Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 1 SC410539 Registered provider: Positive Pathways 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

A private provider owns the home. It provides care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional, behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2018 and is suitably experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2018 Full Good 04/12/2017 Full Good 28/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 31/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 3

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) This in in relation to assessing and reviewing risks when staff bring their pets into the home.  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months: also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’,

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Recommendations

pages 64–65, paragraph 15.2) This is in relation to ensuring that the review of the quality of care takes into consideration the views of professionals and family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting and secure relationships with staff. Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, which helps them to provide children with personalised care. For example, staff support children to maintain links with their families. This means that children have a positive experience while living in the home, and feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff offer children incentives. This works particularly well for children who struggle to attend school or clean their rooms. Having a goal to work towards has enabled a child to improve his attendance at school. All children now attend school regularly. The registered manager and staff work closely with teachers to maintain children’s progress in school and respond to issues promptly. Previously, when children have not been able to access education, the registered manager has advocated on their behalf to ensure that a school placement is found.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children a range of opportunities to express their views and participate in discussions in relation to their care. Staff offer children insightful and meaningful key- working sessions that are centred around the children’s health, safety and well-being. Children attend their statutory meetings and express their views in relation to their care. In addition, children also attend and take part in children’s meetings, which are also Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 4 used by the registered manager and staff to raise children’s awareness of important issues. For example, some meetings encourage valuable discussions around gang culture and children’s rights. These opportunities enable children to express their views, and raise their awareness of important topics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend routine health checks. The registered manager and staff work with children to address specific health needs. For example, they work with children to promote healthy eating and educate children about the implications of smoking. This means that children are supported to become healthier.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to undertake a range of social and community activities. However, children are sometimes reluctant to take up the opportunities offered. The registered manager and staff work tirelessly with children to develop their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make some excellent progress. For example, a child is now in full-time education and since starting at his new school in October has achieved 100% attendance. Another child is able to make eye contact more easily with other people and is engaging more readily with staff. One child’s social worker described a child as ‘coming on in leaps and bounds’ since living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children complete some age-appropriate independent tasks. These include doing their laundry, going out independently and cooking a meal. The registered manager considers creative ways of encouraging children to engage with the staff so that staff can help them to prepare for adulthood. Plans are in place to progress this work and it is an area of practice that is developing.

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

The registered manager and staff support and guide children to help them understand the risks associated with their behaviours. They support children to find alternative ways to express their frustrations and manage conflicts. This helps children to learn how to manage their feelings in a more positive way.

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

The registered manager and staff understand their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. Concerns are promptly referred to relevant authorities and any follow-up actions are carried out in full. This protects children and promotes their welfare.

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

The registered manager ensures that the staff recruited to work in the home are only recruited to work in the home after thorough recruitment checks have been carried out. This ensures that staff have been adequately vetted to confirm that they are suitable to provide care for children.

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

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the risks that children face. Well-informed assessments and plans provide guidance for staff which helps to keep children safe. When children go missing, the registered manager and staff work well with other professionals, including the police, to ensure a well-coordinated Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 5 response. For one child, this has been particularly effective in reducing the frequency of these incidents.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour by giving children regular rewards and praise. This approach helps children to feel valued and raises their self-esteem. Through effective key work sessions and occasionally through the use of consequences, children are helped to consider the impact that their actions have on others.

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

Staff bring their pet dogs into the home, which the children enjoy and benefit from. However, the registered manager has not undertaken a formal assessment of the potential risks associated with staff bringing their own pet dogs to the home. This has the potential to compromise children’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team is very strong. Both the registered manager and deputy manager are suitably experienced. They are dynamic and have high ambitions for staff and children. There is a stable staff team whose members are appropriately experienced and qualified. They provide children with consistency and stability..

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervisions. New staff receive a good induction and staff have regular appraisals. Consequently, staff feel supported and valued. Staff receive a range of training to help them to understand the needs of children. This includes training in important issues such as county lines and modern slavery. This helps staff keep up to date, increases their awareness and helps them to support children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has strong relationships with other professionals and works closely with them to ensure that children receive appropriate support. Professionals are very positive about the care the children receive and recognise how this has helped children make very good progress in different areas of their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager actively and regularly monitors the quality of care provided for children, and is constantly looking for ways to improve the service. However, the most recent review of the quality of care did not include the views of parents or other professionals. The impact of this shortfall is reduced, as these views are sought and captured in alternative ways.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 6 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: SC410539 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Pathways Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Hastingwood Industrial Park, Wood Lane, Erdington, Birmingham B24 9QR

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC410539 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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