Children's Home run by Pathways Care Group Limited in Southend on Sea

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 1 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

The home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities and complex social and emotional needs. This is one of several children’s homes operated by this private provider. Four children were living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection, and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good 03/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/04/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One child has moved out, and one child has moved in since the last inspection. All four children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children experience high-quality care. Managers and staff are consistently focused on children’s well-being and their best interests. Children have complex needs, including a history of trauma or abuse. Some children have additional needs, including neurodiversity or learning disabilities. All four children have lived at the home for more than a year and have long-term plans. This provides children with a strong sense of stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have excellent relationships with staff. The ethos is one of a ‘family’ within the home. The relationships go beyond the role of ‘carer’. The children have built affectionate relationships with some staff members, which staff appropriately reciprocate. This does not detract from children’s relationships with their birth families, but helps children to feel valued and loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and managers understand that children’s behaviours may be a response to past trauma. Children are helped and supported at all times. Staff know the children well and understand their communication needs. Staff use additional communication tools, such as flash cards and visual tools. The staff notice non-verbal cues, such as changes of behaviour, body language, or how a child may dress. These vigilant and informed approaches have helped children to make exceptional progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive in their education settings. The manager has strongly advocated for children’s additional educational needs to be met, and to have the right education. This has included securing an education, health and care plan for one child, and school-based play therapy sessions for another child. Staff support and encourage children to go to school, and they help with their education daily. Education professionals’ feedback is that children make exceptional progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy a wide range of activities, trips and clubs. These are specific to each child’s individual needs and interests. One child attends a music group for children with learning disabilities, and another child goes to an inclusive cycling club. The range and breadth of clubs, trips and activities help to promote children’s self-esteem, build healthy routines and support an active lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health needs are fully met. They have health plans and are helped by staff to attend health appointments. Staff support children with their self-care needs. This is highly individualised, ranging from simple personal care tasks, such as brushing teeth, to more-complex issues, such as enuresis. Therapeutic services are commissioned. This includes innovative practice. One child who would not speak with a therapist was Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 4 provided with child and adolescent mental health service support indirectly through sessions with a staff member. This enabled the staff member to deliver therapeutic intervention to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and managers act inclusively and support diversity. Children’s individuality is respected, and they are supported with their feelings around their culture, background and identity. The manager has recruited a diverse workforce to reflect the children’s backgrounds. Different cultures are celebrated regularly, and there are items around the home to promote diversity throughout the shared spaces.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children spend time with the people who are important to them. Staff support children to visit their family. For one child, this has meant that they have regular visits out of the county to their local area. The manager has supported and respected children’s wishes. An advocate was arranged for one child who wanted a change in contact arrangement, to help ensure that the child’s voice was heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is welcoming, well maintained and well laid out. Decor and furnishings have been chosen with input from children. These include a dinosaur theme in one room and a space theme in another. The decor and furnishings support the home’s therapeutic approach and the children’s sensory needs. The shared spaces downstairs are intentionally busy and vibrant, whereas children’s rooms are sparsely furnished to provide a low-stimulation environment. This has been effective in helping to reduce incidents, and helps children to settle at nighttime.

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

Children feel safe and supported. They are safeguarded and protected well. Staff have a strong understanding of safeguarding procedures and whistle-blowing. They know how to follow these procedures in the event that they are necessary.

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

Incidents are, at times, extreme. The staff have an excellent approach to reinforcing positive behaviour. Staff have a comprehensive understanding of working therapeutically with children. The staff take an innovative approach to supporting children’s behaviour. This has fed into research, as the staff have taken part in a university-led research programme as part of developing their approach. This is further reinforced by additional support from a psychotherapist. This has helped children to make positive changes to their daily routines and behaviours. Incidents are notably less frequent or severe.

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

Staff are assisted by detailed risk assessments and plans. These cover a range of topics, including children’s daily routines, managing behaviour and other risks. Staff know the children well and can identify their triggers and risks. Staff and managers support children to understand their behaviour through key-worker sessions. Staff are aided by personal behaviour support plans, which are succinct. These focus on triggers, escalating factors and support for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 5 There have been no missing-from-home incidents since the last inspection. However, the missing-from-care protocols are in place for individual children. The staff and managers were able to talk through how they would respond should a child go missing from the home.

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

Staff use physical intervention infrequently and as a last resort. The staff’s actions are proportionate and justified. Staff have training on appropriate restraint techniques. There is a strong focus on using de-escalation techniques. There is good evidence of management oversight, and debriefs take place.

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

Children have their own toys, games and other activities at the home. Most children’s possessions are not in their bedrooms, which is intentionally part of the planned approach. However, there are no clear, individualised plans for children to access their possessions. Children’s possessions are stored in shared spaces. Therefore, they do not have a private place to keep their possessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He shows a strong commitment to the home, children and staff. Staff are positive about the manager and deputy manager and the support that they provide. The manager, deputy manager and responsible individual have good expectations and aspirations . There is a good working relationship among all senior staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a positive and child-focused ethos to working with the children. The feedback from the staff team is entirely positive. Staff support and trust each other, and staff morale is high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision sessions, which are helpful and meaningful. Staff supervision takes place regularly. The manager has created a culture that welcomes informal supervision sessions and discussions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment processes are followed. New staff have thorough inductions, which include comprehensive training. New staff said that they feel supported by more-senior staff members and can ask questions without fear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from a range of external professionals is consistently excellent. This includes responses from social workers, education staff, therapy professionals and the local authority designated officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of most records and recordings are good. However, recent changes to the recording system have contributed to areas where some records could be improved. For example, the legal status of children is not clearly recorded, which led to the legal status of two children being incorrectly advised. Other documents were difficult to locate, including restraint records. Individual key-worker sessions are not always clearly recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 6 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to the day-to-day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting in which they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items, such as clothing, technology and leisure items. In particular, children should have access to their own items and this access should be individualised and kept under review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information and records that are kept electronically can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them and reproduced in a legible form. Recordings must be kept up to date and should be written with care, objective and clear. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61 & 62, paragraph 14.2, 14.4)

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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: 1256660 8

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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: Pathways Care Group, Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG

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Inspector

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256660 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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