Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Oldham

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people live in a safe, caring and nurturing environment that supports them to address their early childhood trauma. They are encouraged, helped and protected by a consistent and well informed staff team.  Staff genuinely care about young people and have high aspirations for them. The positive relationship that exists within the home has helped young people to develop confidence and improve their interpersonal skills.  Young people are actively engaged in education. They enjoy improved attendance and have genuine goals and aspirations for their future. This undoubtedly improves their future learning and employment prospects.   Excellent opportunities exist for young people to engage in activities and hobbies which they enjoy. These include attending youth club, pamper days, shopping and day trips to fun placed. This enhances their social skills, confidence and sense of enjoyment.  Good quality plans and risk assessment provide good guidance to staff in

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The children's home provision is good because:

respect of meeting young people’s need and minimising harm. Those young people who demonstrate challenging behaviours have learnt to self-regulate and articulate their feelings. They are using alternative coping mechanisms and, in turn are developing more socially acceptable behaviour.  Staff spoken with during the inspection confirm that they feel supported in their roles. Staff receive regular supervision, training and present as competent in all areas of their work.  A number of shortfalls are noted. These relate to admissions risk assessments, managers monitoring and staff appraisals.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12 The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that staff -

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) 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.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the admissions risk assessment is kept up to date so that when considering any future admissions, due consideration can be given to whether the young person’s needs can be met and how this admission will impact on children already living in the home. 31/08/2015

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Requirement Due date

13 The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person is required to -

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Requirement Due date

(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to having robust systems in place to assess and evaluate the progress made by children and young people since the start of their placement. 31/08/2015

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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

All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (The Guide, page 61. 13.5)

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately run children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people make good progress because they receive highly personalised and consistent support from staff they know well. They benefit enormously from living in a nurturing environment where staff are intuitive and treat them with unconditional positive regard. Staff are not overwhelmed by initial stumbling blocks or setbacks and make great effort to help young people get back on track. Staff are clearly child-centred and are very skilful at engaging young people. The home provides a firm foundation which enables young people to live out their childhood in a safe, secure and caring environment. One young person commented ‘I really rate this home. I was made to feel welcome when I first arrived and I get on with staff. Staff are pretty good here, it’s much better than the other homes I’ve lived in.’

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Good

Placement plans are child-focused and provide a good overview of young people’s needs, never losing sight of their individuality. Staff ensure that the views and opinions of young people are intrinsic to the development and review of how their care is delivered. This is achieved through regular meetings and consultations with staff. Furthermore, young people are now more confident to engage fully in their review meetings. This ensures they have every opportunity to contribute to the decisions being made about their lives. Young people’s school attendance has improved since moving into the home. When young people refuse to attend school, quick action is taken and alternative arrangements are put in place to ensure minimum impact on learning. For example, the home works closely with teachers to address challenges. They explore more appropriate ways of delivering education taking into account the specific needs of the individual young person. There is an aspirational culture

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Good

within the home that helps young people aim high. Young people are given every opportunity to thrive educationally and as a result, they have genuine aspirations and goals for their future lives. Young people are encouraged to eat healthily and to understand the importance of maintaining good health. They are provided with good information and advice about a range of important health matters such as sexual health, smoking and the consequences of substance misuse. Young people’s emotional health needs are also identified and met by qualified and experienced professionals. This means their holistic health needs are routinely addressed and they are supported to make informed decisions which promote their physical and emotional wellbeing. Staff understand the importance of promoting young people’s identity and culture through regular contact. Young people receive good support from staff to maintain regular contact visits with their family. Staff also encourage young people to

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Good

develop and maintain friendships. This ensures that young people have the same social experiences as their peers and are able to maintain links with significant people.

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Good

The underpinning ethos of the home is to provide young people with an environment that mirrors a positive family life. For example, eating an evening meal together and discussing over dinner how their day has been. Staff also encourage young people to take part in a range of activities. Popular pastimes include pamper nights, shopping trips and days out to places of interest. Staff fully consult with young people as to what they would like to do each week. This has proved effective in helping young people to develop confidence and self-esteem.

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Good

Planning for new admission to the home is generally well managed. Where possible planning meetings and introductions take place prior to placement. The home has a vacancy risk assessment to help the manager make informed decisions about admissions. However, this has not been kept up to date and there is no evidence to demonstrate that the impact on other residents has been considered during the admission process. Currently, this has not impacted negatively on young people and the current group dynamic is very good. However, it has the potential to weaken the effectiveness of the home’s matching process.

