Children's home run by Positive Pathways Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 1 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 provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or a learning disability.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since March 2021.

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 19 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/09/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. All the children were spoken to during the inspection. One child has moved into the home and one child has moved on. The child moved to supported accommodation, in line with their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children in the home have made considerable progress from their starting points. Staff have supported children to have positive experiences while living in the home. This includes activities, holidays and through celebrating achievements. Children say that they feel happy and safe in the home. Children say they feel listened to by staff and can give examples of how staff have helped them in areas such as family relationships, identity and education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive excellent quality care from a stable, experienced and nurturing staff team. Staff know the children well and are attuned to children’s individual needs. Staff use research in practice to gain better understanding of children’s needs and how to best support them. They have used this effectively to build positive relationships and emotional resilience with one child, who was reluctant to engage with staff in the home. In addition, staff understand that children can feel stigmatised and a sense of shame about being in care. Staff have worked with children around this, to build confidence and not to feel marginalised or shame because they live in a children’s home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers plan children’s care well. The manager is diligent in her approach when considering new children, ensuring that the staff can meet the child’s needs effectively. She ensures that children have a positive experience when moving into and moving on from the home. The manager ensures that she meets children and that children get to visit the home and meet the staff and other children before they move in. Similarly, when children are due to move on, the manager ensures that staff support children to visit their new home and have a leaving meal to say goodbye to staff and other children. These measures prevent placement breakdown and support children to feel more comfortable and settle quickly into their new homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education and learning. When children are struggling to attend education, staff support them with bespoke in-house education plans, to ensure that any disruption to their learning is minimised. Staff work with children to understand any barriers to learning and help to identify education that meets their individual needs. Through their support, staff have been successful in encouraging one child back into education who was previously refusing to attend. As a result, their attendance improved, and they gained a qualification. This will improve their future life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to prepare for their transition to adulthood. Staff support children to learn new life skills, such as cooking, budgeting and making appointments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 4 Staff support children to see family, friends and those who are important to them. Children’s friends are encouraged to visit the home. One child said the support from staff with their relationships and freedom to see their friends is the best thing about living in the home.

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

Managers and staff have a strong approach to safeguarding. Managers and staff use their knowledge of children’s behaviours and risks and follow up-to-date, detailed written care and risk management plans to mitigate risk and keep children safe. As a result, incidents in the home are rare. All children said that they felt safe.

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

Since the last inspection there have not been any allegations against staff, nor incidents of self-harm, physical intervention or bullying. However, staff are clear on their roles, responsibilities and actions that they would take if incidents were to occur.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have also reduced, with no incidents since March 2024. Staff respond quickly when children are missing from home. Staff search the local area and communicate with police until children are found. When children return, staff warmly welcome them back. Staff talk to children about the reasons they were away from the home and provide them with opportunities to share any concerns they may have.

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

There has been one complaint raised by a child. Managers took prompt action to acknowledge and address the complaint. The manager informed the child of the outcome and ensured that the child was happy with the action taken. This practice ensures that children feel listened to and confident to raise complaints in the future.

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

Staff carry out high-quality reflective, purposeful work to ensure that each child’s voice is heard. Through focused work, house meetings and general chats, staff sensitively help children to be open and talk about their wishes, feelings and concerns. This contributes to them feeling safe and well looked after. One child has recently entered a relationship with another child. Staff have had conversations with the child’s family to enable both children to experience an age-appropriate relationship safely and happily. Staff also have important conversations with children to improve their knowledge on how to keep themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This home is well led. The manager is child-centred and dedicated. She knows the children very well and is clear on their achievements and challenges since living in the home. A resolute and conscientious deputy manager supports the manager. Together, they inspire an ethos of high aspiration and positivity for staff to be ambitious and provide the highest-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has developed highly effective monitoring systems to review the quality of care that children receive. Leaders and managers undertake regular audits to scrutinise Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 5 the performance of the home and children’s outcomes. They use these to drive improvement. The manager also uses the independent person assessments and development plans to continuously develop the service and ensure that children receive excellent quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers provide staff with excellent support and opportunities to develop in their roles. All staff receive a robust induction, regular high-quality supervision and annual performance reviews. There is a comprehensive training plan in place to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to meet children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work with a wide variety of external professionals and agencies to ensure that children receive the best possible care, experiences and future opportunities. The manager is an avid advocate for children and will challenge those that are not making decisions that are in children’s best interests. Feedback from professionals about children’s progress and communication with staff is excellent. One professional wrote: ‘I am extremely happy, [name of child] is too. The staff have taken time to build positive relationships with [name of child]. It feels like family.’ Another said: ‘Communication is very good. The home is discreet, with a strong family feeling. It is a comfortable place to be. Staff have good knowledge of [name of child]. They are professional, child-centred and caring.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Two staff have not completed their level 3 qualification within the timescales stipulated in regulation 32. Senior leaders are aware and have plans in place to rectify this as soon as possible. While this is a shortfall, it has not had an impact on the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 6

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, have the level 3 diploma or equivalent qualification within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.12)

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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: 2557914 7

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Childrens home details

Registered provider: Positive Pathways Limited

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Childrens home details

Registered provider address: Park Business Centre, Hastingwood Industrial Park, Wood Lane, Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands B24 9QR

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2557914 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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