Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

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:

 Staff are experienced and passionate about meeting young people’s needs and keeping them safe. As a result, young people make good progress relative to their individual circumstances and their time living at the home. They feel that their lives have improved since they have been at the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Highly personalised and creative care planning and practice has led to significant personal achievements for the young person currently in placement.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are ambitious for each young person. They are nurtured as individuals with talents, strengths and capabilities that can develop over time, and are helped to develop self-belief.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Accommodation and facilities are of a very high standard and provide an environment designed to meet the needs of and develop young people

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The new manager provides effective leadership to the staff team and demonstrates a strong commitment to driving forward improvements in the home. Robust internal and external arrangements for monitoring practice ensure that there is good oversight of the care that is given to young people and the progress they make.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The manager has a clear understanding of the strengths of the home and areas for development. That said, some shortfalls are identified but they do not impact significantly on young people’s welfare or safety. Three requirements are therefore raised in order to further drive forward improvement for young people and comply with regulations.

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

(b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs; . (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific regard to ensuring that the placing authority gives timely feedback on the progress of child protection enquiries; and that the home and the placing authority work together effectively to secure mental health services for young people when needed. 27/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (3) (a)) 27/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. The requirements include that the individual is of integrity and good character. This is with specific regard to careful risk assessment of those individuals offered employment when the registered person has not been able to obtain full written references which address character and integrity matters in respect of those individuals. 27/10/2015

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Information about this children's home

This privately run home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. A school, registered with the Department for Education, operates on site.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

30/01/2015 CH - Interim declined in effectiveness

p.5

good

Staff establish high quality care-giving relationships that drive positive change and improved outcomes for young people. Their targeted interventions with young people have reduced the frequency and severity of previously problematic behaviour. As one parent observed: ‘ She likes the house and the people. She’s settled really well. I would know about it from her if she was unhappy there. They must be treating her right or she’d run off. She’s comfortable in that home which is peace of mind to me.’ Staff undertake a wide range of planned direct work with young people in relation to matters such as children’s rights, complaints, sexual health, smoking cessation, cultural identity, social diversity and the reasons why young people are in care. They have enabled young people to express themselves in this work through their creativity. This helps young people develop self-belief and tolerance, and learn to respect difference.

p.5

good

Staff provide really good emotional support through imaginative use of life story work and sensory reminders of home so that young people feel more able to manage their feelings without escalating into extremes of anger. It encourages them to get their feelings out by talking about them. This approach helps young people move towards having an increased sense of ownership in terms of finding and implementing solutions to their concerns. It helps them to feel more in control and believe that there are actions they can take to resolve situations. As one social worker confirmed: ‘On the whole, they have been absolutely fantastic with her. She settled in really well. I think she has good relationships with staff there. She has come on a long way. She is like a different girl. She now talks to people instead of screaming and shouting at them. She is so much better with me. I was able to take her out to lunch and she was polite and articulate and showed a good

p.5

good

understanding of why she has had to come into care. I think this is very positive as it shows that she has been getting a consistent message from staff about this.’ However, although young people clearly benefit from the holistic focus on their well-being in the home, there continues to be unresolved challenges in obtaining community based mental health services for young people to ensure expert oversight and assessment of emergent needs. Staff are passionate about getting young people back into education and patiently encourage them every step of the way. As a result, there has been a significant improvement in young people’s attendance and participation with school. For one young person, their attendance has risen from only 29% when living at home to 100% in the provider’s school by the end of the school year. Young people have clear and structured education programmes in place which amount to 25 hours

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good

education per week. This is further supplemented by informal learning opportunities such as museum visits and targeted project work, and by provision of a stimulating learning environment in the home. Young people's views and opinions are listened to and this enables them to have a positive influence in the running of the home and allows them to make a purposeful contribution. As a result, young people feel highly valued, well informed and fully involved in all aspects of their care. Young people's rights to inclusion and participation are central to how the home operates and this promotes effective communication within the home. Young people’s placement plans are holistic and provide a thorough assessment of their needs. Individual targets are clear and tracked regularly to evaluate progress against them. Young people are included in this process and are fully involved in their meetings where decisions are made

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good

about their future plans. This promotes their ownership of and commitment to those plans. Young people live in a very comfortable and well maintained home with excellent facilities. It reflects the high value placed on the well-being of the young people who live there. Judgement grade

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good

Staff are conscientious and ensure that young people's welfare is promoted at all times. They act responsibly and always convey to young people the importance of making the right choices to keep themselves safe. Young people indicate that they feel safe and staff clearly demonstrate respect and regard for them. Risk assessments are thorough, insightful and highly individualised, reflecting the more diverse needs and personalities of young people. Staff are skilled at discussing with young people their areas of risk, behaviour, responsibilities and how these are to be managed. As a result missing from home incidents are greatly reduced. When this occurs, staff go out on to the streets and known addresses to look for young people. Overall, staff demonstrate well- coordinated responses in close consultation with relevant agencies. They also ensure that the placing authority arranges for independent return interviews to

