 Full Outstanding 06/02/2018 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 3

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Recommendations

 Children should be supported to express themselves as individuals and should be given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to day to day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items such as clothing, technology and leisure items. Children’s reasonable preferences in relation to day to day arrangements should be met with consideration given to safeguarding, particularly in relation to the use of technology. Where a child’s preferences are unreasonable or cannot be met for safeguarding reasons, staff should discuss this with the child to help them understand why. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, young people make good progress. Staff offer a nurturing and supportive environment that is based on trusting relationships. This, combined with a comprehensive understanding of individual needs and histories of young people, contributes to good outcomes for most young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has experienced significant change since the last inspection. The new team has worked hard to try to minimise the impact of these changes on young people. Staff have worked well together to help one young person through a challenging time. Staff have established nurturing care practices in an attempt to help the young person to regulate their behaviour. Staff have explored several avenues of support and strategies to assist them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence work is promoted and supported, and young people make great progress in this area. A social worker said, ‘I have been really impressed with how [the young person] has progressed in her independence.’ One young person has been taking driving lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a positive ‘team around the child’ approach that ensures that the whole staff team is involved in plans and reviews for young people. This is also linked to good levels of communication and positive ‘working together’ arrangements with other agencies. Stakeholder feedback is very good, with all agencies commenting on the significant progress that young people make. A social worker said, ‘Staff do whatever they can to help the young person. Staff are on the ball.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to access extensive opportunities both inside and outside the Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 4 home. This is a key strength. All young people are supported to engage in fun activities and get involved in several community-based activities. This support has been maintained at a time of significant challenge for the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people are engaged in full-time educational placements, attendance is excellent, and they have benefited from long-term educational placements. There is evidence of close working relationships between staff and education providers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family contact is valued and supported for young people. Staff include parents in children’s lives and support them in improving contact arrangements with the young people. Relationships are rebuilt over time, and young people benefit from this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made efforts to minimise disruption to other young people in the home when one young person has experienced a period of challenge. Further work is needed to understand the impact of this young person’s behaviour on other young people in terms of their day-to-day living arrangements and their emotional health and well-being needs.

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

Staff work hard to ensure that young people are safe and keep safe. Thorough risk assessments and risk-management plans contribute to reductions in risky behaviour. Risk assessment documentation has improved. Plans are regularly reviewed with a whole team approach. Young people’s risks are well understood, shared and documented.

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

Physical interventions are clearly risk assessed and recorded. During a challenging period for one young person, additional physical intervention training was secured to support the young person and staff.

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

Staff are very reflective and they look for alternative strategies to manage behaviour. Staff are skilled in understanding young people’s motivations and triggers and seek to stop situations escalating to the point that restriction is required. There is good management oversight of physical interventions, which includes having an overview of patterns and trends, as well as positive debrief opportunities for young people and staff.

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

There have been no missing episodes for young people living at this home.

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

Carefully planned and well-considered individual key-work sessions are carried out effectively. These sessions focus on specific safeguarding concerns relevant to young people. For one young person, work has been carried out regarding the risks associated with online activity, alongside a plan of close monitoring and support. The risks associated with online activity have reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an experienced and dedicated manager. She has been a strong team leader at a particularly difficult time. She has remained confident and ambitious for the young people in her care. Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 5 Monitoring and review processes are effective. The managers are able to evidence change in young people’s outcomes through behaviour management plans and various reports to other agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Robust performance management procedures are in place. Where there are any potential safeguarding matters relating to staff, these are dealt with appropriately and relevant agencies are informed. The managers and staff team have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and ensure that these are appropriately followed. This has been thoroughly tested out in recent months, and safeguarding agencies have confirmed the home’s high standard of practice in relation to safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have developed a good, detailed induction process following consultation with staff, with increased emphasis on gaining information and getting to know the young people. The manager has also developed an induction programme for the assistant manager role. Robust inductions have helped to strengthen the new staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has identified the staff team’s needs at a particularly difficult and challenging time. She has ensured that staff receive adequate support. This has involved enabling the company therapist to attend team meetings, offering the company health service help line, and additional staff supervisions and debrief sessions. She has also sought additional staffing for a young person to enable the staff team to be able to safely continue to meet the young person’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training, staff supervision and team meetings are structured, regular and well recorded. Staff feel able to share their experiences, and feel supported by managers. A staff member said, ‘I feel 100% supported by managers. The managers deliver support that is strengthened by a strong nurturing approach for both young people and staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Where appropriate, the manager seeks to escalate issues of importance for young people. For one young person with delayed transition planning, she acted on his behalf by contacting the Children’s Commissioner. She received a prompt response, and plans were progressed in a timely manner.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 6 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: SC374405 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Bev Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC374405 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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