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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 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

This privately run home provides care for up to 4 children aged 7 to 13 with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2025. An interim manager was appointed in August 2026.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2025 Full Good 09/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/08/2023 Full Good 03/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 3

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Summary of findings

Children typically live at the home for long periods, make steady progress and move on positively. Children receive good care from staff who have shown a great deal of commitment. However, staff have struggled to respond more recently to one child with complex needs, and this currently has had an impact on staff morale.

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Summary of findings

There are gaps in leadership, notably stemming from the long absence of a registered manager. This has led to shortfalls in the care planning for children and responses to behaviour management, as well as wider gaps in the management oversight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. One child has lived in the home for approximately 5 years and is making good progress. Since the last inspection, 3 children have moved on from the home. These moves were planned and positive, including 2 children who successfully moved to live with foster carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported with expressing their wishes. Staff routinely seek children’s views about their day-to-day lives and use effective recording tools, including an ‘I will/I need’ form, to capture and respond to how children feel. Meaningful discussions take place regularly and are well recorded. Children spoke positively about living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. One child is in full-time school and has made good progress. Another child, who has previous disruptions to their education, is engaging well with an alternative provision and is gradually increasing their attendance. Effective partnership working between staff and education professionals has helped to support children’s educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Staff ensure that children attend routine health appointments and seek specialist support or follow-up appointments when required. The home can assess specialist mental health support from an in-house psychologist. However, gaps in management have meant this has not been proactively sought.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a range of activities that reflect their interests and preferences. Children enjoy participating in a variety of activities, including swimming, cycling, football and bowling. Staff encourage them to pursue hobbies and interests at the home and in the wider community. One child has developed an interest in gardening and plants, which staff actively support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and welcoming. Children benefit from spacious living areas and personalised bedrooms that reflect their interests and identities. However, some minor damage has not been repaired promptly and outdoor areas are not well maintained. One Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 4 child’s bicycle remained unusable due to a puncture that had not been repaired. Weeds and leaves have accumulated outside and have not been attended to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have been supported through effective care planning that has helped them make progress. However, planning for one child’s admission was not sufficiently robust. Matching and risk assessments did not fully consider the child’s needs and risks, resulting in insufficient staffing arrangements and poor care planning. This resulted in several significant incidents. The initial assessments, matching decisions and ongoing care planning assessments failed to fully consider children’s needs and risks.

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

Children are safeguarded effectively. Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Despite managing some highly challenging behaviours, staff have remained focused on children’s welfare, positive experiences and progress. Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to children and provide nurturing care in response to their individual needs.

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

Incidents are recorded comprehensively and provide a clear account of events and staff responses. When physical intervention is required, it is necessary, proportionate and appropriate. Incidents are reviewed by senior staff, and both children and staff are routinely offered opportunities to reflect on incidents through debriefs.

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

Many of the risks commonly associated with older children are not currently relevant to the children living at the home. Despite this, staff demonstrate an appropriate awareness of risks in relation to online safety and technology use. Children rarely go missing from the home. On the occasion this has occurred, staff took appropriate action to safeguard the child.

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

Health and safety arrangements are generally effective. Routine safety checks are completed, fire drills take place regularly and children have up-to-date personal emergency evacuation plans. The manager’s review of the premises and local area is detailed and considers the individual needs of each child.

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

Children have displayed behaviours which have resulted in incidents of aggression and violence towards staff. Staff work hard to respond appropriately and keep children safe during these incidents. However, there is insufficient clarity and consistency in the behaviour management strategies. Staff do not have a clearly defined and consistently implemented plan to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents. As a result, significant incidents have continued and staff have, at times, felt unsafe.

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

Some serious incidents were not notified to the regulator. Although records indicate that staff responded appropriately at the time, the failure to notify these incidents reduced external oversight of practice.

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

Leaders and managers have not established effective systems for promoting and rewarding positive behaviour, and consequences are not clearly recorded or consistently Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 5 applied. Therefore, behaviour management arrangements are not consistently implemented or monitored to ensure oversight and evaluation of any consequences or incentive measures.

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

The home has had prolonged period without stable leadership. This has included periods without a manager and times when management arrangements have lacked consistency. In addition, the deputy-manager position has remained vacant for a significant period, placing additional pressures on senior care staff. These weaknesses have contributed to the shortfalls identified during this inspection.

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

A manager was appointed to the home but was suspended following a serious incident. The provider’s response to this situation was not timely, resulting in an extended period of uncertainty. Staff and the responsible individual were not kept adequately informed about management arrangements, which contributed to a lack of leadership oversight of the home.

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

Staff morale is low. Staff described feeling insufficiently supported and expressed concerns about their safety when responding to some incidents. The home has relied on agency staff and staff from other homes to maintain staffing levels. Some staff raised concerns regarding the availability of suitably experienced staff on shift. Nevertheless, staff spoke positively about the children they care for and the support that they receive from the responsible individual. The responsible individual has provided an increased presence at the home during the absence of a manager.

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

Staff supervision arrangements are inconsistent. Although, the records demonstrate reflective and meaningful discussions, these have not consistently taken place in accordance with the frequency outlined in the home’s statement of purpose and workforce development plan. This has reduced opportunities for staff to discuss concerns, reflect on practice and receive support.

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

Recruitment checks are generally appropriate. New staff benefit from an induction programme and have access to a range of training opportunities designed to support them in their roles. An induction plan for agency staff has also been implemented.

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

Records are generally well maintained. Daily records provide detailed accounts of children’s experiences and capture important events in their lives. Overall, the quality of documentation is good.

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

Feedback from professionals is positive. Social workers said that children are safe and receive appropriate support. Several professionals commented that improvements have been evident since the interim manager commenced their role, and that their concerns have reduced. Education professionals also spoke positively about the care provided to children. Professionals consistently highlighted effective communication and partnership working by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 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 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;

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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 registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(b) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(xi)) 30 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 7 plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that planning and matching assessments for children are robust and include an effective evaluation of children’s impact on each other and assess the ongoing needs of children, to ensure their needs can be met.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) 30 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when incidents occur that result in staff being injured or requiring medical treatment, these are treated as serious. 30 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that are homely and domestic. In particular, ensure that all areas of the home are well maintained, damage is quickly repaired and items such as the children’s bicycles and video consoles are fixed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 8  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used are evaluated to ensure they are effective. Equally, ensure that staff understand the system for rewarding children and celebrating positive behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46-47, paragraph 9.38-9.39)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision in accordance with the home’s statement or purpose and workforce development plan. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.10)  The registered person should ensure that as set out in regulations 31-33, they are responsible for maintaining good employment practice. In particular, ensure that the manager’s absence is well managed and that decisions about the manager’s return are made in a timely manner and communicated with staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2613649 9

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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: Minton Place, Victoria Street, Windsor SL4 1EG

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Inspector

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613649 10 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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