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good

take place so that information about the push-pull factors feeds into young people’s individual preventative strategies. Staff are effective at helping young people develop safer ways of coping with and understanding strong emotions such as anger, rejection and anxiety. This is achieved through some excellent structured project work with young people in relation to associated risk-taking behaviours such as sexual exploitation, e-safety, substance abuse and running away. They enable young people to reflect on the good things in themselves and this has increased their confidence. Young people have become more aware of where their anger, frustration or disappointment is coming from. This awareness encourages them to think about how they could approach situations differently. As a result, there has been a clear reduction in the frequency and intensity of such behaviour. As one young person said: ‘It’s alright

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good

here. I think staff have helped me with stopping smoking weed and running away. Though the shock of coming here has also done that.’ Staff use a range of effective behaviour management strategies. They are informed by use of behaviour tracking forms which aim to identify triggers for young people’s behaviours so that pre-emptive action can be taken. Positive behaviour is encouraged by a clear reward and incentive scheme that young people help to draw up. As a result, there is no use of restraint and absolutely minimal use of sanctions. In addition, staff take a restorative approach wherever possible so that young people have a chance to reflect on their behaviour and make appropriate restitution. As one relative said: ‘I think that the staff are helping my daughter. They are all very friendly, nice and competent. I’ve seen definite improvements in her. They give praise and set clear boundaries when they need to. I think they are

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good

keeping her safe. Everyone is on to her about risks outside the home. They are teaching her all the time about safety things.’

p.8

good

Staff demonstrate competent knowledge of safeguarding procedures and action to take in the event of child protection concerns. For example, they are able to identify the warning signs of sexual exploitation and are confident about how to act on them. They have regular mandatory safeguarding training which is supplemented by additional training in relation to young people’s specific needs. This helps staff to have a good understanding of young people's vulnerabilities and risks they may face. Staff report that there is an open culture within both the home and the wider organisation that supports the reporting of concerns. Staff know about the whistleblowing procedures and demonstrate appropriate values and determination to use them as necessary. The provider usually follows safe recruitment processes to deter unsuitable individuals from having access to young people. However, there are occasions when new recruits are offered employment with only minimal written references

p.8

good

that do not address key information about their character and integrity and do not include a managerial risk assessment about how that information is to be obtained. That said, subsequent induction and probationary processes are suitably robust to ensure that a close eye is kept on individuals’ suitability to undertake their role.

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good

Although the home has recently lost a strong Registered Manager, the provider has taken prompt action to bring in a new and adequately experienced manager. He appears to be confident, open to learning and is suitably realistic about the responsibilities of the role he has taken on. This manager demonstrated a very grounded approach during the inspection with lots of focussed energy, resilience and an openness to learn from mistakes. He has sought additional manager development time with more senior managers and is about to enrol on his required leadership and management qualification. He is in process of applying to be the Registered Manager. He manages two homes but spends enough time in this home to retain close contact and to influence the way staff function. He is supported by a very competent deputy manager and together they provide effective leadership of the home. It is very evident that managers place young people’s needs at the heart of

p.8

good

everything done in the home. This is endorsed by positive feedback from the young people, external professionals and relatives. The manager demonstrates good awareness of his responsibility to ensure that the needs of the young people can be met and to avoid a situation arising where the “mix” of needs proves impossible to meet. All new referrals to the home are considered against a vacancy risk assessment of the needs of the current young person in the home. This identifies manageable and unmanageable risks to guide the manager in making appropriate decisions which promote placement stability. The manager has a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of his service. He has a written development plan in place to address areas for improvement and this is regularly reviewed and up-dated so that it is a meaningful tool to promote improvement. He undertakes thorough monitoring of the quality of care and is well supported by constructively critical feedback from the monthly

p.9

good

independent visitor reports. This means he maintains an appropriately robust grip on the home. The manager has clear tracking mechanisms in place to show the progress that young people make and can demonstrate the positive difference the home has made to their lives.

p.9

good

Managers provide a supportive environment for staff through effective supervision, training and oversight of practice. They take prompt action in relation any concerns about practice. Staff confirm that they feel very well supported by managers. As one member of staff commented: ‘Everyone does their bit, all stick to the same routine, morale is great. I like this team. I feel supported by them all.’ Consequently, young people benefit from a motivated and keen staff group who work consistently together and are able to build built trusted and stable relationships with them. This serves to promote better outcomes for the young people.

p.9

good

The aims of the provision are clearly stated both for parents, placing authorities and young people, and are effectively translated into practice. However, there are some minor amendments needed to the Statement of Purpose to ensure it is fully up-to-date with the service provided. All concerns about young people's safety or well-being are always taken seriously and are referred appropriately to relevant safeguarding agencies and placing authorities. However, the manager needs to be more proactive in ensuring that those agencies then take the necessary action in a timely manner as young people can experience excessive delay as disinterest. This can deter them from disclosing matters of concern in the future.

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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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