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Good

The home is good at keeping young people safe. Risk taking behaviours such as self-harming reduce from the start of placement. This is largely down to the combined support from staff and therapeutic services. Young people spoken with during the inspection confirm that they feel safe and protected from harm. They have confidence that staff will deal with any incidents that occur and can easily identify staff they would speak with, if they had any concerns.

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Good

Incidents of missing from care have reduced. When young people have left the home without permission, staff respond quickly and make efforts to locate them and ensure their safe return. The home has forged good links with other professionals to address missing from care concerns. For example, the home has excellent links with the police, placing authorities and specialist safeguarding teams. This joint working has proved effective in tracking young people who are missing and obtaining intelligence on the places and people they visit. Consequently, professionals, including staff, are better equipped to respond if young people fail to return home.

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Good

Evidence gathered during the inspection highlights that young people benefit from clear and consistent behaviour management strategies. Staff work closely with them to ensure they understand the consequence of their actions. The use of reflection and restorative approaches enables young people to identify alternative coping strategies. As a result, young people are taking an increased responsibility for their actions.

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Good

Staff are trained in safeguarding and are confident in implementing the home’s policies and procedures. The team are clear about their responsibilities and demonstrated a good understanding of child protection. Staff are well equipped to provide good support to young people who have suffered trauma. One experienced team member said ‘Our priority is young people’s safety. They need to feel safe and protected before they can progress in other aspects of their lives. We have open and honest discussions with young people about risk and this helps them make safer choices. They need to know we care and we tell them on a regular basis.’ This demonstrated that the welfare and well-being of young people is given optimum priority.

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Good

Any incidents relating to safeguarding or child protection are promptly notified to the correct agencies. There are no concerns about the home’s management of such incidents.

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Good

Young people are protected by the home’s recruitment procedures, which ensure that appropriate checks are carried out before new staff commence employment. The manager also involves young people in the selection process. They are given the opportunity to ask their own interview questions and take part in the decision making process. Consequently, young people have a meaningful say over who they think should be caring for them.

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Good

The home provides a safe environment for young people to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose a risk to young people. Young people and staff take part in regular fire drills to ensure they know how to safely evacuate the home in case of an emergency. These measures help ensure that young people continue to live in a safe environment.

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Good

A new manager has been in post since June 2015. She is suitably experienced, having worked as a deputy manager in another Children’s home for some years. The manager is well supported by a deputy manager and senior managers. Together they ensure the effective operation of the home. The manager and the deputy manager are very child focused and firmly believe that every child deserves to be loved. Both have a good understating of the young people living in the home and have high aspirations for them to achieve. Staff report that they are satisfied with the training, support and supervision provided by managers. One member of the team stated ‘I feel totally supported by the manager and the deputy manager. I feel value and listened to. I get regular supervision and there is a good range of training available for staff. I love my job, I’m really happy working here.’ The manager routinely monitors staff performance, competency and conduct,

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Good

through observation of practice, regular supervision and annual appraisals. In relation to appraisals, a new system of gathering the views young people is now embedded into practice. However, the manager does not routinely seek the views of other professionals. This is a missed opportunity to undertake a more holistic review of professional practice.

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Good

The home is well-resourced in terms of staff. The team have a broad range of experiences and skills to meet the everyday challenges of caring for young people. Leaders, managers and staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities and they are all given regular opportunities to develop and reflect on practice. Team meetings and handovers provide good opportunities for discussion about young people’s progress and identify areas for development. These mechanisms have undoubtedly contributed to the improved communication and consistency within the team.

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Good

Recording systems and young people’s files are in excellent order and fully reflect their individuality, background, life experiences and plans. All records are stored safely and securely. They are checked regularly to ensure they are up to date and provide a clear and accurate history of each young person’s time in the home. Young people are encouraged to keep albums and books containing photographs and memorabilia. This helps young people maintain positive memories of their time in the home.

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Good

The manager undertakes regular monitoring of the home to ensure it operates in accordance with the Statement of Purpose. Evidence gathered at this inspection indicates that the manager takes appropriate steps to address shortfalls. For example, the doorbell was not working on the first day of the inspection. This was addressed and the manager took immediate steps to rectify the issue. Good monitoring and quality assurance systems enables the manager to review the service and address shortfalls. However the manager does not have a clear system to monitor and systematically track the progress that young people make from the start of their placement. This hinders the managers ability to assess and evaluate the progress young people are making.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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