Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Unique reference number SC390577 Inspection date 29/08/2012 Inspector Stella Henderson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 08/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home run by a company provides care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say that they feel safe and respected at the home. They and their parents have very positive views about staff. Parents feel that their children have made good progress particularly in terms of education and behaviour. Working alongside families and other agencies is a strength of the home and, as a result, some young people have been able to return home.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are consulted about some aspects of their care and how the home is run. They benefit from good quality care and support provided by staff who are well managed and guided in their tasks. The manager has a good overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Some areas for development are identified as a result of this inspection. These relate to qualifications for staff, strengthening consultation with children and improving the quality of recording as it relates to the manager's presence in the home.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that children communicate their views on all aspects of their care and support (NMS 1.3)  ensure that all existing staff have attained a minimum level 3 qualification. All new staff engaged from the commencement of the NMS (in April 2011) are to hold the level 3 Children and Young Peoples Workforce Diploma which must include mandatory social care units or be working towards the Diploma within six months of confirmation of employment (NMS 18.5)  improve the system that is in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record keeping. This is specifically in relation to accuracy in recording management time in the home and management contact with children and young people. (NMS 22.1)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people say that the home is 'really great'. Those new to the home feel that they have settled in really well and this is reflected in the small but significant progress they have made since their admission. Young people who have been at the home for a longer period of time have benefitted from improved health and education outcomes and successful rehabilitation with their families.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people eat well, sleep well and enjoy good health. Routine health needs are addressed promptly and their education is very well promoted. This helps them to make good educational progress. Although not ready to embark on independence, young people are supported to manage small tasks for themselves and thus contribute to the running of the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's anxieties, such as going to a new school, are managed well as are more complex needs which helps them to reach an understanding of their background and behaviour. The cultivation of a family-like environment provides young people with a good deal of emotional and psychological nourishment. As a result, they present as friendly and confident. They enjoy age-appropriate friendships in the community, sometimes having friends to stay overnight.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are involved in the same kind of activities as their peers, such as playing football, going to the skate park and enjoying holidays away from the home. Young people are equally happy to spend time constructively on their own.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people's sense of identity and belonging is promoted through meaningful contact with their families. One parent stated that the whole family was made to feel very welcome by staff and commented that their child is 'happy and content' at the home.

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Quality of care

The manager and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to young people which results in good outcomes. They achieve for young people an environment that is akin to general family life and establish very effective working relationships with key personnel in schools and health services. This ensures young people get the help and support to which they are entitled.

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Quality of care

Staff make effective use of planned and informal key working opportunities which focus on young people's behavioural, emotional and developmental needs. This helps young people to make progress in these areas. One parent felt that, 'staff are doing a really good job with my child.’

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Quality of care

Staff successfully implement each young person's individualised placement plan. Young people have some awareness of these plans and contribute to these and the running of the home. This is limited, however, and reduces their opportunities to contribute to some aspects of their care planning and decision-making in a meaningful way.

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Quality of care

Young people say that staff treat them with respect. They in turn are helped by staff to treat others similarly, particularly where issues of diversity are concerned. Young people say that staff listen to what they have to say but they also recognise that it is not possible to always have what they want, when they want it.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe, secure and well cared for. One parent said that they felt their child was safe at the home. Both young people and parents know how to make a complaint should they need to and external complaints are dealt with promptly and courteously.

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Safeguarding children and young people

It is very unusual for young people to go missing from the home. However, in the rare instances that they do go, staff ensure their safety as far as possible and notify the appropriate agencies in line with local police protocols.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The consistent, individualised approach to managing behaviour ensures that young people learn to accept appropriate boundaries. For example, they come back home at a time agreed and come to understand about the 'give and take' of living with others. As a result, young people say they feel respected by staff and life at the home is calm and relaxed and with extremely few sanctions and no restraints. One parent felt that the home was particularly good at managing their child's behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected because any issues of a safeguarding nature are managed appropriately ensuring the safety and welfare of young people remains paramount. This extends to using disciplinary measures to address performance that does not contribute to young people achieving optimum outcomes.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The property provides young people with homely accommodation that meets their needs with checks and systems in place to protect them from environmental hazards.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The manager is registered with Ofsted and manages another home within the same company. She maintains a regular presence in the home. However, the recording of this and the time she spends with young people is not always accurately recorded.

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Leadership and management

A skilled and competent deputy manager supports the manager in the efficient and child-focussed operation of the home. As a result, young people experience improvements to their development and well-being across a range of outcomes.

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Leadership and management

Staff feel that they are very well supported and supervisions and team meetings are focussed on the needs of young people. The organisation demonstrates a good commitment to staff training. However, only one member of the current staff team has a recommended qualification. Staff are nevertheless competent and achieve good outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

The home is sufficiently resourced in terms of staffing and finances. There is independent and internal scrutiny of the running of the home. Young people benefit from improvements at the home, both in terms of changes in practice to effect better outcomes for young people and to the physical environment.

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Leadership and management

There is good monitoring of the running of the home and quality of care provided to young people, and the manager has ensured that shortfalls identified at the last inspection have been addressed. This means that a requirement relating to the condition of the home and a recommendation to improve the recording of supervision have been met.

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Leadership and management

Young people's records give a good account of their time at the home and there is particularly good recording of key working interventions. This assists young people to understand how they have been helped at the home and the progress they have made during their time there.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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