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

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 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

The home was registered on 10 October 2021, to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The Registered Manager is suitably qualified although has resigned their position and has not been present in the home for the past 4 weeks.

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Information about this children's home

There are 2 children living at the home currently. Both children were seen and spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

Date of last inspection: 15 September 2025

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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 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/06/2024 Full Good 19/07/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Outstanding Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 3

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, the inspector(s) evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have 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: 2622077 4 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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Information about this inspection

Children can identify trusted adults and know who they would talk to if they had any worries. Children say that they are offered choices around the meals and activities they would like.

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Information about this inspection

Staff value education. Both children living in the home are supported to attend their education provision on time at the start of the school day. This was previ- ously an area of concern. Communication between staff and the children’s places of education is improving. Staff celebrate children’s success in education and there are many certificates of achievement displayed in the home.

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Information about this inspection

Staff have begun to implement communication tools for one child living in the home and have worked collaboratively with the child’s school to achieve this. The creative use of transition boards of ‘Now', 'Next' and 'Later’ as well as com- munication boards explaining which staff will be looking after the child during the day are now in place at home and in school. These are supporting the child to better manage difficult feelings and as a result, there has been a reduction in incidents.

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Information about this inspection

There are plans and risk assessments in place for children. However, these do not always reflect all the information known about a child. For example, one child moved into the home eligible for a disability benefit, but staff have failed to advocate for them to ensure that they continue to receive this.

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Information about this inspection

Staff support children to decorate their bedrooms to reflect their own tastes and interests. There is considerable physical damage across some areas of the home caused by children when they have become upset. Senior leaders have not al- ways taken prompt action to address all damage and some areas of the home remain in a state of disrepair. Staff are beginning to work more restoratively to support children to understand the consequences of their actions and children understand and accept why these approaches are taken. However, during in- spection, these approaches were not observed to be fully embedded.

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Information about this inspection

Staff recognise when children are experiencing poor mental health and seek appropriate and prompt medical attention in such circumstances. This has meant that one child living in the home has received appropriate mental health assessment in a timely manner. There have been no episodes of self-harm since the last inspection. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 5 Staff know how to respond to children who go missing although there have been no missing episodes in relation to the children currently living in the home .

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Information about this inspection

Further training is being undertaken with staff to enable them to effectively implement boundaries around the safe use of the internet and social media for children. Staff do not consistently speak to children and support them to understand why decisions have been made to ensure their safety. Senior leaders acknowledge this shortfall and are taking action to address this.

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Information about this inspection

Staff are trained to manage medicines safely, and records are maintained appro- priately. However, not all staff have received training in how to manage one child’s health and medication needs, meaning that not all staff have the knowledge of this specific health condition. Therefore, the effectiveness of guid- ance provided to staff when supporting the child to manage their health condi- tion could not be observed within this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Allegations, complaints and incidents are responded to appropriately and senior leaders ensure that children are made aware of the outcome of any concerns that they raise.

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Information about this inspection

Previously, staff had not always recognised nor taken prompt action to address the impact of one child's behaviour upon the other child living in the home. Senior leaders have recognised this shortfall and have reviewed the plans in place for children. Staff are being supported to work with specialist advice from internal clinical psychology services. The effectiveness of this guidance upon practice was not yet able to be observed within this inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The registered manager has resigned their position and has not been present in the home for four weeks. Senior leaders have been providing oversight, advice and support to the staff during this time. Staff are beginning to work positively with the guidance being provided by senior managers. However, these new ways of working are not yet fully embedded

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Information about this inspection

Staff are offered a comprehensive induction and training program to develop their skills and knowledge to safely care for children. However, monitoring sys- tems for training completed are not always effective, with five members of staff failing to achieve their required qualification within timescales. Leaders and managers acknowledge this shortfall and have taken action to address this.

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Information about this inspection

There is a high turnover of staff and staff morale is low. Senior leaders are un- dertaking recruitment activity to grow the staff team. Leaders and managers have decided that they will not offer a home to any more children until the home is fully staffed. Leaders and managers use known bank staff from across sister homes within the provider group to fill any gaps in staffing rotas created through sickness or staff leaving. However, this approach does not always en- sure that there are enough staff available to care for children and agency staff have needed to be used on some occasions. This means that children are not al- ways cared for by adults who know them. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 6

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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, 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the reg- istered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s be- haviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understand- ing;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve con- flicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or po- tentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c(2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(iv)(xi)) 01 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

01 April 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 7 The leadership and management standard is that the regis- tered 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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the reg- istered person to—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous im- provements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 11 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children's home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. The children's home should provide a homely, domestic environment. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9) This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have access to all additional support that they are entitled to. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, Regulations, including the quality standards', page 31, paragraph 6.10) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited

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Registered provider address:

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

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Registered provider address:

Responsible individual: Francis Osei-Appiah

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Inspector

Helen Dickens, social care inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2622077 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 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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