Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report children's home: SC372117 1 SC372117 Registered provider: Meadows Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to three children and young people.

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Information about this children’s home

Specific work with the children and young people is personalised, enhancing the opportunity for the development of each child or young person, who may have been psychologically damaged by events in their lives.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager commenced her work in the organisation in September 2011 and has been the registered manager for this home since August 2016. The registered manager has completed her Level 5 management qualification.

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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: 24 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC372117 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/09/2018 Full Good 30/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2017 Full Good 05/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC372117 3

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Recommendations

Staff should maintain accurate entries and sign their names against the medication records kept in the home.  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

Staff with delegated responsibilities for reporting to the registered manager should complete actions within the registered manager’s timescales. Inspection report children's home: SC372117 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care and support that the staff provide helps children to reflect on issues in their past, understand how these affect them now and make progress towards creating a better future for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have the skills and experience to care for children. They demonstrate sound knowledge about the current and future needs of the children. They have developed strong, warm and trusting relationships with the children. These trusting relationships enable the children to flourish and make progress both inside and outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to share their views on their care and the daily routines of the home. Children know how to raise any concerns at any time. They know how to make a complaint and whom to talk to if they have a concern.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand how important education is to the future of the children. The three children are making good progress at school. They attend school full time. Some of the children have had negative experiences of education and have previously struggled to engage. This has been reversed, and now they are eager to participate in their education. One social worker says that he is ‘over the moon’ at the transformation of his child and the child’s change in attitude towards his education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Therapy is central to the operation of the home. A qualified therapist supports the staff in the work that they undertake with the children. The integration of therapy into daily life improves the children’s emotional and psychological well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage good health and well-being in the children. The children attend routine health and development appointments to ensure that their health needs are met. The staff help the children to cook, eat healthily and adopt an active lifestyle. Children are provided with a range of leisure experiences, and this provides opportunities to have fun and enhances their confidence and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are more settled here than they have been in other placements. Some children have lived in the home for a significant period and they are now being supported well with their independence skills, such as independent travel, shopping, budgeting, cooking and cleaning. Progress is monitored, and this identifies where further work is required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The arrangements for administering medication are generally safe. However, the medication records are not consistently completed accurately by staff, in line with the home’s medication policy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s internal environment, front and rear gardens are pleasant. Children are very comfortable in their home, and their bedrooms are personalised to their own taste and style. Inspection report children's home: SC372117 5

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

The registered manager understands the complexities of managing the different needs of children. She considers all the risks at the point of referral. This thoroughness in considering compatibility has ensured that the children are settled in the home and feel safe.

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

Safeguarding the children is embedded in everyday practice. Led and overseen by the registered manager, the staff strike a good balance between allowing the children to take age-appropriate risks and preventing them from coming to any harm. From the time that the children come to live in the home, risks are well understood. Staff put clear strategies in place to manage risk and, over time, the risks posed to children reduce significantly.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about the actions that they should take to keep children safe. This is because they understand the vulnerabilities of children. They follow procedures for reporting safeguarding concerns and participate in a range of safeguarding training. Reflective practice that focuses on keeping children safe is evident in the records of staff team meetings.

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

Behaviour is managed well. The staff look out for things that children do well, and praise and reward them regularly. A child said, ‘I am more confident and happier in this home; it’s much better than my last home’. Since the last inspection, there has been one occasion where physical intervention was used. The records are detailed, include the registered manager’s review of the incident and include a de-brief following the incident with a child.

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

There has been a reduction in the number of notifiable safeguarding incidents since the last inspection. This shows that the risk of harm to the children has been significantly reduced. Missing from home rarely happens, and self-harm incidents have ceased. These reductions are testament to the work that the staff do with the children and how well the children get on with each other. Children told the inspector that they are not bullied, and they do not feel intimidated in the home.

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

The organisation’s safe recruitment practice means that all staff are thoroughly checked before they start working in the home. This further enhances children’s welfare and safety. Regular health and safety checks are making the home a safe place to live in. Additionally, the local area assessment is reviewed and updated at least annually to make sure that the team is aware of any potential risks in the local community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and holds a relevant qualification in leadership and management. Her child-focused approach is appreciated by the staff. During discussions with the inspector, they were very positive about her support provided to them. She is a strong advocate for the children, and will continually and appropriately challenge the professional network to ensure that decisions made are in the children’s Inspection report children's home: SC372117 6 best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides daily support to staff. She is visible and accessible to the children. Regular staff supervision focuses on staff well-being, safeguarding and ways to improve the care provided to children. Staff complete relevant training and discuss specific topics from research in team meetings, and the registered manager assesses the staff’s competencies on the specific topics discussed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in the Statement of Purpose, delivering a high-quality service for children. The home is sufficiently staffed, and half of the team are qualified to level 3 or above. Staff enrolled on their level 3 qualification are on target to meet the regulatory timescales for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a secure electronic recording system. Care and support plans are well organised, detailed and helpful. The children’s records contain good information and provide clear objectives and how these are to be met. Handmade memory books show the experiences and progress that the children have made since coming to live in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular progress reports are completed for children and shared with their placing social workers. This contributes to good partnership working that helps to ensure that care planning for children is effective and contributes to improvement in their outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good insight into the home’s strengths and developmental areas. She has fully met the requirement and recommendations made at the last inspection. The registered manager has a development plan in place. This identifies areas for continual improvement, includes timescales and shows the progress made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are managerial systems in place that monitor the quality of care and how this care is provided to children by the staff. However, the responsibilities given to the staff by the registered manager are not always completed within timescales. Improvements by staff are needed to fully contribute to the home’s quality of care review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visited during the inspection to complete her monthly monitoring of the home. She told the inspector that this home is very good and that she feels that the children are provided with a good quality of care and are kept safe. Inspection report children's home: SC372117 7

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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 difference 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: SC372117 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Mark Kersh, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC372117 9 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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