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:

 Relationships within the home are strong and the young person is supported to develop meaningful attachments with staff.  The whole staff team is dedicated to securing positive outcomes for the young person and to ensuring that they make progress from their individual starting point in the home.  Staff value the importance of family contact, and they support and facilitate this appropriately. This promotes the young person’s sense of identity and keeps them connected to important family members.  Staff are equipped to deliver a good standard of care and support to the young person. They receive a suitable level of support and training, and regular supervision, and their suitability to perform their duties is appraised annually.  The manager is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and motivated. She is very child focused and has high aspirations for young people. Staff confirm that they feel valued and share the manager’s vision to improve the life experiences of

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The children's home provision is good because:

young people.  Two requirements have been raised within this inspection. These relate to ensuring that HMCI are notified of information pertaining to the protection of children, and to improving the home’s matching procedures.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure—

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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 relates to ensuring a more robust matching process – specifically in relation to peer group mapping and assessing the potential risks of the home’s close proximity to other children's homes. 31/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child protection enquiry is instigated or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 4(4)(d)(e)) 31/10/2016

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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

 The missing from home return interview should be carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to their home or care setting. This should be an in-depth interview and is normally best carried out by an independent person (ie, someone not involved in caring for the child) who is trained to carry out these interviews and is able to follow-up any actions that emerge. (‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care’, page 14, paragraph 32)

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of a number of children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who may need support with their emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/09/2015 Full Good 20/11/2014 Full Good

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Good

The young person currently living at this home benefits from good-quality individualised care. Professionals comment positively on the standard of care provided in the home. One said, ‘I believe the package of care being offered in this home is good. The young person appears to be quite settled and staff have built a good working relationship with him and his family.’

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Good

The young person was seen to be happy in the home and was observed having lots of positive conversations and interactions with staff throughout the inspection. Relationships are key strengths and the young person is well supported by a small but dedicated staff team, all of whom spend quality time with him. Staff talk caringly about the young person and work hard to develop and maintain a trusting and supportive relationship with him. This was confirmed by the young person who said, ‘I really like it here. The last home I lived in was good but this one is much better. I’d give here 10 out of 10, because staff are funny and caring and I like them a lot.’

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Good

The promotion of education is a key strength and since living at the home the young person has returned to education and is now talking about making positive life choices. Staff are passionate about getting young people back into education and patiently encourage them every step of the way. Records demonstrate that there has been a significant improvement in the young person’s attendance and participation within school. Formal education is further supplemented by informal learning opportunities with staff; – for example trips to museums and targeted project work, – all of which help to increase the young person’s self-esteem, confidence and belief that he is able to achieve.

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Good

Healthcare needs are identified within robust healthcare plans, and the young person is enabled to take responsibility for his good health through regular supportive discussions. Staff make good use of additional information about healthy eating, exercise, smoking and the dangers of drug and alcohol misuse. They use this additional information to develop their knowledge and understanding to support the young person. The staff team also benefits from regular and detailed consultation with the organisation’s clinical psychologists. This enables the staff to understand and support the young person’s emotional or physical health needs.

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Good

The young person maintains appropriate contact with his family. This is facilitated by staff who understand the importance of helping young people maintain these significant attachments. Staff are conscious of the impact of contact and remain supportive in their approach. They have forged positive working relationships with families, which enable them to work in partnership in the best interests of young people.

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Good

Staff treat the views, feelings and opinions of the young person seriously. They actively involve him in key decisions so that he is able to influence and contribute to the running of the home. Staff ensure that young people know how to make a complaint and their rights are championed effectively.

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Good

The manager and staff have continued to improve the decoration of the home, and maintenance issues are addressed quickly. Overall, the house presents as a homely and comfortable place to live. However, some ongoing improvements are required. For example, the conservatory is currently empty, and decorative ornaments and objects need to be replaced. The manager is in the process of addressing this and therefore a recommendation has not been raised.

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Good

The young person is safeguarded by clear, detailed risk assessments that are shared and discussed with him and the placing social workers. The assessments identify potential dangers, with strategies to follow to minimise risk. Staff adhere to the risk assessments and ensure that any changes in risk are reflected in updated records. Handovers and staff meetings ensure that all staff on duty are aware of changes made. This provides further robust management of risk.

