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

Inspection report children's home: SC417031 1 SC417031 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider to care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered.

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

Information about this children’s home

We last visited the setting on 26 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC417031 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2020 Full Good 26/06/2018 Full Good 14/06/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC417031 3

p.2

improvement to be good

There are two children living in the home. They are cared for by a consistent team of staff who are committed to providing the children with comfort and support. However, a lack of detailed care plans, and strategies to guide the staff in the most effective ways of meeting the wider needs of children, is affecting the children’s progress.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s care is inconsistent. Not all of the staff are aware of the strategies that are in place. This means that the children have different experiences of living in this home. Two children have recently left the home with different experiences. For one child, the move was positive; for another, the local authority made the decision that the child would not return. The children who remain in the home feel more relaxed and settled now some of the children have moved on.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support the children to attend education. Staff make efforts to help the children to attend, providing transport and support, and most of the time this is successful. However, the children’s attendance is varied. Staff are aware of the reasons for this but where attendance is difficult for the children, the staff have not been effective at engaging them in alternative education.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support children to stay healthy and attend appointments where necessary. Health plans are in place, and staff manage the monitoring and administration of medication well. Where external professionals require health needs to be monitored, this is in place. However, the records do not provide sufficient detail to evaluate the effectiveness of the work completed.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children enjoy a range of activities outside of the home. Trips such as outings to Blackpool, Glasgow and nearby community farms, help children to develop confidence, enjoy new experiences and have fun. This helps the children to learn social skills and how to engage with the world around them, which is important as they grow into their adulthood.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children do spend time with friends in the community to varying degrees. However, when in the home children spend a lot of time away from staff in their bedrooms, sometimes dealing with emotional crisis on their own. Staff support children well when incidents are known and are caring and nurturing in their approach. However, there is a lack of a proactive approach to dealing with situations and children’s feelings to prevent further incidents occurring. This links to the lack of care planning and agreed strategies to manage behaviour.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff do not use sanctions as a response to behaviour, but incentives are in place, and children are rewarded regularly. This helps children to learn positive ways of managing their own behaviour. Inspection report children's home: SC417031 4

p.3

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

Staff help the children to become increasingly safe. Staff access a wide range of external resources to help the children address their emotional needs which result from their early life experiences. Staff talk through the incidents that occur, with the children, and effective risk management plans are in place to address the children’s known risks.

p.4

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

Staff regard the safety of the children as paramount. Professionals and families speak positively about the safety of the children. Progress from the children’s starting points is positive; some children have now reduced their missing-from-home incidents, and some are now better equipped to manage their emotions safely. However, this approach is reactive and deals with the immediate incidents rather than the underlying cause of children’s emotional difficulties.

p.4

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

Episodes of the children going missing-from-home are reducing. Staff manage these episodes well and keep family and professionals informed throughout. Staff welcome children back when they return and offer comfort to children to try and minimise future episodes. The children have responded well to this approach.

p.4

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

Individual key-work sessions are held with the children in response to incidents or where risks are known. At these sessions, the staff share information to help the children to reflect on and potentially change their behaviour to minimise future risks.

p.4

good

The management of the home has been affected by a range of issues in recent months, not least a period where COVID-19 affected the staff group significantly.

p.4

good

Managers continue to be ambitious for the children and encourage the staff to help children have high expectations of themselves.

p.4

good

Staff meetings and individual staff supervision sessions do take place in line with the organisation’s policy. However, the contents of the records are brief and do not include discussions about the needs and progress of the children. In addition, supervision is not reflective. Therefore, the staff are not provided with an opportunity to address any concerns that they may have in a constructive forum. The managers operate an open-door policy which supports the staff but does not lead to changes in practice across the team. Staff feel listened to and supported. A member of staff stated, ‘The manager is always there for us if we need to talk about anything.’

p.4

good

There is a locality risk assessment in place that covers the known risks in the area. However, there are potential risks from recent incidents in the community that are not included. This leaves the children at potential risk of harm. Inspection report children's home: SC417031 5 Training for the staff takes place regularly. The organisation has introduced new certified training to help the staff understand the trauma behind the behaviours of the children. However, not all the staff have had this training. In addition, the staff have not completed any training to meet the specific needs of the children, or their training is significantly out of date. This leads to a lack of opportunity to address some of the individual needs of the children and contributes to inconsistencies in staff practice.

p.4

good

Recruitment practice generally follows safer recruitment guidance. However, when the staff return back to the organisation after periods away, full and complete checks are not undertaken. This means that the managers are not exploring all the avenues of information relevant to the employment of staff. As such, the managers cannot be assured that all the staff are vetted as required.

p.5

good

The manager does have monitoring systems in place. However, these did not identify the shortfalls in practice found at this inspection. Therefore, the manager’s systems are not fully effective. Inspection report children's home: SC417031 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)) 30 November

p.6

Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour;

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 30 November Inspection report children's home: SC417031 7 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

p.6

Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(ix))

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential;

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 30 November

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.7

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; 30 September Inspection report children's home: SC417031 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(c))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the daily recordings. 30 October 2021

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1)) 30 September

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.8

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: SC417031 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Olubunmi Fabusuyi

p.9

Inspector

Susan Atkinson-Millmoor, Regulatory Inspection Manager Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC417031 10 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.9

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10