Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 1 SC410537

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Registered provider: Positive Pathways Limited

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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 provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional needs and/or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023 and is suitably qualified.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/08/2022 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Good 05/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that staff are skilled and equipped to meet all children’s needs. This enables the staff to prepare and support children well, so that their moves into the home are smooth and successful. One child who lived at the home for over 3 years has successfully moved back to live with their parent. This was in line with their local authority care plan and views and wishes. Another child living in the home has been served notice, this was due to an escalation in unsafe behaviours and disengagement from the home which has impacted on the other children living in the home. The manager is supporting this child throughout the transition process and exhausted all options prior to making this decision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and has a family atmosphere. Children’s belongings fill the home, and their photos are proudly on display. Soft furnishings help to create a nurturing environment. Children personalise their bedrooms and this allows them to take a sense of pride in their home and promotes their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children are warm, affectionate and loving. Their positive relationships are clear to see. Children form strong relationships built on trust and affection from staff. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the individual needs of children. This positive regard and culture help children to make good progress in areas of their lives. Children like spending time with staff and enjoy living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in activities with staff that they enjoy. This provides children with the opportunity to gain new experiences and have fun. Staff identify and nurture children’s interests well. They carefully consider how activities help children’s development. For example, children have enjoyed go karting, trampolining, boxing and have been on holiday to Burnham on Sea.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team successfully help children to develop and maintain relationships with their family and friends. Staff keep in regular contact with families to keep them up to date on the day-to-day progress of their children. One family member said, ‘They have improved so much since living at the home, it is so nice to see them happy again.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

None of the children are currently attending any form of education. The manager has worked hard to identify and understand the barriers to learning for each child, has maintained persistent communication with all educational professionals and is exploring suitable provisions that reflect all children’s learning needs. Although children do have daily routines around interim plans for completing education in the home, this is not always completed consistently. Children will often spend most of their education hours in bed. This does not help children to maintain a daily routine that supports their academic needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 4

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

The manager and staff are clear about their responsibilities to protect children. Staff understand the child protection policy and know how to report a safeguarding concern. The manager has an effective system for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Liaison with professionals is effective. Information is shared swiftly with professionals to avoid delay and to ensure that children are protected from harm. The manager takes guidance from these professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe.

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

The positive relationships that staff form with the children are a significant protective factor in helping to keep them safe. As a result incidents of restraint are rare. Staff physically intervene when children become unsettled and show behaviours which place themselves or others at risk of harm. Staff understand the reasons behind the children’s behaviour and provide good support to children afterwards. This helps children to move on from the incident. The recording is effective and clear, and reflection and debriefs take place to help the staff to reflect on their practice and explore the triggers for the incidents, including how they could respond differently in the future. The manager provides scrutiny of all incidents and measures of control to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate. Good management oversight and prompt action to address issues means that children are treated fairly and stay safe.

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a great understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and potential risks posed to them. Children’s risk assessments are detailed and clear. Risks are appropriately assessed. Staff are directed in how to manage and mitigate the risks identified for each child. Observations show that staff are highly skilled in diversion, distraction and de-escalation, which demonstrates that the strategies identified are being used and are effective.

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

Staff educate children about risk. Children take part in planned discussions and safeguarding scenarios are discussed to address identified risks and raise their awareness about topics of concern. This direct work includes missing from home, healthy relationships, county lines and police stop and search powers. This positive work enhances children’s knowledge of risk and allows them to take the lead in their learning.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow appropriate procedures. Searches conducted by staff and persistent attempts to make contact show children they are cared about. Proactive collaboration with parents, local authorities and police supports children to return home safely. Missing-from-care incident records are clear, enabling thorough monitoring of these events by the manager. All children’s missing episodes have decreased from their starting points. Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about the service and advocating for children’s views. She, alongside the deputy manager, role model a nurturing and therapeutic approach to children’s care. The manager has good knowledge of children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living at the home. She is fully involved in children’s lives. She is clear about the progress children are making and has high aspirations for what they can achieve. She is enthusiastic in her efforts to be a trusted person for children. This makes her a good role model for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created an open and inclusive culture that places children at the centre of practice. She values and promotes good teamwork well. As a result, children build positive relationships with the staff, whose skilled and caring practice increases the bonds between them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established good connections with partner agencies. Professionals are unanimously positive about the communication with the staff team and about the care provided for the children One social worker spoke positively of the progress that their child had made in such a short space of time; ‘They now have the ability to feel safe, this is highlighted in them returning to the home, a reduction in missing episodes, engagement with the team and a reduction in offending. They are more open to engaging in activities and finding a suitable education provision. This is something that they have never been open to before.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers’ monitoring systems are embedded into practice, which ensures that they have a good oversight of the home and take action to address issues as they arise. Oversight of the home is effective. They, therefore, have a good understanding of how well this home is supporting children and the extent to which the aims for each child have been achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. Team meetings and supervisions take place monthly and are used as a place for reflection and learning. Important issues are tracked and discussed, and children are at the centre of all practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working at the home. The managers are well regarded, and they are nurturing towards the team. This means that staff work in an environment where they feel well supported. There is effective support and challenge, and the managers ensure that all actions are reviewed. This means that poor practice is addressed effectively, and that good practice is promoted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 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, The 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 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children have set routines in place to promote the importance of attending education. 01 September

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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: SC410537 7

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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

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Kate Savage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC410537 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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