Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children's home: 1240936 1 Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children's home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in February 2021. The manager has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Information about this children's home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, Ofsted suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children's home

Ofsted last visited this home on 6 and 7 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 20 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1240936 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 1240936 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first full inspection since September 2019. The home received an assurance visit in October 2020. Since the assurance visit, one child has left the home and two children have moved in. At the time of the inspection, two children lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff support and encourage children to attend school and to achieve good outcomes. Children enjoy social interactions. One child regularly attends his local youth club and aspires to become a youth leader there. Children are supported and encouraged by the staff to engage in leisure activities and this enables them to improve their self-esteem while having fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and maintained to a good standard. Children’s photos are dotted around the home. Books and games are easily accessible and soft furnishings help to create a nurturing environment. Children personalise their bedrooms and this allows them to take a sense of pride in their home and promotes their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend weekly therapy sessions to promote their well-being. Staff have regular consultations with the home’s therapy team. This helps staff to provide consistent care to the children that is underpinned by the home’s therapeutic model of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children have positive and caring relationships with each other. Managers and staff listen to children’s views. Children know how to complain and any complaints are taken seriously. As a result, children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are with provided good support to help them to develop their independence skills. Staff teach children life skills that will prepare them for when they leave the home. This promotes their confidence and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to children to stay in touch with people who are most important to them throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Children’s parents say that they have confidence in the care that staff provide to their children. Children see staff and their families working together and this enables children to receive coordinated care.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. This is because staff provide consistent boundaries, allowing the children to live in a predictable and stable environment.

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

Staff de-escalate incidents well, which means the need to physically intervene to keep children and others safe is rare. The registered manager reviews the staff’s Inspection report children's home: 1240936 4 handling of challenging incidents, which provides good oversight to support staff and children. This helps staff to reflect on incidents to continually improve their practice. Children also learn to think about how they can manage their emotions and behaviours differently and without hurting anyone.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home, but on one occasion when a child went missing, staff did not respond appropriately. Clear protocols are available for staff to follow. Staff contact the police, search known areas and try to re-establish contact with the children. When children return home, they are welcomed and offered food and drink. Children are provided with opportunities to discuss issues with an independent person.

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

On one occasion, when a child began to leave the supervision of staff, they did not follow him as the guidance in his risk assessment indicated that they should. As a result, the child went missing from the home and this had the potential to place him in a harmful situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified registered manager leads the staff team. The registered manager has made improvements to the home since the assurance visit and has met all requirements identified at that time. As a result, the children receive carefully planned care that takes into account children’s views. The manager maintains good oversight of the service and is able to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and helping the children to make progress and achieve the best possible outcomes. Managers and staff have a good knowledge of the children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living at the home. Staff understand the children’s likes and dislikes, and this helps them to provide individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Improvements have been made to supervision procedures. Supervision sessions are regular and of good quality. The sessions help staff with their development and to reflect on their practice. The registered manager and experienced staff support new staff through a clear induction process. This helps new staff to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills to provide children with high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend a range of different training courses. Training is underpinned by the home’s therapeutic model of care focusing on the children’s individual needs. At times, staff do not implement their learning. For example, during one incident, staff did not use the Patience, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy model outlined in the home’s statement of purpose, when supporting a child to manage their behaviours. In response, the manager has organised for staff to receive additional training from the organisation’s clinical team, which is supporting improvement in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed positive relationships with children’s families and professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. One parent said, ‘The manager is great, if I have any issues, she will respond and immediately try to Inspection report children's home: 1240936 5 resolve these’. This partnership working results in the children receiving good-quality care to meet their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, one new staff member has joined the home. Improvements have been made following a recommendation raised at the last inspection to make sure that all relevant checks are undertaken and staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults from working with children. However, recruitment records are not always well organised and the manager found it difficult to find all of the information required. This makes it difficult to see easily that all procedures are followed. This may lead to information being missed. Inspection report children's home: 1240936 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff following risk assessments put in place by the registered manager. 18 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice. The registered person is to ensure that recruitment records are clear and managed effectively. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that they lead the team to deliver the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home's statement of purpose. This specifically relates to staff understanding the therapeutic model of the home when communicating with children. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.4) Inspection report children's home: 1240936 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 1240936 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1240936 9 to 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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