Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children's home: SC410545 1 SC410545 Registered provider: Positive Pathways Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for up to two children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 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

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2019

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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: SC410545 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2019 Full Good 12/06/2018 Full Good 10/05/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC410545 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in this home. One child has recently moved out. This was a planned transition into a semi-independent setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are warmly welcomed into the home. The manager gathers as much information as she can about the children before they move in, such as their likes and dislikes. Staff personalise children’s bedrooms before they arrive. One child squealed with excitement when showing their bedroom to the inspector. Staff give children a welcome basket when they move in. Each basket contains items such as books and pyjamas which are designed with children’s favourite characters. As a result, children feel comfortable in their surroundings and they settle in well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living in the home. Staff form positive relationships with them. One child said that staff ‘love me’ and this makes them feel good. Children trust staff because they are honest with them. One child said, ‘I know they [staff] are there for me, even if I make mistakes. This is how I have learned to be happy.’ As a result, children experience unconditional love and acceptance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to recognise their feelings. Staff equip children with the skills to regulate their feelings safely. For example, one child writes down their feelings in a book. They then give the book to staff to read to help them understand how they feel. This enables children to express their feelings around sensitive subjects such as gender identity or relationships. Staff create mood boards for children, which display positive comments and encouragement. As a result, children develop positive self- esteem and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not go missing. This is because staff help children to feel wanted and have a sense of belonging. The home environment has a family feel. Children enjoy spending time in the home and with staff. One social worker said, ‘The home promotes togetherness. They have the personal touch.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager is passionate about children receiving education. Prior to moving into the home, one child’s attendance at school was 25%. They now attend school regularly and have recently completed their GCSEs. They have also gained a place in college. During the COVID-19 lockdown, one child moved into the home with poor literacy skills. Because of the help and support staff gave them, they moved out of the home being able to read and write. This is remarkable progress.

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

The manager and staff are knowledgeable about the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Staff understand the risks posed to children and how to respond to keep them safe. Inspection report children's home: SC410545 4 Safeguarding incidents in the home are very few. When incidents do occur, they tend to involve children self-harming. The recording of these incidents is thorough and the manager’s oversight is clear. The manager completes debriefs with children and staff. They explore with them patterns and trends in children’s behaviours. This helps everyone to understand the triggers to any self-harming behaviours. As a result, staff understand children’s needs and children feel understood. Staff help children to develop safer strategies to manage their feelings. This reflective practice has helped to reduce incidents of self-harm in the home.

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

However, one child’s risk assessment displays inaccurate information about self- harm. Information implies that one child continues to experience suicidal thoughts. This is not so. Reference to incidents of self-harm do not correspond with incident reports. Thus, it is not always clearly documented what action staff have taken to keep this child safe.

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

Children have a good understanding of their needs. One child told the inspector that they have completed work around grooming. They said that this was because of their vulnerability. One child said, ‘My social worker said I had been groomed. I did not know what the word groomed was when I first came. But staff helped me understand. Now I can keep myself safe.’

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

Staff take calculated risks when helping children to keep safe. One child has a mobile phone agreement. Part of this agreement is the installation of an app to help staff monitor the child’s use of their phone. The agreement also outlines how the child can make progress. This helps children to feel in control of their lives. At the same time, they learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

The manager is a keen advocate of positive reinforcement. Staff praise children for their efforts as well as their achievements. They adapt rewards for each child’s needs. For example, one child who has autism has a pebble jar. When staff praise them, they add pebbles to their jar, and they receive a reward when they get to the top. This encourages positive behaviour as well as meeting their sensory needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about children’s well-being and has high expectations about the standard of care children receive. The manager has a good balance of being visible and ensuring that they have good oversight of the home. She spends quality time with children and is described by staff as being ‘hands on’ in her approach. Children identify the manager as someone who they can confide in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable and experienced. This means that children receive continuity of care. Staff speak highly of the manager. They describe her as being approachable and very supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete a wide variety of training courses which link to the needs of the children. This helps staff to develop their knowledge and understanding of children’s needs. The manager explores their learning during regular and meaningful Inspection report children's home: SC410545 5 supervision. She encourages staff to reflect on the progress children make, in addition to how well they work with one another as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placement plans are child focused and pertinent to children’s needs. Staff provide children with a child-friendly version of their plan. For example, for a younger child, staff have completed a pictorial version. As a result, this child understands what is happening and how staff will care for him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals gave unanimously positive feedback. The manager is an excellent advocate for children, who challenges professionals when appropriate. For example, the plan for one child’s transition from the home was to live independently. The manager advocated successfully that the child required a higher level of support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has various tools to monitor the care children receive. However, there is insufficient use of the information they gather. It is not evident how managers use this information to improve the care children receive. Shortfalls in the home’s recording systems are not always identified. Inspection report children's home: SC410545 6

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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 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

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager developing their monitoring tools to better evidence how they evaluate the care children receive. In addition, how this information is evaluated and used to drive forward improvements. 14 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that children’s risk assessments contain accurate and up-to- date information. 14 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC410545 7

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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’.

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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, West Midlands B24 9QR

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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC410545 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 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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