Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Solutions Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Positive Pathways Solutions 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

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties, or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account good

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

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

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 July 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

This is the first inspection of a newly registered home.

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Summary of findings

One child has recently moved into the home.

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Summary of findings

The stable staff team provides consistent and nurturing care for the child. As a result, the child has settled well and made some progress.

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Summary of findings

The manager is child focused and advocates strongly for them, particularly in relation to their education. The child has been away from educational settings for a long time and doesn’t currently have a consistent daily routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child living in the home. They said, ‘The home’s really nice and I’m happy here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child previously lived in an unregistered children’s home. Staff recognise the negative impact this experience had on the child. Their values of ‘stickability and unconditional positive regard’ is demonstrated in the consistent and nurturing care they provide for the child. This has enabled the child to feel safe and secure in the staff’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well planned. The registered manager works closely with social workers and family members to understand the child’s needs. She considers the experience of the staff and provides additional training when it is needed. This ensures that the child is cared for by staff with the skills and experience to meet the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to recognise the importance of education and attend educational settings. They advocate strongly to education professionals to find the right provision for the child. Although staff offer varied learning opportunities in the home and local community, they are unable to encourage the child to consistently engage. As a result, the child’s daily routine lacks structure, and they can spend long periods of time on their phone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child remains in good health. The child had been reluctant to attend health appointments. Staff used positive strategies and incentives, and the child now attends appointments to receive the health support they require. Staff have introduced healthy foods to the child’s diet and established a new nighttime structure to ensure that the child maintains a good sleep routine. This proactive approach supports the child to lead a healthier lifestyle. Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children. They provide varied opportunities for the child to share their feelings and wishes. Staff respect the child’s views and these can lead to changes in practice. For example, morning routines have been adapted to reflect the child’s preference. Staff have also arranged for an advocate to provide independent support for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys regular, good-quality time with the people important to them. Staff advocate for increasing the amount of time the child spends with the people they love. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members and display flexibility to ensure that the child’s time with them is meaningful and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home offers a spacious and welcoming environment. Some damage had occurred during a recent incident, although staff were swift to arrange repairs. The child’s bedroom is individualised according to their taste, and the child is encouraged to contribute to decorations in the rest of the home. This has enabled the child to feel a sense of identity and ownership of their home.

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

The child has lived in the home for a short time and has responded positively to the calm, nurturing care provided by the staff team.

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

Positive, relationship-based approaches are embedded into practice. These have been effective in de-escalating situations in the home. As a result, incidents are rare. When they do occur, staff responses are proportionate and in line with policy. The manager completes an evaluation of each incident and responds swiftly to implement any learning into practice.

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

Staff use key-work sessions and conversations to develop the child’s ability to keep safe. The engagement of the child within the sessions is variable. However, the manager evaluates the impact of key-work sessions and identifies further actions as required.

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

Staff demonstrate a thorough understanding of the risks of the child. They have completed detailed individualised risk assessments that identify known risks and outline appropriate strategies for staff to follow. These are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect new and emerging risks.

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

Staff recognise the risks associated with online use and have recently introduced boundaries to prevent online access overnight. This has had a positive impact on the child’s sleep pattern. However, the children’s guide has not been updated to reflect the change.

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

Staff submit notifications to the regulator in a timely manner, following serious incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The stable staff team is led by a suitably experienced registered manager who demonstrates passion and enthusiasm for her work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported in their role. They receive training, regular supervision and annual appraisals. There has been a wide range of training completed, and additional training is arranged to understand subjects such as self-harm and eating disorders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is embedding a culture of learning in the home. She encourages open communication within the team to share strategies, and good practice is celebrated with a ‘worker of the month’ award.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly team meetings provide an opportunity for members of staff to each lead a learning session around subjects such as legislation or safeguarding guidance. This ensures that all staff have the knowledge, skills, and experience to support the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has robust quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of care. She reviews and updates the child’s care plans to capture their starting point, where they are now and what they need support with. This enables the manager to monitor the progress the child is making and identifies areas of focus. However, timescales are not included.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises the importance of preparing children for independence and has developed bespoke independence booklets to record progress. The child has been supported to complete some independence tasks. However, staff have not documented evidence within the booklet.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have very positive interactions with the other agencies involved in the child’s life. Staff advocate for the child and provide regular, open and honest communication to family members and social workers. There have been delays in obtaining necessary documentation and information due to limited availability of the allocated social worker. However, the manager has escalated this issue appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager follows the safer recruitment policy to ensure that appropriate people work with children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training, and employment; and

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that when a child is not attending school, the staff support them to engage in home learning and independent study and provide them with educational activities. This should form part of a daily routine and structure. 28 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is updated to inform children of the overnight restrictions to Wi-Fi access. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 24, paragraph 4.23)  The registered person should ensure that staff evidence all the progress children make in developing their independence skills within their individual independence Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 26, paragraph 5.2)  The registered person should ensure that the child’s goals, the actions required to achieve them, and predicted timelines are clear within records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: 2849156 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Positive Pathways Solutions Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 97 Ribchester Road, Clayton Le Dale, Blackburn BB1 9HT

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Inspector

Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2849156 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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Inspector

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