Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 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 four 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 December 2019. 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 10 December 2019 to carry out a full inspection. 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: 10 December 2019

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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: 1241855 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2019 Full Good 21/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/07/2018 Full Good 20/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the home’s first full inspection since December 2019. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. At the time of the inspection, three children lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusting and secure relationships with staff. They receive good levels of support from a consistent and committed team. Children informed inspectors that they have adults around them who they trust and can speak to if they are upset and worried. This helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff, and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children and challenge education providers when they feel improvements are required. For example, one child was not making progress in an education setting and declined to attend. Through consistent challenge from the manager to make sure that the child’s needs were met, the child’s education placement was changed. This has resulted in improved attendance and engagement. Because of this proactive approach, all three children attend school regularly and are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted. Staff ensure that health plans identify children’s needs, and that children attend medical appointments when required. Specialist support is in place to meet children’s emotional needs, through the home’s clinical team. Members of the clinical team also support staff by providing consultation and training. Staff work hard to create a nurturing environment which promotes the children’s well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop their independence skills. Staff teach children life skills that will prepare them for when they leave the home. Observations are recorded to monitor improvement and progress. Staff help children to participate in a range of different activities. This expands their experiences and promotes their hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have helped children to stay in touch with the people who are most important to them throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff plan visits carefully, in line with restrictions, and make sure that telephone and video technology is readily available. This supports children to continue to have positive experiences with family and friends.

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

Staff keep children safe. Children informed inspectors that they feel safe. Most risk assessments are clear and include relevant information. However, the registered manager had failed to pick up that some children’s risk assessments were identical and did not provide up-to-date and relevant information. This has the potential to cause confusion. Risk assessments are complemented by individual crisis Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 4 management plans. These are updated regularly to include any new information that can be used to reduce risks.

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

When children are absent from the home, staff make sure that a detailed record is made to reflect their response. Staff are proactive in their efforts to locate children by searching known areas and following the guidance provided for them. Staff contact friends and family to help locate children when they are away from the home. Because of these proactive approaches, staff find out where children are and take steps to ensure that they are safe and well. Consequently, children have not been reported missing from the home.

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

Children live in a safe and well-maintained home. Children are involved in choosing colour schemes and decorative items for their bedrooms. This enables children to take pride in their home. As a result, incidents involving damage to the home have reduced in number.

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

Children are protected by the organisation’s good safer-recruitment practice. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote each child’s safety by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified registered manager leads a consistent staff team. The manager keeps children at the heart of all that she does. The manager is ambitious for the children and this ethos is spread across the entire staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff consult children on a regular basis. When a new child moves into the home, consideration is given to the children already living there. This means that children’s views remain at the forefront of decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the support they receive from their manager. The manager and experienced staff support new staff through a clear, effective induction process. This ensures that new staff develop the skills and knowledge they need to undertake their role. Supervision sessions are regular; however, some supervision records are brief and it is not clear that managers routinely discuss with individual staff feedback about children’s experiences, needs and plans. This is a missed opportunity to fully consider how the care that individual staff provide has an impact on children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of staff hold the required level 3 diploma qualification. A small number are currently working to achieve this award. Staff receive a wide range of training opportunities that reflect the needs of the children they care for. Good training informs staff practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective management oversight and monitoring processes ensure that good standards are maintained. The manager has good insight into the home’s strengths Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 5 and areas for development. A child’s social worker told the inspector: ‘This is one of the best homes that I have worked with, I will never move [child] from here.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that children receive good-quality care. Meetings are arranged by the manager when she feels that children’s needs are not being met by outside agencies, such as education providers. This ensures a full multi-team approach to overcoming barriers to children’s progress. This partnership working results in children receiving good standards of care to meet their individual needs. Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 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—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that risk assessments are individualised to each child, and that they consider each individual risk. 2 July 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that regular supervision takes place in line with organisation’s policies and procedures, as set out in regulations 31–33. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 1241855 7

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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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Inspectors

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241855 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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