Children's Home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Essex

Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 1 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to five children aged between 8 and 17 who may have experienced neglect and/or emotional abuse. The children may have had a traumatic experience that has left them vulnerable and as a result they may find it difficult to manage in society.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The suitably qualified and experienced manager registered with Ofsted in 2019.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/08/2019 Full Good 26/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s therapeutic model of care is fully embedded into staff practice. Staff develop positive relationships with children in a short space of time. Children trust the staff and can talk to them about their experiences and feelings. Children can make use of weekly therapy sessions and are supported to access community- based emotional well-being services when appropriate. Children said that the staff are the best bit about living at the home. The bonds created mean that children know that there is always someone there for them and to look out for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care and support at this stable, nurturing home. They feel consulted on about all aspects of their lives and that staff care about their well-being and prospects. Children enjoy planning activities and are encouraged and supported to voice their thoughts about their future goals and plans. This level of involvement gives them a sense of pride and personal ownership. Parents and professionals can see from the nurturing interactions between staff and children that the staff really care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s photo collection of shared memorable moments during the COVID-19 pandemic has been collected into a ‘lockdown love’ photo album. This includes photos of trips to the beach to go crabbing, themed meals, party and pamper nights, birthdays and creative activities, such as making planters for the garden from deck boards. One child has been particularly successful in kick-boxing; a new activity that they have recently taken up. Staff and the child were very proud when the child was recently awarded their red belt.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that she understands and can meet a child’s needs before they move into the home. The manager carefully matches children well with the existing group and with staff skills and experience. Any additional needs, such as managing epilepsy, are well catered for, with staff undertaking additional relevant training. As a result, it is rare for a child to move on in an unplanned way. On one occasion when this did occur, the organisation supported the child in a bespoke provision with familiar staff. This enabled the placing local authority to source an appropriate home for the child and reduce the risk of further unplanned endings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that the building is homely and well decorated. Children are rightly proud of their home. They enjoy decorating their bedrooms in their own personal style.

p.3

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

Effective help and protection are at the core of all practice at the home. Staff are suitably trained in safeguarding, including understanding and managing exploitation and county lines and preventing radicalisation. Staff are clear on how and to whom they should raise any safeguarding concerns. The manager ensures Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 4 that there is a comprehensive response to any disclosures or safeguarding incidents.

p.3

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

Staff understand the individual risks for the children and work hard in partnership with them and other agencies to reduce these risks. Due to the positive support that children receive from the staff, the frequency of incidents of children going missing from the home and risks of exploitation reduce. For some children, this has meant that the courts have been able to remove deprivation of liberty orders that were previously in place.

p.4

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

The consistent but flexible boundaries help children to feel safe. Staff are skilled at keeping calm and de-escalating situations. They use the minimum levels of intervention required and understand the thresholds for physical and environmental restraint. Children said that they always feel safe and well protected. The positive relationships between children and staff are a strong protective factor which help keep children safe.

p.4

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour through reflective discussion and praise and reward systems. Sanctions are used infrequently and financial reparation is used only as a response to property damage. On occasion, these financial reparations are not recorded sufficiently clearly and it is difficult to understand how much the child has contributed towards the repair.

p.4

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

Children are involved in the development of their support plans, which helps them begin to better understand risk. They develop individual journey planners when initially allowed unsupervised free time. However, one child’s missing-from-home risk assessment guidance lacks clarity for staff on when the child should be deemed as being missing.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high expectations of her staff and provides good- quality leadership. The manager and staff work well in partnership with parents and professionals. The manager is an effective advocate for children and challenges partner agencies when she feels that decisions are not being made in a child’s best interests.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are very positive about working at the home and refer to the manager as ‘exemplary’. Staff consistently feel well supported by the manager and deputy manager, who work well as a team. Effective staff induction, supervision and support ensure that new staff gain suitable skills and confidence and are well supported to understand the therapeutic ethos of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager keeps staff training needs under review to reflect new or changing needs of the children. The comprehensive menu of online training is supplemented with relevant face-to-face training in specific areas. This ensures that staff remain up to date in their skills and knowledge. Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 5 Record-keeping, on occasion, does not always provide the required clarity in relation to sanctions and missing-from-home guidance. Staff vetting processes are suitably robust but, on occasions, lack attention to detail. Staff qualifications are not always recorded as seen and verified.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s review of the quality of care at the home has not considered how the home can continue to grow and develop. Therefore, opportunities for reflection and to drive improvement are potentially lost. Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that, as set out in regulations 31–33, they maintain good employment practice. In particular, ensure that copies of relevant qualifications are held on staff recruitment files. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording of financial sanctions. In addition, ensure that each child’s missing-from-home risk assessment and protocols provide clarity as to when the child is to be defined as missing. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

p.6

Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.6

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: 1230725 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olubunmi Fabusuyi

p.7

Inspector

Joanna Heller, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1230725 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8