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

Inspection report children's home: SC374405 1 SC374405 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children and young people who have learning disabilities. The manager is suitably qualified and has substantial experience. She has been registered since 2015.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 17 December 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC374405 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2019 Full Good 05/12/2018 Full Outstanding 06/02/2018 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC374405 3

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outstanding

Children make outstanding progress. For some children, the progress they make in their daily personal care routines significantly improves their overall quality of life. A strong focus on developing communication and independence skills contributes to children’s progress and achievements in this area.

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outstanding

Children and staff have excellent relationships. Staff know and understand the children very well. They talk warmly and positively about the strengths and achievements of children. Children trust staff and seek physical interaction and affection from them. The home provides a calm and settled environment in which children are relaxed, and happy to engage in activities with staff.

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are well met. Children are thoroughly prepared for future health appointments. Photos, symbols and role play are used to inform children and show them what will happen at an appointment. This supports children to attend routine health appointments and have important healthcare procedures, such as vaccinations.

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outstanding

All children attend school and are making good progress. Before moving into the home, one child was not attending school due to anxieties about school transport. Using things known to motivate the child, and good planning with the taxi company and the school, have resulted in the child attending school full time. Similarly, another child started at a new school and, through careful and thoughtful planning, he is also attending full time.

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outstanding

Children’s views are sought through a variety of means. Staff are skilled at observing children and picking up on non-verbal cues and changes in their behaviour. This is used alongside key-work conversations to support children to make decisions about their daily activities. Children make decisions about changes to the home décor and have recently chosen wallpaper for living areas.

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outstanding

All children have independent life-skill targets that they are working towards. Progress is tracked and reviewed through regular, planned team meetings. Specialist equipment is sought to support children in some tasks. As a result, children make significant progress in developing their skills. This attention to tracking progress and providing children with the additional resources they need at the right time accelerates children’s progress.

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

Children are kept safe, and they feel safe. There have been no allegations or referrals to the designated officer since the last inspection. Staff have a good Inspection report children's home: SC374405 4 understanding of safeguarding processes and know what they should do if they have a concern.

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

Some children present significant risks to themselves through self-injury. Comprehensive behaviour-support plans and risk assessments ensure that staff provide the right support when a child is in crisis. Staff always seek appropriate medical advice for the child after any incident of self-injury.

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

Physical interventions are risk assessed and recorded clearly. The use of physical restraint/holding is very carefully assessed. Behaviour-management plans which involve higher-end restraint are considered and agreed with a multi-disciplinary team and include input from parents and social workers. There is excellent management oversight of all physical interventions. Every incident record is read, and managers follow up on any concerns. This helps to develop staff practice and keeps children safe.

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

This level of scrutiny of incidents also means that managers have an overview of patterns and trends. Managers quickly identify changes in children’s behaviour and are proactive in seeking to understand the reasons for this. Additional or alternative support is quickly identified and provided. This has a positive impact on the well- being of the children.

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

For some children, the use of audio-visual monitors at night-time has been agreed at multi-disciplinary meetings. Although this is documented in care plans, the review process for determining whether they are still needed is not clear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The strong and effective management team has a systematic oversight of all aspects of the home and the care provided. Managers read children’s records, thereby ensuring that they know what is happening. This enables managers to respond quickly to any concerns. This oversight, combined with an ethos of continuous improvement, means that children make outstanding progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

New staff receive excellent support. A recently appointed staff member was ‘taken aback’ by the level of support they received when they first started. A ‘buddy’ system ensures that new staff have an identified person to go to for support. Regular supervision and scheduled meetings with their ‘buddies’ ensure that new staff feel welcomed, and they quickly become core members of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff development is a priority. Monthly team meetings have an element of learning and development. All staff have a subscription to two online learning platforms. One is for regular training and the other for research and reading. The appraisal system is comprehensive and ensures that staff development is continuous and is monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff work in partnership with parents. Care and planning documents are informed by parents’ views. Managers listen to ‘niggles’ raised by Inspection report children's home: SC374405 5 parents and take their concerns seriously. This means that any concerns are dealt with promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The communication with other agencies and support provided to them are excellent. Important information about children is shared with agencies in a timely manner. The information is detailed and accurate which helps other agencies provide the required support to the child. One professional said, ‘This is one of the best homes we’ve worked with.’ Inspection report children's home: SC374405 6

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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: SC374405 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Ltd

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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: SC374405 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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