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

Inspection report children's home: 2787739 1 Registered provider: Positive Pathways Solutions Ltd

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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 children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to 3 children who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in June 2024. The registered manager left in July 2025. A new manager has been appointed and has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were 2 children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 13 January 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2787739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/01/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2787739 3

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Summary of findings

Management oversight is not effective. As a result, shortfalls in the care provided to chil- dren are not always identified or addressed. Managers do not consistently assess how known risks for individual children may impact other children living in the home. This omission prevents effective multi-agency planning to mitigate identified risks and does not always support children’s safety.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not consistently support children to understand decisions made about their day- to-day care, which limits their involvement in matters that affect them. Children’s plans are not kept up to date to reflect the strategies staff use to meet their needs, and this does not ensure that these strategies are regularly reviewed.

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Summary of findings

Staff describe being supported by the management team. Staff work hard to build posi- tive relationships with children, and these relationships provide a strong foundation for children to make progress.

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Summary of findings

Children are happy living in the home. Staff support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them and to develop essential life skills for their fu- ture.

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improvement to be good

Children are happy living in this home. Staff work hard to build trusting relationships, which provide the foundation for children to make progress. Staff create a welcoming environment where children enjoy spending time with them and take part in activities that reflect their individual interests and hobbies.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not identified shortfalls in the care children receive, as a result one child’s health needs are not fully met. This child has not received recommended dental treatment, and managers have not taken decisive action to resolve this quickly. Staff hold important conversations with children to help them understand their health needs, however actions arising from these discussions are not always followed through. For instance, staff agreed to liaise with health colleagues to obtain prescription toothpaste for one child, but this was not progressed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not provide a reliable record of the strategies staff use to meet their individual needs. As a result, staff understanding of the rationale for these strategies are inconsistent. Children’s views are not always considered in decisions about their care, and they are not consistently helped to understand those decisions. This limits their abil- ity to meaningfully engage in matters that affect them. For example, locks were placed on one of the two fridge freezers in the home and a kitchen cupboard. The manager and staff gave varying accounts as to why the locks were introduced. Children were not Inspection report children's home: 2787739 4 helped to understand why the locks were introduced, and the strategy was not recorded in children’s plans or kept under review. This does not ensure that strategies used to meet children’s needs are proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to develop a positive attitude toward education, and as a result, children make progress and are ambitious for their future. Effective communication between the staff from the home and school ensures that barriers to learning are addressed promptly. This enabled one child to return to school following a period of absence.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to experience positive, well-planned moves from the home and to develop life skills for their future such as meal preparation and cooking. Staff helped one child move out in a planned way, ensuring key targets were achieved beforehand. The child’s independent reviewing officer reported that the staff team was central to the success of the move and praised staff for advocating effectively to ensure the child’s views remained central to their care planning.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them, helping them to build supportive networks for the future. For example, staff enable children to see family and friends.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand individual children’s known risks and what is expected of them to keep them safe. However, there are shortfalls in how risks between children living in the home are understood. Managers do not consider all known information when assessing risks between children. Important information was omitted from the assessment of one child moving into the home, preventing effective multi-agency risk assessment and plan- ning. This does not support children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not assessed the location of the home using all relevant information about the local area and children’s evolving risks. As a result, decisions about the level of risk outside the home are not clearly evidenced. Door alarms are used to alert staff when children leave the home. However, when the timings of these alarms has been changed, staff have not ensured that children understand these changes.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to manage difficult feelings and known risks safely; this has contrib- uted to a reduction in children’s risk-taking behaviours. Staff use praise, rewards and in- centives to support children’s positive behaviour. This helps children to understand what is expected of them.

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improvement to be good

Management oversight of medication practice is effective. Managers have identified er- rors in medication records and taken decisive action to resolve these, for example by providing additional staff training. This helps to ensure that medication practice is safe. Staff benefit from regular supervision and learning opportunities, including reflection on Inspection report children's home: 2787739 5 safeguarding scenarios, which strengthens their understanding of safeguarding responsi- bilities.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to share their views about their care, and children’s complaints are taken seriously and responded to. Staff also support children to take age-appropriate risks, such as independent travel and spending time with friends, this helps children to develop life skills for their future and build their confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by a responsible individual and a manager whose suitability is currently being assessed by Ofsted. The manager has worked hard to build positive relationships with children and to support home improvements that promote children’s sense of be- longing. For example, the manager is working with children and staff to design a sensory room for the children to use.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management monitoring and review systems are in place; however, these are not always effective. As a result, shortfalls in children’s care have not consistently been identified or addressed. Managers delegate staff supervision to the deputy manager and senior staff; however, records of management oversight of the completed staff supervision records contain repeated content and do not clearly show what has been reviewed or the impact of this oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers ensure that staffing levels meet children’s needs. However, the staff rota does not accurately reflect when managers are in the home, managers do not consistently document when they are in the home. A stable staff team ensures that children are cared for by familiar adults. Staff report feeling valued and involved in the running of the home. One staff member said, ‘The leadership is supportive, encouraging, and sets a strong example for everyone. It creates a positive working environment, maintaining a high standard of care, where both staff and young people can do well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers provide staff with a range of learning and development opportunities; this helps staff to meet children’s needs effectively. Managers share information with partner agencies and professionals, promoting a shared understanding of children’s needs and a team around the child approach. Managers attend and contribute to planning meetings, informing decisions about children’s care plans. However, managers do not consistently follow escalation procedures when children’s needs are not being met by partner agen- cies. Inspection report children's home: 2787739 6

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

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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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

Requirement Due date The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 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; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(b)) In particular, the registered provider must ensure that risks be- tween children are assessed and kept under review. This will in- clude, sharing relevant information with multi agency teams. 10 July 2026

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

The leadership and management standard is that the registered per- son enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the ap- proach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and 10 July 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2787739 7 use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improve- ments in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that effective systems for monitoring and review are in place. When shortfalls are identified in the care that children receive, the provider must take prompt and appropriate action to address them.

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

This also relates to the registered provider ensuring that clear and accurate records are maintained regarding decisions made about each child’s care. These records must include up-to-date care plans that reflect the strategies staff use to support individual chil- dren. The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans; understand the child's health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child's health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child's age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) In particular, this relates to the registered provider ensuring that children’s health needs are fully met. When barriers to achieving

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

this are identified, the provider must work in partnership with part- ner agencies to ensure that these issues are resolved without de- lay. 10 July 2026

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

The children's views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children's care and welfare and their lives. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— ascertain and consider each child's views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child's best in- terests when making decisions about the child's care and welfare; 10 July 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2787739 8 help each child to understand how the child's views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) In particular, this relates to the registered provider ensuring that children’s views are actively considered when decisions are made

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

about their day-to-day care, including any restrictions that are in place. It also requires the provider to ensure that children are sup- ported to understand the decisions made about their care and the extent to which their views have been taken into account.

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the appropriateness and suitability of the home’s location is reviewed. This review must consider known information about the local area as well as the evolving needs of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children's home: 2787739 9

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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 children's home: 2787739 10

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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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Inspectors

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Chervone Collins, Social Care Inspector Sally Griffiths, Lead Professional Quality Assurance Regulation and Social Care Practice Inspection report children's home: 2787739 11 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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