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

Inspection report children's home: SC429369 1 SC429369 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company. The home cares for up to four children aged between eight and 18 who have a range of additional needs and learning disabilities. These include autism spectrum disorders, social communication issues and associated behavioural and medical needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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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: SC429369 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2019 Full Good 10/10/2018 Full Good 09/05/2017 Full Good 14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC429369 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have specialist education places and attend school full time. One child struggled in a school environment and no longer attends the school provision. Staff have encouraged the child to re-engage with education by using a qualified tutor at the home. Home tutoring has built the child’s confidence and increased learning enjoyment. Supporting children’s education ensures that children progress and have positive learning outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. Staff know the children really well and provide child-centred care. The children have complex communication needs. Staff have the skills to communicate effectively with children. Staff enable communication and provide opportunities for children to make informed choices. Staff show understanding, kindness and patience when supporting the children. Children feel valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have specific health training to enable them to support children with complex health needs. For example, staff recognise the early signs of a child being in pain and respond quickly with strategies to support the child to minimise the pain. This response has led to a decrease in the child experiencing high levels of pain and a decrease in negative behaviours. Children feel more understood because staff can meet their health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children enjoy valuable family time with people who are important to them. Staff have taken the time to build trust with children’s families. They are flexible with families to ensure that the right level of support is given to children when they spend time with their families. Parents said that their children are happy and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The spacious and suitably decorated home has various communal rooms that children can relax in. The atmosphere is calm with a homely feel. Pictures of the children are displayed around the home. There are sensory transition touchpoints to support children with their daily routines. Children feel at home and have facilities that meet their sensory needs.

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

Children are safeguarded at the home. The manager has ensured that staff have appropriate training and that they understand and implement safeguarding procedures. Staff are confident to raise safeguarding concerns and well equipped to manage safeguarding incidents. The home has an anonymous whistle-blowing phone line for staff to report safeguarding concerns. This gives staff the opportunity to raise concerns if they do not feel able to use other routes. Inspection report children's home: SC429369 4 The manager takes allegations seriously and promptly reports safeguarding concerns to the designated officer and Ofsted. Allegations about staff are appropriately investigated. The manager ensures that investigations are carried out transparently and that appropriate measures are in place to ensure that the children are safe.

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

The manager has ensured that risk assessments are thorough for every child. The assessments consider risk factors and how risks will be minimised. The assessments are easy for staff to understand and give clear guidance. Staff understand risks and manage them well, which minimises the impact on children.

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

Children’s behaviour support plans are detailed and personalised. The plans include children’s input and give staff good guidance on how children want to be supported. The plans focus on recognising early warning signs and the strategies for staff to help children to safely manage their emotions. Staff understand how to support children and what children need to manage their feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The dedicated manager has over 20 years’ experience of working with children with autism and learning disabilities. She has a level 5 diploma in leadership for health and social care and children and young people’s services. The manager models person-centred care. She expects high standards from staff. Staff benefit from the manager’s knowledge and children receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. They said that the manager is approachable and encourages them to discuss any concerns. Supervisions take place regularly, and staff are given good guidance and supported to develop their practice. The manager ensures that staff well-being is a priority. Staff benefit from an independent well- being phone line for additional support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has additional support such as quality assurance audits from peers in the senior management team. The audits are carried out by managers who have experience of working with autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities. The manager uses the audits to make continuous improvements to the home and for the children living there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses an online portal monitoring tool for the home. Part of the tool’s monitoring capacity collates data that supports the manager to identify any patterns and trends from children’s incidents. This means that the manager has effective oversight of why negative behaviours may be occurring, and action is taken to reduce incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager generally keeps accurate records and has good oversight of these. However, on one occasion, the manager has not ensured that staff have clearly detailed in the child’s records the date that a debrief took place with staff and with whom. Lack of detail means that the record would be difficult to understand should it need to be referred to in the future. Inspection report children's home: SC429369 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff debriefs are dated and that it is clear who has completed the debrief with staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC429369 6

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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

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC429369 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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