Children's home in Rochdale

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has Improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The last full inspection was done in November 2015. The home achieved good judgements in the quality of young people’s overall experiences, and in leadership and management. However, that inspection identified that safeguarding practice required improvement. This was because there were some shortfalls in relation to the management of allegations, staff training, and the consistent implementation of risk management plans. Four requirements were made to improve practice. At the point of this interim inspection, those four requirements have been satisfactorily addressed. This demonstrates that the manager learns from inspection activity to improve the service. The young person continues to make good progress in many aspects of her life. She benefits from well-planned care which is highly personalised to her specific needs. She is assisted through key working and more specialist interventions to develop an understanding of her circumstances, employ coping strategies, and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

gain some resilience to adversity. For example, staff have completed project work with her about matters such as the age of criminal responsibility, table manners and black heritage month. These sessions provide good learning opportunities and offer support and guidance to aid her personal progression. In addition, staff use other creative techniques such as playing emotional charades with her to help her to learn about different emotions and the purpose of them. Staff work hard to establish and maintain positive relationships with the young person based on the values of good parenting and trust. As a result, she enjoys warm relationships with them and there is a good rapport between them. The daily routines and procedures are well-known to her and staff and provide a pattern of individualised, consistent care that meets her needs. As her social worker confirmed: ‘My young person receives an excellent package of care. The staff

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

really care about her and want her to be happy. The staff are brilliant at keeping me up to date about what is happening for her. They have demonstrated a level of commitment to her and I want her to remain in their care.’ Staff support the young person to deal with feelings of being unloved and isolated. They help her to effectively manage behaviour problems which have an impact on friendships and social interaction. They have established positive behaviour management strategies based on praise, incentives and realistic individual targets. This means they do not have to use physical restraints and only need to employ minimal and appropriate use of sanctions. It also means that the young person is able to sort out any problems she may have without recourse to running away from the home. The young person is supported to undertake a wide range of activities and trips out. These achievements are celebrated and recorded in photos to share with her

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

family and friends. She has a very busy schedule throughout the week which includes after school club, football and horse riding. She has just been to Blackpool for an over-night stay in a hotel during half –term. She conducted herself well while there. She has recently attended her placing authority‘s awards ceremony and received a football ticket to go to watch her home football team play. Staff understand that praise, approval and attention all motivate her well to want to achieve. The young person is fully engaged with her education which is testament to her emotional resilience. She has excellent attendance and is progressing well in line with her abilities. For example, her reading age has increased tremendously since she has been living in the home. She appreciates going to school because of the social opportunities available to her there, and the dedicated care and help she gets in the small classroom setting. She likes being with other young people who

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

have similar challenges to her. The young person is able to achieve within education because the manager and staff work closely with the school and get the right help and support for her. In addition, staff ensure that she has a routine, is prepared, encouraged and praised so that she understands the importance of education. This approach helps her to both experience success and develop her confidence. Since the last inspection, the manager has developed suitably robust processes in relation to the management of serial false allegations. He initiated a meeting with the host local authority to agree a risk management plan about how they were to be dealt with. This has been successful in reducing the frequency of the incidents and in ensuring complete transparency. The local authority manager wrote to the manager to confirm her confidence in his approach: ‘I feel that this was a really useful piece of work for both parties and I am wondering whether you would be

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

okay if I share this with other providers – the fact that Meadows sought advice from the LADO and we were able to undertake an audit and highlight strengths as well as gaps where further work was required. I think is evidences that there is a real shared approach and clear interagency working when it comes to safeguarding children in our area.’ The manager demonstrates very strong commitment to being as open-minded as possible about any allegations, and works in a highly collaborative way in resolving them. He has been able to manage them without too much adverse impact on consistency of care in the home. He has been fully supported by the young person’s placing authority in the strategies he has employed. For example, the manager has brought the local police officer into the home to talk to the young person about consequences of such behaviour. The manager has underpinned this by completing direct work with her about their impact. This has been instrumental

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

in beginning to remove the burden of inappropriate power from her, with the consequence that she is much more relaxed, makes far fewer allegations, and her aggression towards staff in the home has virtually ceased. The young person enjoys good physical health because her health needs are effectively identified and services are provided to meet them. She is encouraged and supported to attend routine and specialist appointments to ensure she remains fit and well. Much care and attention is given to support her following a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. She engages regularly in sports and other active pursuits, and receives good quality advice and support to do so. This promotes her physical health and well-being. Specialist services are used to help the young person come to terms with previous life experiences and reach understanding and resolution. She is now receiving additional therapeutic support since the last

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

inspection. This work is trauma-based therapy and deals with her feelings from the past. It is leading to a point when life story work can be sensitively broached with her. In general, she is a lot less angry and is in a calm, stable emotional place. She can still get angry but these episodes are few fewer and shorter than they used to be, and she no longer holds onto negative feelings for a long time.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

It is clear that staff have very positive working relationships with external agencies and with the young person’s family. As her school commented: ‘The home are very good at contact and feedback. They couldn’t be any better. I couldn’t know more unless I moved myself into the home.’ Staff are effective in helping the young person stay connected to key people including family and friends. This promotes her resilience by helping to counteract the risk factors that contribute to poor health and well-being.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager continues to lead a well-motivated team. He ensures that staff have appropriate development opportunities. This enables them to feel energised and confident in their practice. It also encourages awareness of practice issues beyond the boundary of the home. A culture of learning has been developed so that staff are constantly looking for where improvements can be made. The manager takes appropriate notice of useful feedback from the independent visitor and uses it to promote continual development of the service. To conclude, the home has improved its effectiveness since the last inspection. There are no new requirements or recommendations to improve practice.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for one young person with emotional and behavioural difficulties or learning difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/02/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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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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Recommendations

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

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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