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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2622077 1 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with social and emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 15 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none 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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2622077 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress from their individual starting points. There are improvements in attendance and engagement with education. There is good multi- agency working to ensure positive outcomes for children.

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Summary of findings

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities and have built positive and trusting relationships with children.

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Summary of findings

There has been good progress made in areas previously identified as a concern. Leaders and managers have been proactive in identifying and responding to these. However, there remain some gaps in management oversight, and the home has not had a permanent manager for 6 months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, one child has moved out of the home and 2 children have moved in. There were 2 children living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child shared their views with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment. Improvements have been made to the decor since the last inspection to create a more homely and comfortable space for children. The living room has been refurbished, with new flooring and furniture. Photos of children with staff and peers are proudly displayed throughout the home alongside children’s artwork and certificates, helping children to develop a sense of belonging and ownership.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their individual starting points. Education is a particular strength. Attendance has improved for both children, who are now engaging more consistently and positively in their learning. Staff carefully reviewed one child’s journey to school and adapted the support provided to better meet their needs. As a result, the child now travels to school willingly, enjoys attending and engages more positively in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children have improved since the last inspection. Staff have created opportunities for children to spend time together and to participate in activities based on their shared interests. As a result, children have developed more positive relationships with one another. One child told the inspector that they now get along better with the other child and enjoy spending time together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed positive and trusting relationships with children. They use humour and playfulness effectively to engage children and promote positive interactions. Children respond well to this approach and feel able to seek support from staff when Inspection report for children’s home: 2622077 4 needed. One child said that they feel happy and safe living in the home and have trusted adults they can talk to if they are worried.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Partnership working is effective. Staff maintain regular communication with children’s social workers, education providers and other professionals. This helps to ensure that children receive coordinated and consistent support across the agencies involved in their care.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities and respond effectively to these. This is reflected in a reduction in incidents since the last inspection. The use of physical intervention has also reduced.

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

Leaders have taken action to ensure that care plans, risk assessments and other key documents are up to date and accurately reflect children’s needs. This provides staff with clear guidance and supports consistent practice.

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

Staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for children. This helps children to develop a sense of safety, stability and predictability. When consequences are used, these are appropriately recorded and discussed with children so that they understand the reasons for them.

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

Children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health needs are well understood. Staff respond sensitively and provide children with appropriate support. When one child expressed a wish to access additional support but did not want to return to a previous service, staff acted promptly to identify and secure an alternative service that better met the child’s needs.

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

Debriefs for children and staff following physical interventions have not always been completed consistently. Leaders identified this shortfall and have taken action to address it. However, the issue was not identified promptly through management oversight.

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

The home benefits from specialist support provided by the organisation’s in-house behaviour support team. Staff receive guidance and practical strategies that take account of children’s individual diagnoses and needs. As a result, staff are better equipped to understand children’s behaviours and respond effectively to them.

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

The home has not had a permanent registered manager for 6 months. To provide stability during this period, the responsible individual managed the home for 3 months before an interim manager was appointed for a further 3 months. Their involvement strengthened oversight of the home and supported improvements in identified areas of practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2622077 5 Management responsibility has now transferred to an experienced internal manager who has a good understanding of the home’s culture and established relationships with the children. She will remain in post until a permanent manager is appointed. Leaders have also made the decision not to admit additional children to the home until a permanent manager is in place.

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

The responsible individual has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development and has responded proactively to concerns. However, periods of management change have resulted in inconsistent oversight in some areas of the home’s operation.

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

Staff have not received supervision in line with the organisation’s expectations. In addition, annual appraisals have not been completed. Furthermore, team meetings were not held regularly until the appointment of the interim manager. These shortfalls reduced opportunities for staff to reflect on practice, receive feedback and identify development needs. Staff reported that they now feel well supported and said that improvements in supervision and team meetings have had a positive impact on communication and morale.

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

Leaders have taken action to ensure that staff complete the training required for their roles. Additional training specific to the needs of children living in the home has also been provided to strengthen staff’s knowledge and practice.

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

Feedback from professionals is consistently positive. Professionals say that children are making good progress and commend the quality of communication and partnership working. They report that staff work collaboratively with other agencies to promote positive outcomes for children. 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, The 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered 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 registered 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h)) 30 October 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint. This specifically relates to ensuring that leaders and managers have appropriate oversight of physical intervention records and that all children are offered support and discussion after any incidents involving restraint, in a way and at a time that is accessible for them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendation

Inspection report for children’s home: 2622077 7

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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: 2622077 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Francis Osei-Appiah

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Inspector

Sophie Coogan, Social Care Inspector 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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