Children's home run by Pathway Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 1 Registered provider: Pathway Children’s Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to four children with learning disabilities. It is part of a private organisation that has other registered homes for both children and adults. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected, or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The provider has not ensured that all children have positive moves to the home. The staff are unable to meet the needs of a child who recently moved in. Staff called the police, and the child was consequently arrested twice during their visits to the home. The registered manager shared their concerns with the senior leaders that the staff were not able to meet the child’s needs. However, senior leaders continued to arrange the child’s move to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The combination of children living together is not appropriate. Children do not have positive relationships with each other. Children are being bullied, or fear being bullied, which leads to them join in with the negative behaviours of others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children who use communication aids are not supported to use these. Another child removed a child’s communication prompts from the communal areas, which reduced their opportunities to communicate. Furthermore, there are not sufficient staff trained in one child’s communication method.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children are not in education. The staff do not make structured plans for the day, which leads to children becoming bored or anxious. Children show this through their behaviour, meaning that the home is not calm or relaxed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children who do attend school are making positive progress and there are sound links with education providers and the virtual school. The manager has actively challenged professionals at the local authority who are struggling to find suitable education for a child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children who have lived in the home for a longer period have made some progress. This includes managing time in the community and spending time with their family. Children’s plans in this instance are clear and show the progress that they have made. Some children have access to a range of activities that build their skills and confidence. For example, a child has bought their own toys for the first time after a significant effort from them to be able to access shops. Another child has painted their own bedroom with staff support, and one child has allowed family to visit the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s physical health needs are generally well met. All food is freshly made in the home and children are trying new textures and flavours. Medication is administered and monitored effectively.

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

Staff do not understand or manage risk well. For example, leaders and managers failed to report a significant issue to the police and there was a lack of professional curiosity about the risk of exploitation for a child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 4 The registered manager and responsible individual do not have access to the recruitment or training records for temporary and cover staff from within the organisation. There was not a full safer recruitment check on a member of staff who lived overseas prior to them working in the home. Therefore, leaders are unable to assess their suitability to work with children.

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

Relationships between children are poor and children do not feel safe with their peers. Staff do not understand the child’s needs or how they communicate through their behaviour. Staff do not consistently develop positive relationships with children. For example, staff view children as ‘attention seeking’ when they are displaying their distress.

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

Records of incidents and physical interventions are not well recorded. The interventions used are not detailed in an easy-to-read manner, and incidents are not recorded effectively. Additionally, children and staff are not provided with the time or space to reflect on incidents. This is due to the high volume of incidents and the whole team, including managers, being under pressure to manage children’s needs. This does not promote a learning environment, keep children safe, or reduce the frequency of incidents.

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

The positive behaviour support leads in the organisation have been supporting staff through meetings in the home. However, they are trained in adult care and support, with limited experience of children’s homes. Additionally, they have not adequately considered the impact of children’s trauma.

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

Children who have lived in the home for a longer period have engaged well in their reward programmes and have greatly enjoyed choosing their reward prizes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management of the home has not led to consistently positive placements for children. The registered manager has been overruled by senior leaders regarding decisions on children moving in to the home. The responsible individual does not have a sufficient understanding of the differences between adult and children’s social care, which leads to poor decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not have the skills, knowledge or experience to meet the needs of the children. Many staff are used to working at homes for adults in the organisation and are inexperienced in working with children. Staff do not have the training required to meet the needs of a child with diagnosed developmental trauma. Six staff have not had training to help them to understand the home’s approach to de-escalation and managing physical intervention, and not enough permanent staff have training in a communication tool used by one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children do not have consistent staff caring for them. Forty nine different members of staff have worked in the home since August 2023. This undermines the relationships Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 5 between children and staff and impacts on staff knowledge and their ability to meet the children’s needs. Children’s needs are therefore not being met in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have failed to adequately monitor the home. The manager does not receive adequate support from senior leaders and has had only two individual supervision sessions since October 2023.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff talk positively about the manager. They say that she is supportive, and they can contact her at any time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The reports from the independent visitor are clear, provide a sound critical view of the home, and identify shortfalls and areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 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

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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on to progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 7 feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s days are planned to meet their education needs. 7 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 8 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b)) Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 9 In particular, ensure that staff understand children’s communication needs, there are positive relationships between the children, and children understand healthy relationships online and in person.

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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 that staff—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk is understood in regard to online concerns and exploitation, instructions from partner agencies are followed, and children feel safe with the children who live in their home. 7 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive well-planned care from the home and have a positive experience of admission and transition processes.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that moves are well planned, and the management team agrees that the home can meet the child’s needs. Additionally, ensure that staff have the skills and training 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 10 to meet the needs of the child prior to them moving in to the home.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 7 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have the training required to meet children’s needs, including communication and behaviour support. 7 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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 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)(a)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 11 In particular, ensure that children and staff have time to reflect on incidents and that records are clear on the holds that are used.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

The responsible person must ensure that all relevant checks are made prior to staff working in the home; this also includes those who come to work form other homes in the organisation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, and 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: 2687885 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Afon House, Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1TL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tendai Funganjera

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Inspectors

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Sharron Dormand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2687885 13 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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