Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection two young people have left the home and two have moved in. The registered manager ensures that impact risk assessments are carried out prior to admissions, and transitions to and from the home are carefully planned. That said, not all impact risk assessments are effective and the home has experienced a period of instability and crisis. There has been a sudden increase in notifiable incidents, and the home has had an unsettled period with both young people exhibiting challenging and often risky behaviour. Examples include increased aggression towards each other, mirroring negative behaviour and self- harm. Such behaviour is compromising their safety and welfare.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

More positively, there is clear evidence that adequate action has been taken to address these concerns. Leaders and managers display a commitment to overcoming these difficulties. The manager has been creative in identifying alternative strategies to manage the increased risks and has a strong commitment to ensuring that both young people are able to live with one another more positively.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are alert to some risks, and levels of supervision in the home are high. This means that when incidents do occur between residents, staff are on hand to intervene quickly. Risks are clearly identified in records, however, not all risks are consistently acted upon. For example, the inspector identified that on at least one occasion staff failed to seek immediate medical attention for a young person who had self-harmed. This seriously compromised the young person’s safety and well- being. The registered manager has taken immediate action, and appropriate measures are in place to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Not all staff have a robust understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures. For example, young people’s disclosures have not been responded to in a timely manner. Staff made an assumption that the matter did not meet safeguarding thresholds, and no attempt was made by staff to seek guidance from an on-call manager. This is not effective safeguarding of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Good partnership working is firmly established with a range of services. Staff are proactive in working with the police and other professional stakeholders. This ensures a well-coordinated response when young people exhibit unsafe behaviours. Placing authorities recognise the staff team’s efforts to safeguard young people. One social worker said: ‘I have every confidence in the staff team’s ability to manage presented risks. In light of the recent challenges they [staff] took immediate action to address this and implemented a waking night watch to make sure both young people were kept safe.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A key strength of this home is the quality of relationships between staff and young people. This is a very passionate staff team who have demonstrated tremendous resilience throughout a challenging time. The young people have developed strong and meaningful attachments with the manager and the staff team who are committed to providing them with positive experiences. This has been conducive to helping young people make progress and achieve many of their personal goals. Young people spoken with during the inspection say that they like living in the home. One young person said: ‘I have made progress and I don’t want to go back to where I was before. I like it here and I really like staff. I know they care because [name of staff member] once stayed up with me all night when I was upset.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people make progress and engage with education. Staff support young people so that they maximise their potential. For example, staff will read with young people and help them with their homework. Staff understand young people and encourage them to engage in activities which interest them. Some young people attend drama club, have music lessons and go horse riding. Staff encourage young people to choose their own décor and decorate their bedrooms themselves. This gives them a sense of belonging and pride in their home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff promote young people’s contact with their families and friends where it is in their best interests. Young people sustain their identity as a result. Staff have provided practical support by transporting young people to contact meetings when required. They also provide emotional support to ensure that relationships are positive and rewarding.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager ensures that she regularly monitors and reviews the quality of care in order to drive forward improvements. This is reflected in the majority of requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection being met. Following the last full inspection the home immediately ensured that any agency staff used were suitably qualified and experienced, to meet the young people’s unique and highly complex needs. More recently, the home has stopped using agency staff altogether and is re-establishing consistency and stability. The home is now well resourced in terms of staffing and young people confirm that they are cared for by the same core staff team. This impacts positively on relationships and provides a firm foundation for young people to progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff speak positively about the training opportunities available to them. All staff are provided with mandatory training, including safeguarding, behaviour management and restraint. The manager maintains good oversight of training and is acutely aware of the need to skill her staff team, and has arranged for a number of essential training components to be delivered to the whole team in the near future. However, the staff team have not had any specific training on caring for children who exhibit sexualised behaviour, which is an identified area of risk for some young people. To date, this has not impacted on practice. However, further knowledge in this area would greatly assist the staff team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and her staff ensure that the home is a welcoming and friendly environment which has young people’s wishes and needs at its heart. The home has been decorated throughout. This helps to create a homely feel to the house, which in turn helps the young people to build a sense of ownership over their environment.

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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 two young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 18/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 06/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/05/2015 Full Good 13/01/2015 Interim Sustained 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationship standard the registered provider must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

(2) (b) each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. 28/02/2017

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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

(vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 28/02/2017

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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

(Vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies 28/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support training needs with regard to accessing managing sexualised behaviour training ('Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 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 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

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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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