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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 1 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

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who have experienced trauma which has left them vulnerable and who may have difficulties managing their emotions. The aim of the home is to provide a nurturing environment to support children’s health, well-being and independence.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021 when the home was opened.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the first full inspection since the home registered. Since registration, two children have moved into the home. Children are provided with individualised support which enhances their overall experiences and well-being. The staff have established secure and nurturing relationships with children. As a result, children have the stability that they need to begin to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made sure that children’s stays are positive experiences from the start. The children enjoy a wide range of activities. These include visiting a comic book convention, going to a stock car racing event and regular visits to the cinema and trampoline park. Both children go to a local football club. These opportunities help children to develop their friendship circles and extend their interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have natural interactions with the children that help them to feel at ease and express their views. Children regularly participate in household tasks and contribute to house meetings and well-planned discussion sessions. Consequently, children begin to build their reflection and independence skills, which increases their self-determination.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children engage with therapy as part of the package of care and support. The staff are well trained in therapeutic approaches. A consultant psychologist works closely with the children and staff. The psychologist said that staff are exceptional in implementing the interaction approaches reflected in their model of care. This support enables children to make progress with their behavioural, emotional and social needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have liaised with the placing local authority to try to secure suitable education arrangements when children move in. One child has successfully moved to a local school. The other child has home tutoring while an appropriate school placement is being explored. Staff maintain good routines for children and work closely with schools and alternative education providers to help the children to meet their education targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work hard to provide a welcoming and stimulating environment. The children have contributed significantly to the design of communal areas and personalisation of their bedrooms. Memorabilia and achievements are creatively displayed. This helps create a vibrant home that children are proud of.

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

Children say that they feel safe at the home. Staff have good working partnerships with other agencies such as the local authority, social workers and the police. The effectiveness of these relationships helps children to be safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 4 Staff work well with children to help them to understand their personal safety. Effective one-to-one sessions cover important and emerging topics, including community risks, managing healthy relationships and understanding exploitation. One child has worked alongside staff to write a technology safety agreement. This helps the child to understand what safe online behaviour is and supports safer use of the internet and their mobile phone.

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

Staff actively follow the clear and responsive risk assessments. Informative behaviour plans are in place. The plans help the staff to identify potential triggers for unwanted behaviour and understand how to manage children’s behaviours in a helpful and effective way.

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

The staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and have good knowledge of whistle-blowing procedures. Investigations into allegations against staff are shared with the appropriate agencies and are handled consistently and fairly. This provides assurances that there are suitable systems in place to safeguard children.

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

Physical interventions have rarely been necessary. When they have been needed, interventions are proportionate and used as a last resort. However, when the manager has been involved in the restraint, the supporting records have not always been reviewed by an independent member of staff. Additionally, two records do not contain reports of appropriate debriefs for children and staff. This reduces the learning opportunities that could be generated from these incidents.

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

Safe recruitment processes for full-time staff are sufficient. The current staffing team is stable and the use of agency staff has been minimised. However, managers have not ensured that recruitment records for agency staff contain all the required information. Consequently, this does not reduce the potential for unsuitable people to gain employment at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and qualified for the role. She provides strong child- focused leadership and is a positive role model for staff. The children feel valued and staff are committed to providing good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and manager have established effective relationships with parents and professionals, who are consistently positive about the effectiveness of communication. They are confident that the home is having a positive impact on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. New staff have planned inductions to help them begin to work with the children. Regular and responsive staff supervisions and well- developed training equip staff with the skills to meet the individual needs of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 5 The manager makes use of a range of quality assurance systems, including objective external monitoring by an independent person. However, some elements of wider managerial oversight need improvement. There has been an unreasonable delay in responding to a high-priority action identified in a fire risk assessment. The manager has challenged the organisation in relation to the delay. However, the response from the senior management team has not been timely or effective. This has increased the risk to children in the event of a fire. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, coordinate an effective response when high- priority actions are highlighted in fire risk assessments. 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records of restrictive interventions include children’s views and staff debriefs within required timescales, and that an independent person reviews the records when the manager has been involved in an intervention. 28 February 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, complete the required checks for agency staff prior to their deployment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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 for children’s home: 2613649 8

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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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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Laraine Edmondson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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