Children's home run by Pathways Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 1 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 17 May 2023 and has been registered with Ofsted since 20 May 2024. She is currently working towards her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to two of the children.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2023 Full Good 06/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/06/2022 Full Inadequate 12/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. Careful consideration before the child moved in helped to ensure that the children are well suited and this helped the child to settle quickly.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the importance of education. Children who have historically struggled with education and attendance are helped and encouraged to re-engage. One child started a new school on a reduced timetable and is now attending full time. The child has excellent attendance and is making good academic progress, either meeting or exceeding their targets. The child is also enjoying training with and playing for the school football team. Alternative education provisions have been identified for two children and there are plans for them to start attending schools in the autumn term. As an interim education measure, the children access reduced education timetables online. Staff promote and encourage the children’s engagement with the online sessions. If attendance dips, this is revisited and discussed with the children and relevant professionals.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met, and healthy lifestyles are promoted. Staff support children to attend routine appointments and engage in exercise. When children have specific health needs, staff ensure that they have access to specialist health professionals. For example, staff have worked with a parent to prepare and support one child to attend hospital for appointments and an operation.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see the people who are important to them. Family time is well planned between the registered manager, other professionals and family members. Where appropriate, this progresses to children spending extended time with family members at weekends and during school holidays. In keeping with their plan, children are supported by staff to spend time with family members at agreed venues.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager continues to develop the home’s environment with the input of the children and staff. Overall, the home is clean and tidy. The children’s bedrooms are personalised in keeping with children’s wishes and the downstairs living areas have been redecorated. Other areas of the home and garden still need attention. For example, garden furniture is broken, fence panels are damaged and locked areas, such as cupboards, are not well organised.

p.3

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

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the risks posed to individual children. When incidents occur or allegations are made, actions are taken to ensure that children are safe. Children’s risk management plans are updated to ensure staff understand how to support the children moving forward. These are shared with Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 4 partner agencies, and where appropriate, stability meetings take place to ensure that any additional actions required are implemented.

p.3

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

The responsible individual and registered manager have a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures, and when necessary, make timely referrals to partner agencies, including the police and the local authority designated officer (LADO). Internal investigations are conducted by a designated person from within the organisation who is independent of the home. Outcomes and actions from these investigations are shared with the LADO and partner agencies. Appropriate action is taken to ensure the welfare of children and staff while investigations are concluded. The outcomes of investigations are used to action change and develop future practice.

p.4

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

Children are helped to manage their emotions and learn about risk with the support of staff. When children’s behaviour changes or they are unsettled, staff understand this is linked to wider issues they are struggling to understand or cope with, or historical trauma. Since the last inspection, there has been one missing-from-care incident, which was managed appropriately. There have been no physical interventions and two consequences.

p.4

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

Staff work closely with partner agencies and parents to safeguard the children. The responsible individual and registered manager have a good understanding of patterns and trends in incidents in and outside the home. They review incidents and investigate complaints and work with staff to adjust practice where appropriate.

p.4

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

Staff recruited to work at the home are subject to all necessary checks. This helps to ensure that staff who work at the home are safe to do so.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and registered manager are clear about the home’s strengths and the areas they wish to develop. They use internal and external auditing tools to inform improvement plans. For example, they are currently commissioning additional substance abuse training for staff and educational sessions for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of safeguarding concerns, complaints and the progress of the children. She identifies where there are shortfalls in staff practice and addresses any gaps through single-subject supervision sessions, team meetings and additional training. She is transparent with partner agencies and will hold them to account.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are positive about the registered manager’s support. Training and regular team meetings, supervision sessions and appraisals help to ensure that they can meet the individual needs of the children they care for.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good partnership working between staff and professionals from other agencies. External professionals are positive about the care and support that the children receive and the communication with the registered manager and staff. Overall, they say that there are improvements in the behaviour and confidence of children and that staff have Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 5 an understanding approach when children are struggling. Where the children require additional support, relevant professionals are involved in developing strategies and plans, for example sourcing alternative education and helping a child to engage in their plans and the day-to-day life of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 6

p.4

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. The children’s home should provide a homely, domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

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: 2633127 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2633127 8 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. 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

p.7

Inspector

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8