Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 1 SC390577 Registered provider: Meadows Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This 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 three children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

If required, children and young people can access the organisation’s school and therapy department.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 1 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/05/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who —

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, repair or replace all of the damaged bedroom furniture. 15/08/2018

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Recommendations

 Children’s home staff should take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental-stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7) Specifically, encourage and support the child to have independence time within the community.  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Specifically, ensure that all staff receive training in understanding and managing self-harming behaviour.  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

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Recommendations

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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people have left the home since the last full inspection. The decision to end these placements and run this as a solo home has been of benefit to the young person living there currently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A real positive has been the reduction in the use of agency and relief staff. This has decreased significantly since the interim inspection in February 2018. Improved continuity of care has contributed to strengthening relationships between the young person and staff. A professional said, ‘[Name] has some good attachments with some of the staff.’ She went on to say, ‘We have good foundations to move forward, now that staffing is more consistent.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide a highly individualised and unconditional programme of support. They demonstrate a good understanding of the young person’s complex needs. They are becoming increasingly effective in helping her to manage her anxieties and regulate her emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff genuinely care about what happens to the young person. They want to help her and want her to do well. A professional said, ‘Staff clearly put [name]’s needs first and want the best for her. They don’t want her to fail. Overall, I am very impressed with what they are doing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is supported well to attend school. Levels of attendance, punctuality and engagement have continued to improve. There is a strong partnership between the home and the school. This enables the potential barriers to participation to be navigated around. A school tutor said, ‘It was very different when I spoke to Ofsted last year, when I had a lot of concerns. Positively, the home has worked with us to improve how we all support [name]. As a result, her attendance and progress has improved, and staff now support education wholly. It is a much stronger team, who are better and more consistent in their approach.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is supported well to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The staff talk to the young person about the importance of eating healthily and taking regular exercise. The young person is beginning to make better choices in this respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work collaboratively with the young person’s therapist and deliver agreed strategies in the home. These have been beneficial in helping the young person to develop stronger attachments, reduce her anxieties and better regulate her emotions. The therapist said, ‘There is good communication between us. We share themes and feelings without breaching confidentiality and staff put strategies into place. Staff have a certain amount of knowledge and are really good at supporting [name].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff enjoy spending time with the young person. They offer lots of opportunities to have fun and encourage her to develop interests outside of the home. The manager and Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 5 the staff recognise the need for the young person to become more independent. They understand that they need to be more creative in supporting her to overcome her anxieties and have social experiences like those of her peers. This said, some headway has started to be made in this respect. For example, the young person spoke about a recent trip to a pop concert that she regards as her biggest achievement since I met her last. The young person said, ‘I am quite anxious, and staff try to help me with this. They talk to me a lot about my behaviour and how I feel. I think I have started to overcome some of my fears.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The young person feels safe and is safe. The manager and staff have a detailed understanding of the young person’s behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities. High levels of supervision mean that the opportunities to take risks are limited for the young person.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff understand the importance of educating the young person about potential risks in the community. They use planned key-work sessions, project work and individual discussions effectively to achieve this. When speaking to the inspector, the young person demonstrated a good awareness of potential risks, including child sexual exploitation and stranger danger.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff show high levels of tolerance, commitment and resilience when managing challenging behaviour. During and after such incidents, which have included assaults on some of the staff, they are careful to reinforce that they care and make every effort to repair and rebuild relationships. The staff engage the young person in meaningful and reflective conversations about each incident. This enables the young person to see how her behaviour affects others and the consequences to herself. This approach is having a positive impact, with incidents of verbal and physical aggression and assaults on staff decreasing over time.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in and understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They know what action to take in response to emerging concerns. Links with external safeguarding agencies and professionals are used appropriately. For example, the manager has established an individualised allegation protocol that has been agreed with the designated person. This was in response to the young person making a lot of false allegations that were quickly retracted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered for this and another home run by the organisation. The responsible individual confirmed that the manager will be resigning her registration for her other home in September 2018. This will enable her to focus on the development of this home and further strengthen the effective leadership that she already shows.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Suitable action has been taken to address the recommendation raised at the interim inspection in April 2018. This has improved the communication between the manager and Ofsted, who are kept informed and are now routinely updated when serious Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 6 incidents take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person benefits from living in a home where her individual needs are prioritised. The manager supports the staff well to maintain good standards of individualised care that is focused on helping the young person overcome challenges and achieve her individual goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff confirm that they feel well supported by the manager. They have regular formal supervision that is used effectively to reflect on the young person’s progress, share skills and develop practice and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Annual appraisals are used to evaluate staff practice and set individual targets for the forthcoming year. These appraisals do not currently include the views of the young person or professionals who have worked with the individual over the course of the year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have good access to both mandatory and needs-led training. However, several staff have not completed the organisation’s formal training in self-harm. Positively, the involvement of the young person’s therapist in team meetings goes some way to reducing the impact of staff not having this training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the home is a pleasant and comfortable house. The manager ensures that damage caused by the young person is repaired quickly. The young person’s bedroom is the exception to this; for example, damage included missing and damaged drawer fronts and cupboard doors hanging off. This room does not reflect the good standards seen elsewhere in the home.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Meadows Care Ltd, Egerton House, Wardle Road, Rochdale OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Paul Scott, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC390577 8 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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