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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 1 SC417351

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Pathways Care Group

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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 manager registered with Ofsted on 22 June 2020.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged to have serious and widespread shortfalls at an assurance visit on 21 and 22 October 2020. Ofsted served compliance notices in relation to safeguarding and leadership and management. The provider has made insufficient progress towards meeting the steps set out in these notices. Although there has been progress in improving the environment and risk reduction, the leadership and management of the home fail to protect children. Ofsted continues to monitor the home.

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This monitoring visit

Two children moved out of the home after the assurance visit. One of these children was moved by the placing authority following the assurance visit and the other child moved to semi-independent living. One child has remained living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has failed to provide sufficient oversight of staff practice. This is despite shortfalls in her oversight being raised at the assurance visit. The manager has delegated monitoring tasks to a deputy manager. Consequently, the registered manager was unaware of practice concerns, including safeguarding issues. This resulted in a lack of referral to the designated officer and poor practice going unchallenged. The responsible individual and the registered manager were not aware of a serious practice concern until this was identified by the inspector during the monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

The home is unsettled overnight. Staff are unable to control the children’s behaviour. Children play loud music into the early hours of the morning. Some staff feel intimidated when the children misbehave. In one instance, a member of staff Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 2 threatened to leave the home in the early hours of the morning if the children did not behave. An older child intervened when the staff could not control the children. The registered manager has failed to monitor incident reports. This has resulted in her lacking awareness of incidents, such as behavioural incidents during the night. Therefore, the staff involved have not been debriefed and the manager has not identified training needs.

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This monitoring visit

Following the assurance visit, the responsible individual provided Ofsted with an action plan detailing the actions that he and the manager would take to secure the necessary improvements. However, neither have ensured that all the actions have been carried out. The manager has failed to notify children’s social workers of incidents, despite giving Ofsted assurance that social workers would be notified within 24 hours of an incident. Therefore, social workers have not been made aware of all incidents at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The manager and staff have failed to consistently update children’s risk assessments following incidents. This means that the staff are not guided effectively, and strategies to manage behaviour are not identified and implemented.

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This monitoring visit

One child, who was not attending school, has started to attend part-time education. Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have limited the opportunities for activities outside the home. The home’s car, which was stolen previously by the children, has not been replaced. This limits opportunities for the child who is still living at the home to take part in activities in the local community. This child said that he spends most of his time in his is room and that he is bored.

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This monitoring visit

Staffing arrangements overnight have been reviewed. The manager sometimes visits the home during the evening to check if things are settled. Managers have met to discuss the running of the home and staff practice. However, there has been insufficient action to ensure that children are safeguarded and that the quality of care meets children’s needs and promotes their well-being.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has addressed the widespread environmental shortfalls. Some of the children’s bedrooms have been painted. Damage to walls, sockets and bathrooms has been repaired. Workmen were on site during the monitoring visit undertaking repairs. A new system is in place to enable managers to monitor and attend to damage at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Children no longer smoke in their bedrooms. Health and safety checks are undertaken by the manager. Children no longer store lighters or matches in their bedrooms. Improved guidance for staff around the storage of their personal belongings means that staff car keys are now stored securely. This has helped to prevent cars being stolen by the children.

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This monitoring visit

The home has not recruited any new staff since the last assurance visit, therefore, the requirement to suitably vet staff coming to work at the home will be restated. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 3 Managers have begun to put in place new ways of seeking children’s views, but these have not yet been fully implemented.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Good 04/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 4

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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)) 01/01/2021

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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

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)(iii)(v)) 01/01/2021

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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.

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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 staff— 01/01/2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 5 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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)) 01/01/2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— 01/01/2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 6 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

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Requirement Due date

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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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pathways Care Group, 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 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC417351 8 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 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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