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Good

Keeping the young person safe is of paramount importance to the registered manager and staff. The team is very nurturing, and it is effective in helping the young person to develop safer ways of coping with and understanding emotions. Structured project work and induvial sessions with staff enable the young person to reflect and become more aware of where anger, tension and anxiety are coming from. Records demonstrate that there has been a clear reduction in the frequency and intensity of harmful behaviour, such as verbal and physical aggression. This further demonstrates that the young person is settled and happy.

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Good

All areas of behaviour management which include physical intervention are well managed and monitored. Records are up to date and provide a good overview of incidents. Evidence indicates that, while the young person are exploring boundaries and expressing feelings of anger, the environment remains highly supportive and over time the frequency and severity of these incidents reduce. This demonstrates that young people are learning other ways of expressing their feelings.

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Good

Missing from home incidents are rare. There have been five occasions of missing from home since the last inspection. This signifies a reduction in missing from care since being placed in this home. Records demonstrate that staff understand what to do when young people go missing. They follow missing protocols and do their utmost to secure the young person’s safe return. However, the arrangements for missing from home return interviews are less robust. Not enough has been done to ensure that the young person has the opportunity to speak to someone independent following their return to placement. The manager has acknowledged this shortfall and the provider is in the process of reviewing current processes to ensure a more robust system in the future.

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Good

The home has robust safeguarding procedures for staff to follow in the event of allegations, suspicion of abuse or unsafe practice. Safeguarding professionals confirm that the organisation is transparent and concerns are reported appropriately. Records demonstrate that staff apply rigour to the management of incidents, and that investigations into allegations or concerns about staff practice are handled fairly, quickly and in consultation with appropriate external agencies. This provides effective protection for young people.

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Good

Improvements have been made to the organisation’s safer recruitment procedures. This ensures more robust recruitment and selection of staff. This means that as much as possible is done to verify the suitability of people working in the home.

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Good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2016. She brings a wealth of experience and is suitably qualified to perform the role. She demonstrates a strong commitment to delivering a child-focused service that prioritises the needs of young people. She maintains a good level of management oversight and has a detailed insight into their care needs and how these are being met.

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Good

The manager is proactive in her efforts to maintain positive working relationships with parents, social workers, schools and a range of external safeguarding and healthcare agencies. She is a strong advocate for ensuring that young people receive the services and support that they are entitled to, and takes action to appropriately challenge underperformance. These links have been used effectively in meeting the young person’s diverse and unique needs, and have contributed to his good progress.

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Good

Staff confirm they receive good management support, regular supervision and training. Poor performance is appropriately challenged and actions put in place for improvement. Staff report that they work well together and they say that morale in the team is very good. This presents itself to young people through a positive atmosphere in the home. New staff are well inducted and given good support from the registered manager and experienced staff. They are provided with opportunities to develop their understanding and knowledge, and to apply this learning in their day-to-day care of young people.

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Good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and she has a strong commitment to securing ongoing developments to improve the care provided to the young person. She has a detailed organisation and team development plan, which is being effectively implemented. This ensures that the home can continue to develop for the benefit of the young person. Monitoring systems are effective and used to review and evaluate how the service is operating. The external independent monitoring provides clear evaluation, enabling the manager to take actions to address shortfalls and build on the strengths of the home.

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Good

In general, placement planning is based on good analysis of information in relation to matching young people’s needs to the skill set of staff. However, the current processes fail to consider the potential impact of the home’s close proximity to other children’s homes. There is little evidence that the manager has considered the potential interplay between peer groups in the local community and how to manage those relationships safely. This has the potential to impact on the overall effectiveness of the home’s matching process. The manager has acknowledged this shortfall and is in agreement that peer dynamics need to be considered for future admissions.

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Good

Procedures are in place to ensure that relevant professionals and agencies are informed in the event of serious incidents. However, on at least three occasions, the manager has failed to notify HMCI of information pertaining to the welfare and protection of a young person. This hinders the regulator from effectively carrying out its safeguarding responsibilities to ensure that young people are protected from harm.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 that 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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