Apex Pathway

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 1 Apex Pathway Registered provider: Apex Pathway Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

A private provider owns and operates this supported accommodation service. The service can accommodate up to 19 individuals in 14 premises that are either single occupancy, shared or group-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked- after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, the service was providing support for 13 children aged 16 or 17 years.

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provider

The service manager registered with Ofsted when the organisation was registered in January 2025.

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provider

Inspectors were aware during this inspection of a serious incident concerning a child that had occurred since the service was registered. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 16 June 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 18 to 19 June 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Children spoke positively about their experiences and progress and said that they are supported to gain the independent living skills that they need. Most children also access education or training.

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Summary of findings

Most staff understand children’s needs well, but not all staff have the necessary Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 2 skills and experience to support children.

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Summary of findings

Overall, children’s living environments are maintained to a good standard. Most children speak positively about their accommodation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children said that they feel safe. Staff build positive relationships with children and have a good understanding of their needs and vulnerabilities. This helps staff to identify when children need more support to gain independent living skills and with their transition to adulthood. One child said, ‘Staff support me to cook for myself and help a lot. To be honest, anything I need I ask them, and they support me with it.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s records are not always up to date and do not consistently capture their progress, achievements, or experiences. For example, staff do not ensure that children’s support and independence plans include all relevant information about the children’s goals and aims or the specific support that they need to achieve these. This is a missed opportunity to help children to recognise their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Most children’s accommodation is welcoming, comfortable, and decorated to a good standard. Children take pride in their homes, and staff encourage them to personalise them to suit their preferences. However, not all premises are nurturing. For example, outstanding maintenance and repair work prevent some children from accessing shared facilities safely. Also, children are not given a front door key to access their home. This does not create a welcoming or supportive environment or prepare children for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who have arrived from overseas do not always understand the day-to-day routines in the service because the children’s guide is only available in English. When children speak English as an additional language, staff do not effectively work with them to ensure that they understand the contents of this document. This does not assist children to adjust to their home environment or help them to develop independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Overall, children’s progress in education, training or employment is good. Most children have made meaningful and measurable progress in their achievements. Staff actively support children to access employment or training opportunities. This supports children’s development towards their future independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff work with children to ensure that their physical and mental health needs are met, and they support children to attend relevant health appointments. This leads to children experiencing better stability and taking more responsibility for their overall health and well-being as they move towards adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff actively encourage and support children to maintain meaningful relationships with family members and friends. They demonstrate a good awareness of how these relationships underpin children’s journey into adulthood and promote their emotional Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 3 well-being and sense of belonging.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff work well with other agencies and professionals to explore children’s behaviours that may place them at risk of harm. They also spend time reflecting on their own practice to see how they can work more effectively to better support the children. Although this approach helps to inform children’s individual plans, their plans and assessments do not always reflect these known or emerging risks.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not always show an awareness about children’s welfare. They do not have regular conversations and discussions about important topics, for example in relation to exploitation, promoting healthy relationships or online safety. This does not support children to develop their emotional resilience going into adulthood.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers do not notify Ofsted of all serious incidents. This means that the regulator cannot review if managers and staff have taken appropriate action to safeguard children from harm or if they have taken the necessary steps to manage and reduce risks to children’s safety.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have ensured that staff complete mandatory training to enable them to support children. However, they have not ensured that staff complete specific training to support children effectively and improve their knowledge around childhood trauma, and how this impacts on children’s journey to independence. Therefore, some staff are not equipped with the knowledge and skills that they need to consistently promote children’s safety and well-being.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children going missing from the service is rare. However, if children go missing, the registered service manager has a missing-from-home protocol in place and staff are responsive in implementing this to ensure that children are quickly located. This reduces the potential risks to children in the community.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children were keen to tell the inspectors that they feel safe and that staff support them. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the importance of building trusting relationships with children, so that when they have concerns, they can speak to staff about these and get the support they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

This is a relatively new service, and t he registered service manager has yet to embed effective monitoring and review systems to adequately scrutinise the service and identify areas for development. Currently, monitoring systems do not help leaders and managers to evaluate the experiences of children, or the quality of support provided by the service to reflect the ethos set out in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff said that the registered service manager supports them in their roles. They benefit from reflective discussions and team meetings regarding children’s progress. However, the registered service manager does not ensure that all staff receive Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 4 regular formal supervision to discuss their practice or identify their learning needs. The ineffective monitoring systems mean that the registered service manager is not fully aware of staff’s professional development or the additional skills they need to better support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The statement of purpose is not up to date. This document does not provide correct information, as not all staff are trained in trauma-informed practice, as advocated by the service. This means that stakeholders and professionals do not have the most up-to-date information about the support provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager is a good advocate for children and works closely with other agencies to ensure that specialist support is available for children when this is needed. Following a recent bereavement, the registered service manager arranged for children and staff to have access to a counsellor. This provided much- needed support at a difficult time and supported children and staff to come to terms with their loss.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager accepts the need to monitor more closely the quality of support provided to children, incidents, staff practice and the overall performance of the service. This includes ensuring that staff are adequately skilled to understand and meet the needs of the children they support. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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

lead and manage the supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a workforce plan (see regulation 10) for the supported accommodation undertaking is in place. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(c)(j))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must establish effective monitoring and review systems across the service to review the quality of the support that they provide to children. 29 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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

are suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well-maintained;

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Requirement Due date

offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children’s need for privacy; 29 August 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 6 provide children with a written agreement, in an accessible format, which outlines their rights, the terms and conditions of the supported accommodation and how they can raise concerns about the provision of supported accommodation. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(vi)(vii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe;

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Requirement Due date

before a child arrives or upon a child’s arrival, ensure that the child is given a written guide, in an accessible format, containing information about—

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Requirement Due date

what services and facilities are available that take account of children’s needs arising as a result of cultural differences or disability. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(c)(j)(iv)) 29 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(b)) 29 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should keep the statement of purpose under regular review to ensure it remains child focused and indicates how the service provides individualised support that meets the quality standards and improves outcomes for the children it accommodates. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards,’ page 46) Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 8

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Apex Pathway Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Basement Office Suite, Tradeforce Building, Cornwall Place, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD8 7JT

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Charlene Hart

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Inspectors

Patrick McIntosh, Social Care Inspector Helen Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Apex Pathway 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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