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

Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 1 SC461846 Registered provider: Pathways Care Group 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

The home is run by a private organisation and provides care for up to 6 children who have experienced trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2023.

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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 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: 3 February 2026

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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: SC461846 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2026 Full Good 12/11/2024 Full Good 20/11/2023 Full Good 05/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 3

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Summary of findings

Children are kept safe and are provided with effective support from staff. Children build trusting relationships with the staff and are making good progress from their starting points. Staff work closely with external professionals to meet the children's needs.

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Summary of findings

The management team is stable and experienced. Managers and staff keep the children at the front and centre of every decision made about their care and welfare. The home is spacious, well decorated and has a family feel. The children are encouraged to become more independent and are supported to develop new hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or out of the home. At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living in the home. The inspector met all of the children. The inspector spoke with 3 children, who shared their views and experiences confidently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a family feel, and the children are supported to develop trusting relationships with staff. The children identify staff as important figures in their lives who bring stability and nurture. Staff have created a stable foundation for the children, which has helped the children to make significant progress from their starting points. This is particularly noticeable with their safety, education and social skills. One child said, 'We are like brothers and sisters, and the staff are really nice; we are like a big family.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff follow a PACE model of therapeutic approach. This model is threaded into staff practice and captured in the children's records. Staff are skilled at adapting their approach to ensure that children's unique needs are met consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have made significant progress with their education because staff create clear routines and structure which support the children to engage with their learning in a meaningful way. Staff advocate for the children and work closely with education providers. This joined-up approach helps children to improve their attendance and succeed. All of the children are in education and 2 of them have just started college. Some of the children are accessing a tailored educational provision that meets their individual needs and supports their learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have positive experiences in and outside of the home. Staff encourage the children to engage in activities, such as swimming, going to theme parks, gaming, horse riding and football. Children have been to holiday parks and have enjoyed a caravan holiday together during this summer. Staff have created photograph memory books for the children. Photographs of activities and special occasions are also displayed around the home. Staff and the children talk enthusiastically about the positive memories that they have shared together. As a result of these new experiences, children's self-esteem, confidence and social skills have significantly developed. Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 4 Staff maintain good-quality records and take the time to capture the children's wishes and feelings in the children's individual support plans. The children's plans are written in a child-focused way and include a comprehensive overview of their lives. This approach

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

helps children to understand their experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain positive communication and contact with families to support the children. One parent said, 'It is credit to them [the staff] for the progress [name of child] made.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is welcoming and has a homely feel. Both the indoor and outdoor spaces are well maintained and equipped to a good standard to suit the children's needs. Children's bedrooms are comfortable and personalised to reflect their taste and preferences. However, the bathrooms throughout the home show signs of wear and tear, which detract from the overall presentation of the home. This was raised at the last inspection.

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

The children have been effectively safeguarded during this period, with staff responding appropriately to incidents and carrying out welfare checks to provide additional support. The children's wellbeing needs have also been consistently met. Staff build nurturing relationships and provide therapeutic responses, structured routines and a wide range of positive activities. This enables the children to feel safe, settled and increasingly confident.

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

Children benefit from a nurturing environment where positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use creative ways of helping the children to understand and manage their behaviours. As a result, the number of incidents is low. Consequences are very seldomly implemented by staff and, when used, these are relevant to the child's behaviour. A strong restorative culture helps children to identify ways they can demonstrate strong emotions in healthier and safer ways.

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

Children's risks are well understood by staff and are consistently reducing from their starting points. Staff help children to learn to manage risk while maintaining appropriate support. Consequently, children build their skills and confidence as they develop age- appropriate freedoms, such as going into town on their own or the use of public transport independently.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. However, when this has happened, staff have responded appropriately and quickly to help find and return them as soon as possible. Managers work proactively and effectively with external agencies. This multi-agency response helps to reduce these risks. As a result, missing-from-home incidents are low in number and children are safer.

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

Concerns relating to staff conduct are very rare. When concerns are raised, they are managed sensitively and quickly. Collaborative work with social workers and the local authority designated officer ensures that children are kept safe. The manager identifies Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 5 learning points and addresses these with staff. Learning is then fully embedded in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The qualified and experienced registered manager is child focused and has a good knowledge of the children's needs. She works closely with the deputy manager and the responsible individual. The managers advocate for the children and are committed to ensuring that the children's experiences are positive. These senior leaders enjoy spending time with the children. As a result, the children see them as significant people in their lives. One professional said, 'The manager and the deputy manager are such good leaders and they know [name of the child] so well, they care about them and [the child] can feel that.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have effective systems for monitoring the children's care and the quality of records. They seek feedback to identify and action further improvements. Communication between managers and professionals is good. Professionals are regularly informed about any areas of concerns or changes concerning the children. The effective multi-agency working benefits the children's progress. One professional said, 'They are very child focused and ensure they have the right staff there; they constantly look at ways to best support [the child].'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers maintain appropriate oversight of the service. They review all incident reports and provide clear guidance to staff. Staff benefit from comprehensive training, workshops and regular consultation from the in-house therapeutic lead. However, not all staff have received regular supervision since the last inspection. Staff feel valued and supported and they praise the culture of the home. Staff retention is good and the team is stable and experienced. However, the irregular nature of staff supervision has the potential to mean that managers are not aware of, or able to address, emerging practice issue or the support needs of staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing, supportive and welcoming environment that meets children's needs. In particular, ensure that the bathrooms are well maintained. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC461846 7

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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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Inspector

Anda Roddy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC461846 8 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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