Children's home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Runnymede

Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 1 SC429369 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group 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

A private company runs the home. It provides care for up to four children aged between eight and 18 years with a range of needs and learning disabilities, including autism spectrum diagnoses, social communication issues and associated behavioural and medical needs. At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2023 Full Good 11/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 07/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and one child has moved on from the home. During this inspection, all three children spent time with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children. They know them well and understand and meet their individual needs. Staff are nurturing and fun and provide excellent care for children. Children feel well cared for and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend valuable time with family members who are important to them. Staff support children with their family time. Staff take time to build trust with the children’s families. Parents said that their children are happy and safe. One parent said that they have not had to worry about their child since they have lived at the home because the staff are excellent. Their child is the happiest they have ever seen them. Families feel assured that their children are receiving good child-centred care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two of the children have specialist education places. One child, who recently moved to the home, is being supported to complete AQA awards until an appropriate school place is found. The manager is proactive and has arranged an imminent meeting with the child’s social worker, virtual school staff and the provider’s own internal appointed professional to help to ensure that there are no unnecessary gaps in the child’s education. Children are making good progress at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff explore simple independence goals with children. Goals include personal care, road safety and cooking. One child proudly shared their homemade pastie with the inspector. Another child has made significant progress with their personal care. The manager and staff actively encourage children to develop skills that prepare them for when they leave the home and that increase the children’s comfort and dignity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been on their first ever holiday with staff, to a specialist holiday venue that can meet the child’s needs. One child has a holiday planned to a theme park in Paris. The staff are supporting the child’s mother to go on the holiday with them. The child’s mother said, ‘I am really excited, it is always something I have wanted to do with [my child] but have never been able to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of activities including visits to parks, going on day trips, swimming and enjoying the sensory room at the home. All the children have weekly yoga classes with a yoga instructor. The children take part in activities that improve well-being and encourage healthy lifestyles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and homely. There are photos of the children displayed. Children have personalised their bedrooms. The children enjoy the garden’s play equipment and they benefit from living in a well-kept environment. Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 4

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

There are no incidents of children going missing from the home. One child was going missing prior to moving into this home and they had experienced dangerous situations. The child has not been missing since living at the home. Staff have found creative ways to understand the child and safely meet their climbing needs.

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

One child faces a choking risk. The staff understand and implement the support plan to enable the child to express themselves in a safe way. This has resulted in no behavioural incidents.

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

The staff occasionally use low-level physical interventions; these are appropriate and proportionate. The manager monitors and reviews the records of every physical intervention to look for trends and patterns. This close monitoring means that the manager has good oversight and that physical interventions are used minimally.

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

The manager has ensured that staff have appropriate safeguarding training. The manager discusses safeguarding and uses safeguarding scenarios with staff during meetings. This approach and training help to keep children safe. Social workers and parents are confident in the staff’s ability to safeguard children.

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

Clear safeguarding protocols and procedures guide the staff. However, on one occasion, staff did not immediately report a safeguarding concern about a child to the manager or social worker. The manager responded promptly when the concern was reported to them to ensure that the child was safeguarded. Although the manager completed additional safeguarding workshops and supervision with staff, there was some delay before this training was delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very experienced, has a wealth of knowledge and holds a relevant managerial qualification. She is an excellent role model to the staff. She is dedicated to providing excellent care for children. She is supported by a competent deputy manager. Staff are enthusiastic and caring and provide child-centred care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that staff are provided with excellent training opportunities. A specialist autism ambassador, who has life experience of autism, provides bespoke training to understand the children’s individual needs. The staff have specialist health training to meet children’s complex health needs. The staff have achieved a relevant diploma or are working towards the qualification within agreed timescales. High-quality training means that staff have the tools and knowledge to provide individualised, informed care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a stable staff team. She is working to recruit to vacancies. The manager uses agency staff regularly. She ensures that the agency staff are the same few staff, so that the children receive consistent care. All the staff have regular supervision and staff morale is high. Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 5 The independent person’s reports are of good quality and include feedback from children, parents and professionals. The independent person’s recommendations help the manager to make improvements to the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Two social workers spoken with said that they are happy with the care provided. They said that their children are making excellent progress and they cannot fault the staff and manager at the home. The social workers are impressed with the communication and how proactive the manager and staff are.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognised that the model of care used at the home is outdated. She has extensively researched and has created a model of care that is specific to the children living at the home. She is in the process of embedding the model into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met one requirement, in relation to the six-monthly manager report. One requirement is reinstated in relation to safeguarding. Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff report safeguarding concerns promptly and the manager addresses any staff practice concerns promptly.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 22 August 2024

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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: SC429369 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC429369 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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