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

Inspection report children’s home: SC008810 1 SC008810 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd 04004053 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to care for three children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by a private organisation. The manager has applied to be registered.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: SC008810 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/06/2019 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 03/10/2017 Full Good 02/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC008810 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and they say that they feel happy. Children have trusted and secure relationships with staff. The children feel that they can talk to the staff about any worries they might have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in education and making progress. Transition plans and key-work sessions are used to help prepare children when they start a new school. Children’s attendance and progress at school is celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to stay in touch with family members. The manager works closely with families and social workers to make sure that children see the people who are important to them. One parent said that the manager went ‘above and beyond’ to help a child keep in touch with their siblings. Staff recognise the significance of these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide range of activities, individually and as a group. During the lockdown period, staff prepared in-house activities for the children. Some of these were based on the children’s interests such as Japanese culture. Other sessions were fun, but also provided informal learning opportunities around themes such as sexual health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Where appropriate, children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own health needs and appointments. However, children are not given the opportunity to take responsibility for their own medication. Given that some of the children are working towards independence, this could be an opportunity for a child to develop the skills to manage medication independently, while maintaining the support and supervision of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to. Their views are sought formally through regular meetings and planned key-work conversations, and informally through day-to-day chats. Staff respond positively to requests from children and explain if a request cannot be granted.

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

Children are settled and they feel safe. The staff team is well established and there is very little staff turnover. This means that staff know and understand the children very well.

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

Behaviour management plans are detailed and give clear guidance about how staff should respond. The guidance links to the training that staff receive. Staff are skilled at using the techniques taught in training to support children. Restraint is very rarely used.

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

Children’s emotional and mental health needs are understood well. However, for one child, specialist support that was identified at a review meeting has not been Inspection report children’s home: SC008810 4 provided by the placing authority. The manager has followed this up, but has not received a response. Given the potential risks identified, this lack of support could be detrimental to the child’s well-being.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding. They can confidently discuss potential safeguarding concerns that may arise for each individual child. Robust measures are in place to keep children safe online. There have been no safeguarding referrals or concerns raised in recent months.

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

Children are supported through direct work which consists of key-work conversations. These are used in a planned way to address individual areas of concern. Links are made to previous conversations and scenarios are used to good effect to explore children’s views and thinking. Staff use praise and positive reinforcement to help children develop new skills and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked at the home for a long time. She has a good overview and oversight of the processes in the home. The independent visitor report is used as a learning tool. Recommendations made in this report are considered and implemented quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager promote an open and supportive culture. One member of staff said it was one of the best management teams they had worked with. Supervisions, appraisals and team meetings are planned in advance and adjusted to take account of staff shifts. This ensures that all staff receive regular supervision and can attend meetings and training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Document management is generally very good; documents are organised and clear. Staff recruitment files are not up to the same standard and it was difficult to confirm that all safer recruitment checks had been completed. The home is in the process of moving to an electronic care recording system. This has been well managed, and staff have a good understanding of the system.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The standard of recording about children in the home is very good. The language used about children is positive and respectful. It shows that staff have an understanding of children’s needs and celebrate children’s achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work closely with partner agencies. Communication with other agencies, including families, is very good. This ensures that children receive holistic support and care. Inspection report children’s home: SC008810 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home plays a full part in promoting the best interests of the child, proactively advocating for the child to ensure that others play their role and deliver the high-quality support that is needed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.4)  The registered person should ensure that children who wish to keep and take their own medication should be supported to, if they are able to do so safely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.16)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC008810 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd 04004053

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Alison Marshall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC008810 7 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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