Children's Home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Essex

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 1 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 12 December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were four children living at the home. All four children were seen during the inspection. No children have moved in or out of the home since the full inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff support children’s education. All the children attend school. One child is on a reduced timetable currently to support their move on to school. They are gradually increasing their time at school. Staff from the home and the school work closely together to support the child.

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Findings from the inspection

Changes have been made to recruitment checks. No new staff have been recruited since the last inspection. The manager has amended the questions that are asked when verifying references. This means that more robust systems are in place to check the suitability of potential staff.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff offer children opportunities to share their views. However, the conversations about risks are limited, and staff are not always curious enough to open up conversations with children. This means that children may not fully understand the risks that they face or develop new ways to manage them.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff do not always talk to children following any concerns about the dynamics between children. This does not help children to develop positive peer interactions.

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Findings from the inspection

When incidents occur, staff support children appropriately. However, the records of the strategies that staff use during incidents are limited. A workshop on recording and reporting has taken place. The manager is aware that this is an area of development for the staff team. The lack of detail in records means that it is not possible for the manager and staff to evaluate what strategies work well for each child.

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s plans detail the risks that they face. However, the plans do not link to the therapeutic models used at the home. This means that clear strategies for staff to follow are not described in the plans. This does not support staff to provide consistent responses to children.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have not all attended training in the therapeutic approaches identified in the statement of purpose. Therefore, not all staff know how to work in a consistent, therapeutic way with the children.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager is dedicated to supporting the children and staff. She is aware of the areas of development for the home. She has an action plan that she is following to make improvements. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 3 Managers and leaders have oversight of records following all incidents. However, when actions are identified in the manager’s comments, there is not always evidence to show if these have been followed.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has met the four requirements from the last inspection. Two new requirements and a recommendation have been raised. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/08/2023 Full Good 03/08/2022 Full Good 13/01/2022 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 5

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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

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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

staff are curious in conversations with children and use opportunities to support them to understand risks and appropriate behaviours;

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Requirement Due date

incident records detail what strategies staff used to support children;

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Requirement Due date

children’s plans detail what strategies staff should use during incidents. 20 December

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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 20 December Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 6 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are trained in the organisation’s preferred models of care and that any actions identified following management reviews are completed.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported to understand how to build appropriate friendships with other children and that any concerns between children are well managed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.7) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 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

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 8 regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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