Children's home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 1 SC410535 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

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 3 May 2017. However, she has been absent from the home for some time and so has not been in day-to-day charge of the running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 2 March 2022, an interim inspection was carried out. During this interim inspection, significant concerns regarding staff’s safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home were raised. As a result, compliance notices were issued in relation to the protection of children standard, regulation 12, and the leadership and management standard, regulation 13. Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 2 On 25 and 26 April 2022, a full inspection judged the home to be inadequate. During this inspection, significant concerns remained regarding staff’s safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home. In addition, concerns regarding the deprivation of children’s liberty were identified. As a result, compliance notices were reissued in relation to the protection of children standard, regulation 12, the leadership and management standard, regulation 13, and a compliance

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

notice was issued in regard to the restraint and deprivation of liberty standard, regulation 20.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 23 May 2022, a monitoring visit took place to examine the progress made in meeting the three compliance notices. The inspectors found that the compliance notice under regulation 20 was met. However, the compliance notices under regulation 12 and 13 were not met. As a result, these compliance notices were reissued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At this full inspection, the progress made in meeting the two compliance notices was examined. At the time of this inspection, no children were living at the home and no staff were working there. The provider is temporarily closing the service. As a result, Ofsted issued a notice of proposal to impose a three-month condition on the home’s registration following this inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/04/2022 Full Inadequate 02/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 4

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improvement to be good

Children do not receive consistent support with their learning and so do not experience positive education outcomes. Staff do ensure that meetings take place regarding education and children have access to careers advice. However, staff do not use imaginative ways to engage children in education. For example, one child has not attended her exams and there was no plan in place for September for a child who was due to leave secondary school. As a result, children are not supported effectively with their education needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff organise special meals for children before they leave and children are provided with memories of their time at the home. This is good practice. However, work to support children to prepare for their next steps was not evident and this contributed to children’s increased anxieties about their move. Inspectors also found that key documents relating to a child who had moved out had not been passed on.

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improvement to be good

Children are not well supported to develop their independence. There are missed opportunities to provide children with experiences and information that would help them work towards having skills and knowledge to support them in adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Overall, children’s physical and emotional health needs are met. Children have had health assessments when needed and attend routine appointments. However, when children self-administer medication, there are inconsistencies in how this is managed and recorded. For example, risk assessments relating to self-medication are not clear and there are some gaps in recording.

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improvement to be good

Children stay in touch with people who are important to them and staff take account of children’s wishes and feelings in relation to this. As a result, children are able to maintain relationships with those people they are close to, which is positive for their identity.

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improvement to be good

Children do make some progress with aspects of their behaviour that cause concern. For example, incidents of children going missing from home have reduced.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice and their response to risk are inconsistent. Sometimes, staff take effective practical action in response to risk. For example, staff undertake room searches when required. On other occasions, staff do not follow guidance set out in risk assessments. For example, they did not check effectively on a child who was under the influence of alcohol. They did not take into account the presentation of a child when there were concerns about them being under the influence of drugs and they did not fully consider the risks associated with a child smoking in their Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 5 bedroom. This lack of professional curiosity and effective action at times leaves children vulnerable to harm.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have reviewed the sanctions they use and these are more proportionate. However, staff do not address the underlying causes of children’s behaviours and there are missed opportunities to support children well and reduce some risks. As a result, aspects of the compliance notice in relation to regulation 12 issued following the last inspection have not been met.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have systems in place to help them to protect children when they use the internet. Managers have plans to implement a new parental control system but this has not yet been put in place.

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improvement to be good

Managers have reviewed some aspects of the locality of the home. They have now implemented procedures to consider potential risks relating to neighbouring homes. These procedures are in their infancy and their effectiveness is yet to be tested. However, managers have not fully explained the use of close circuit television cameras at the front door.

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improvement to be good

Policies relating to safeguarding children have been reviewed. Staff knowledge of these policies has been considered in supervision and other forums. However, on one occasion, staff had a discussion with a child which was not in line with the provider’s expectations. This shows that inconsistencies in levels of understanding and staff practice remain.

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improvement to be good

Staff take effective action when children are missing from home. They make good efforts to locate children and ensure that information is shared with relevant professionals. While children were living in the home, there was a reduction in episodes of children going missing. Senior leaders ensure that return home interviews take place. This practice contributes to keeping children who do go missing safer. However, staff do not consistently ensure that records relating to missing-from-home incidents are clear and this could lead to information being misinterpreted.

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improvement to be good

Managers recruit staff carefully. This helps to reduce the risk of unsuitable people being employed to care for children.

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good

While improvements have been made, effective monitoring systems are not in place. Quality of care review reports are not submitted to Ofsted in a timely way. In addition, when reports are completed, they lack consultation with children and professionals. Consequently, managers miss opportunities to listen to and take account of the views of others when looking to prioritise improvements and develop the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 6 When serious incidents occur, managers do not always notify Ofsted. This does not help the regulator understand and have oversight of what is happening at the home.

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good

Support provided to children is not always personalised to meet their individual needs. Managers do not pick up on this as part of their monitoring of the service and this shortfall affects the children’s progress.

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good

Managers have not updated the home’s statement of purpose to ensure that it contains up-to-date information. This is not helpful for readers of this document and does not give accurate information about the home and the service it provides.

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good

Staff receive supervision from managers. A written review of staff skills has been completed, which has improved senior leaders’ understanding of staff skills. However, there are occasions when shortfalls in staff practice have not been followed up and this has not been identified by managers.

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good

At the time of the inspection, there were no children living at the home and no staff working there. Senior leaders recognise concerns about staff sufficiency and practice and have temporarily closed the home until new staff are recruited and a planned refurbishment of the home is completed.

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good

Ofsted has issued a notice of proposal to impose a three-month condition on the home’s registration. This means that the provider will have to notify Ofsted of their intention to move children into the home. Ofsted will then undertake a visit to the home to ensure the provider’s readiness to reopen. Because the home is closing temporarily, Ofsted has not reissued the compliance notices. However, Ofsted will monitor any progress made to improve the quality of the service prior to the home reopening. Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 7

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are supported in working towards adulthood. 7 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; 7 November 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 8 help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager is to ensure that children are supported to undertake independent study. The registered manager must ensure that children understand the importance of learning and that staff provide opportunities for children to learn informally.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the previous inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff consistently follow the guidance set out in these assessments and that staff fully understand all aspects of their role in safeguarding children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at a previous inspection and has been restated. 7 November 2022

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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— 7 November 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 9 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that systems in place oversee effectively the care provided for children. Incidents must be evaluated to ensure that staff learn and are supported to develop their practice.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at a previous inspection and has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (3)(a) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is up to date and that the home is providing support to the children as outlined in the statement of purpose. 7 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that medication records contain accurate and clear information in relation to children who self- medicate. 7 November 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 10 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (b)(e)) 7 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 7 November 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the location risk assessment contains up-to-date and clear information about surveillance cameras at the front door of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person should ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 11

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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: SC410535 12

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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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Inspectors

Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Rebecca Quested, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC410535 13 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

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

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