Children's home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Runnymede

Assurance visit report: SC417351 1 SC417351

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children aged between 10 and 18 who may have experienced family breakdown or neglect and cannot live with their families. The suitably qualified manager registered with Ofsted on 22 June 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:  children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC417351 2

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Findings from the visit

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit:

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Findings from the visit

 Serious incidents have taken place that have put children and members of the public at high risk of harm; in particular, children taking and driving the home’s car for a considerable distance.  The manager has failed to take effective action to prevent serious incidents recurring.  Children are smoking in the home. The inspector found extensive evidence of smoking, smoking paraphernalia and damage related to smoking.  A child has set a fire in his bedroom at the home. At the time of the visit, the risks were not being mitigated. The manager and staff have failed to follow risk- reduction strategies.  The manager has failed to ensure that health and safety checks are undertaken. A fire door to a child’s bedroom is broken. There was a record of when the damage occurred, however, not when it will be repaired, despite the child having a history of fire-setting.  The children’s bedrooms are dirty and unhygienic and in poor state of repair and

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Findings from the visit

this physical environment is detrimental to children’s safety and well-being.

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The care of children

Two children have come to live at the home since 1 April 2020 and one child has been living at the home for two years.

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The care of children

Serious concerns were identified at this assurance visit. Ofsted has notified the relevant external professionals, who will conduct their own checks. The provider has taken immediate action to reduce risks to children’s safety, including fire risks. Ofsted will continue to monitor the home closely.

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The care of children

The children are not making good progress. Matching is poor. Since the two new children moved into the home, the outcomes and well-being of all three children have deteriorated. Some of the children are engaging in criminal behaviour together and the children’s behaviour is placing each of them at risk of harm.

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The care of children

Frequent changes to staffing mean that the children do not have the opportunity to build strong and trusting relationships with the people who care for them. The home lacks emotional warmth. The children do not know that the staff care about them.

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The care of children

Some of the children do not attend education regularly and the staff do not provide opportunities for learning at the home. One child has recently started a new school after a period out of education, but his attendance is poor. Another child does not attend his education provision. Assurance visit report: SC417351 3 Staff do not ensure healthy routines for the children. The children spend long periods of time in their bedrooms or out in the community unsupervised by staff. The home is unsettled at night-time. The staff have recently called the police to the home to manage the children’s behaviour. Consequently, children do not feel confident that the staff can manage them safely.

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The care of children

A child said that the staff have not listened to the concerns that he has raised repeatedly about the behaviour of the other children at the home. This child said that his worries about his and the other children’s safety have not been taken seriously. The manager has not acted on the concerns that a child raised about fire- setting by another child. This has left all the children at risk and a child feeling that he is not listened to or cared about.

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The safety of children

Staff fail to follow risk assessments and have put the children and members of the community at risk. The home’s car has been taken and driven by the children on two occasions. In the first incident, a child was allowed into the staff office unsupervised, where he gained access to the key safe and took the home’s car keys. A child, with another child as passenger, drove the car a significant distance.

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The safety of children

Following this incident, a risk assessment to secure the car using a steering lock was not followed. This led to the car being taken a second time. On the day of the assurance visit, a further set of car keys was missing as a member of staff had left their own car keys in a communal area of the home. The manager and staff have failed to take effective action to minimise risks and prevent recurrence. This significant shortfall in leadership, management and practice means that children are not being cared for safely.

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The safety of children

Children smoke inside the home. The staff have been ineffective in preventing this. Lighters and other smoking paraphernalia are stored in children’s bedrooms. Risk assessments on removing lighters from children are not adhered to. A child who has a history of fire-setting has lit a whole toilet roll in his bedroom, causing damage to a sink. There are burn marks on the children’s bedroom furniture. Failure to manage this behaviour and stop children smoking in the home puts all of the children and the staff at risk of physical harm.

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The safety of children

Drug use by the children has increased. One child has supplied cannabis to another child living at the home. It is unclear how this child is obtaining drugs. The manager has raised concerns about possible criminal exploitation of this child; however, she has failed to explore these concerns. Consequently, the extent of risks to the children is not known and the risks cannot, therefore, be mitigated.

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The safety of children

There has been a rise in the number of episodes of children going missing from the home since 1 April 2020. The children sometimes go missing to visit their families. Children are sometimes away from the home overnight. On one occasion, a member of staff did not realise that a child was missing during the night or that the home’s Assurance visit report: SC417351 4 car was missing. On occasions, the staff have delayed reporting that children have gone missing. The manager and the staff have failed to prioritise children’s safety.

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The safety of children

A lack of consistent care, a lack of clear boundaries, and poor relationships between the staff and the children have led to an increase in serious incidents. There have been delays in updating Ofsted on the progress of ongoing investigations. This has prevented Ofsted from having a current view of how the children are being safeguarded.

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Leaders and managers

Internal monitoring mechanisms are poor. The manager has failed to provide effective monitoring of the home. This has resulted in children being placed at risk of harm.

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Leaders and managers

At the time of the assurance visit, the inspector noted that a fire door to a child’s bedroom was broken. There was a record of when the damage occurred, however, not when it will be repaired, despite the child having a history of fire-setting. Ineffective managerial monitoring meant that this shortfall had not been rectified.

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Leaders and managers

Damage is not repaired quickly. Significant damage to a child’s bedroom, including a broken plug socket, a missing door and large holes in the bedroom walls, has not been repaired. It was not clear when some of the damage occurred due to inconsistencies in record-keeping.

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Leaders and managers

The staff spoken with said that they are tired. The home is short-staffed and there is regular use of agency staff. There has been a series of preventable safeguarding incidents involving staff. Investigations into these incidents have identified serious lapses in staff practice. Some staff do not understand the needs of the children and lack the skills to manage the children’s behaviour.

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Leaders and managers

Procedures for vetting new staff coming to work at the home are insufficient. This does not ensure that children are protected from unsuitable adults working with them.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has failed to ensure that social workers are updated promptly about serious incidents at the home. Communication between professionals and the home’s management team is poor.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has failed to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. Consequently, practice and children’s safety have not been improved. Furthermore, concerning shortfalls identified at this visit mean that children have been at risk of serious harm. Assurance visit report: SC417351 5

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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

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 13/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)) 13/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 13/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC417351 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))*

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 13/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC417351 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(h))*

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(e)(i)) 13/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children,

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Requirement Due date

allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and 13/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC417351 8 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olubunmi Fabusuyi

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Inspector

Angela Weston, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC417351 9 to 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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