Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065189 1 SC065189 Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company and provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

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

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2021 Full Good 19/02/2020 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Outstanding 06/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have formed positive relationships with staff, receiving care and support which enables them to make progress and achieve good outcomes in line with their individual care plans.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and understand the individual needs of each child. They provide warm, nurturing and supportive care and have high aspirations for all the children. One child said: ‘This home is the best. I’m very happy here and the staff encourage me to do the best I can in everything I do.’ Placing social workers also comment positively about the care and support provided to the children. One social worker said: ‘When [name of child] moved into the home, he initially struggled with the change. Staff provided and continue to provide positive reassurance and care, which has enabled him to develop good relationships with staff and recognise people do care and want the best possible outcomes for him.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend education. When children struggle with attendance, staff work with other agencies involved in education to look at alternative strategies and placements to meet individual educational needs. However, not all children are attending in accordance with their individual educational plans. This could affect their future opportunities in adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with healthcare professionals to enable children to access the support identified in their individual healthcare plans. This includes therapeutic support which helps children overcome past difficulties and enables staff to provide ongoing strategies to continue this support. As a result of this support, children benefit from improved physical and emotional health and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled and supported to maintain links with family and friends in accordance with agreed plans. The staff facilitate and support this well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to prepare for independence by equipping them with the necessary skills.

p.3

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

Children feel safe living in the home. They say that staff listen to them and that they can talk to staff about matters that concern or worry them. They say that they feel safe and are safe living at the home. One child said: ‘This place is a great home. Staff listen to me, and I feel safe and happy here.’

p.3

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare. When this does happen, staff follow all agreed protocols to support children to return home safely. Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 4 Clear and consistent boundaries are in place to support children to manage their behaviours. Children confirm that they feel they are treated fairly and any response to negative behaviour is fair. They also benefit from incentives, rewards, praise and encouragement which recognise positive behaviours. There have been no incidents of physical intervention since September 2020.

p.3

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

Children have access to the internet and safety measures are in place. However, there has been a recent incident when the child was able to bypass the control measures in place. Appropriate action has been taken to address this. However, further training and support for staff in relation to internet safety have not been implemented.

p.4

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

Social workers spoken to confirm that the staff are well versed in managing children’s safety. One said: ‘Staff have never given up on [child] and have always promoted his safety and welfare. As a result of this support, he has emotionally matured. Behaviour which placed him at risk of harm has significantly decreased.’

p.4

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

Recruitment and selection practice is robust and in line with safer recruitment guidance.

p.4

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

The home is maintained to a good standard, with any repairs required addressed in a timely manner. Health and safety checks, including regular fire tests and evacuations, are completed, and all children and staff know what to do in the event of a fire.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020. She is suitably experienced and is currently working towards the level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. She has high aspirations for all children, which are disseminated throughout the staff team. She has developed positive and open communication with all professionals involved in children’s care. One social worker said: ‘The manager is exceptionally good at sharing information and working in partnership with other professionals. This is true of the staff team as well.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been a number of changes in the staff team. This is due to internal promotion for some staff and others moving on to other careers. However, there has also been a change of children at the home and the effect of changes on the children has been managed well.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training on a formal and informal basis. The therapy staff attend staff meetings to offer additional support in relation to individual children. To further underpin the staff’s knowledge and practice, they receive regular supervision which enables them to discuss and reflect on their practice. However, they have not received training in relation to e-safety to enable them to monitor and supervise children using the internet effectively. Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 5 The manager follows any recommendations raised by the independent visitor to the home. The manager also completes a six-monthly review of quality of care provided by staff. However, the narrative of this is descriptive and does not provide clear analysis of the information or demonstrate that children have been consulted in relation to the review.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records are maintained for each child. However, some documentation from placing authorities is not current. For example, updated copies of reviews have not been provided. The manager has not always followed this up in a timely manner with the placing authority and this has not been escalated effectively.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has responded effectively to three of the four previous recommendations. All minor damage has been repaired as required. However, the recommendation in relation to challenging the local authority when information has not been provided has not been met. Therefore, this has been made a requirement at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.6

Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

p.6

Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)) 31 October 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 7 (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3))

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates that this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the necessary skills and understanding so that children can access the internet safely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.7

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 for children’s home for SC065189 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Sarah Oldham, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home for SC065189 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9