Children's home run by Pathway Care Solutions Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 1 SC482275 Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Group Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. It is registered to care for four children who may have emotional and social difficulties At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2017. The manager also manages another setting.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

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

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2024 Full Good 23/08/2022 Full Good 29/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children have trusted and secure relationships with staff. Staff know how to communicate with each of the children and know when they need support or space. Two children rated the home as more than ‘10 out of 10’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well at school. They are all in full-time education and making progress. One child has recently started secondary school and is taking the bus to school independently. This is a huge development that staff have helped the child to achieve.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have action-packed holiday plans and are kept busy with day trips to the beach, local attractions and theme parks. Children’s views are sought on the activities that they want to do. Children sometimes do activities together and sometimes individually. This depends on the children’s needs and wishes . Photo books support the children to have an account of these memories; however, these are not always kept up to date.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Door alarms are on the entrances to the home and on children’s bedrooms. Window restrictors are on every window. There is no policy in place regarding the use of these alarms and restrictions. Furthermore, the reasoning for their use is not captured in children’s plans, and the arrangements are not kept under regular review. Consequently, leaders and managers have not ensured that these restrictions are necessary or proportionate for each individual child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Photos of the children and pictures they have made are proudly displayed. Two of the children’s bedrooms were messy. One child’s floor was completely covered in toys and models, preventing them from being able to walk across the floor safely. Children are not consistently encouraged to tidy their bedrooms.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to learn about their bodies and development. Resources are used effectively by staff to help children understand these changes, and sensitive conversations take place with them about this.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Efforts are made to provide nutritious and home-cooked meals, and children are involved with planning the main meals. However, for one child support to have a healthy diet is lacking.

p.3

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

Staff know the risks to the children well and follow children’s plans when incidents happen. Two of the children spoke about being able to talk to staff if they felt worried.

p.3

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

Staff are quick to respond when children go missing from home. These situations are usually brief, and police are contacted where necessary. Children are warmly welcomed Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 4 when they come home. Independent return home interviews are requested, although it is not always clear in records if they have taken place.

p.3

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

Restraint is used appropriately, and incidents are detailed clearly. Conversations take place with the child afterwards to help them understand why they were restrained. Records of conversations with the staff involved are not always available. This makes it difficult to see the learning from these incidents. Management oversight of these incidents does not consider if other interventions could have been used effectively, or whether an alternative action could lead to a different outcome.

p.4

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

Children receive support to manage their feelings. Individual sessions between staff and children support children to talk about their feelings. Children are also supported to have positive relationships with each other. There have been a few occasions when children have hurt each other. These incidents were managed well. Professional support was requested to help with one child’s sensory needs.

p.4

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

When an allegation of harm was made against a member of staff, this was reported quickly, and advice was sought. An internal investigation involved further conversations with the child to ensure that their views were understood.

p.4

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

Children know how to complain, and they are taken seriously and responded to sensitively.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place, meaning that leaders can make suitable decisions about the adults who are supporting the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home is operated by an experienced manager who knows the children well. When they come home from school, children seek out the manager to talk and play with them. The manager has been managing another home recently and this has meant that they have spent less time at the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak of feeling supported and say they enjoy working here. The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children. This is seen through their interactions with children and in their written records.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers lack systems to monitor and review care, such as the number of restraints used for a particular child and whether these are linked to specific days, times or activities. This means that patterns and themes are not identified, which, if identified, could help to prevent future incidents. Furthermore, management oversight of incidents lacks consideration of whether alternatives could have been used and what could be different next time. This means that important opportunities to learn from these incidents are lost. Supervision takes place, although there have been gaps in recent months. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 5 Wider professionals and parents speak highly of the progress that children have made and the quick communication they receive from staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

p.6

Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, this means that any use of door alarms or window restrictors is clearly identified in the child’s plan and steps to reduce the use of them are set out. The registered person should review the use of these restrictions regularly. 25 October 2024

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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)(h)) 25 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 7 In particular, the registered person should ensure that robust systems are in place for monitoring and reviewing children’s care so that learning is identified. Additionally, managers should ensure that staff routinely receive supervision to identify learning and training needs.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they speak with staff after incidents of restraint in the home to reflect on practice and identify and share any learning identified. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.56)

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide children with a nurturing, supportive and welcoming home environment. In particular, items should not be left to clutter the floor and prevent children walking safely across the room. In addition, children should be fully supported to value and take pride in their bedrooms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with balanced and nutritious meals that are suitable for each child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.8)

p.7

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: SC482275 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pathway Care Solutions Group Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

p.8

Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482275 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

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 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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9