Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 1 SC361811 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

This home is privately operated to provide care for up to three children. The home’s statement of purpose states that it provides support, assessment and therapeutic intervention for children in need of short-, medium- and long-term care packages.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2020.

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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: 8 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Full Good 16/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/06/2019 Full Good 14/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spoken with during the inspection say they have ‘really good’ relationships with the staff, who encourage and support them in all aspects of their care. They feel able to share their views, wishes and anything they may be worried about with staff. This is because they say they feel staff listen to them, encourage them to achieve their very best and provide them with the support they need. One child said: ‘I am happy here. I have gained so much confidence and everyone here is great at helping me. I now have lots of plans for my future and this is because staff always encourage me to achieve my best.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children attend education and are making progress. Where this is not the case, staff work closely with education providers to try to resolve any potential barriers to children’s educational attendance. This has had varying degrees of success with one child, who is finding it difficult living away from home. The manager is working closely with the placing authority and virtual headteacher to find alternative education and a placement to meet his needs which is nearer to home. In the meantime, additional education alternatives are being offered to maintain the child’s interests and offer recreational educational opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical, emotional and psychological health needs are clearly identified and supported by staff. The links with the in-house therapy department and external healthcare professionals further support healthcare needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and recognise the importance of children maintaining family ties and friendships, when this is in children’s best interests. They support overnight stays for friends and siblings, following robust risk assessments and planning. This means children experience positive friendships and take part in everyday events in the same way that most children can.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities which they plan with the support from staff. One child said activities were ‘awesome’ and there is lots of choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of preparing children for leaving care and the steps towards independent living and adulthood. They help children learn to undertake tasks such as cooking, shopping and budgeting. These tasks are then expanded as children’s skills and confidence develop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placing social workers and relatives spoken with during the inspection say most children are making excellent progress and the home provides consistently good levels of care to help them achieve positive outcomes. When children are struggling with any aspects of their care, staff are creative in finding ways to engage children to support progress in some, if not all, areas of their required outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 4

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

Staff understand the importance of supporting and promoting children’s safety and welfare. Since the last inspection, there has been a reduction in the number of incidents of children going missing from home. When this does occur, staff ensure that they follow agreed missing-from-home strategies and work with other agencies tasked with safeguarding children. Children are given the opportunity to have independent return home interviews to establish the reasons for them going missing and find out if there is anything the home can put in place to prevent this happening again.

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

Children are supported with strategies to manage their behaviours. The home’s ethos is one of encouragement rather than punitive sanctions. As a result, children say they feel the rules of the home are fair and this has had an overall positive effect on their behaviour. Staff are trained in the de-escalation of behaviours, using appropriate skills to manage heightened behaviours in a positive manner. Since the last inspection, there has not been any need for physical intervention. One child said: ‘Staff are good at helping me to calm down when I am upset and help me to look at all the positive progress I have made since living here.’

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

The staff work in conjunction with the in-house therapist to support each child’s individual therapy plan. These plans are reviewed and discussed on a regular basis and further support children to manage their emotions and feelings effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for the children, working cohesively with other agencies involved in the care of the children to achieve positive outcomes for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Along with the staff team, she works in accordance with agreed plans to maximise children’s positive outcomes. Individual care plans are regularly reviewed and when there are any concerns or issues, the manager is proactive in engaging all relevant parties to review and discuss plans to support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a stability of staffing and there is a dedicated staff team in place. The use of external staff is rare, thereby improving continuity for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff speak highly of the level of support provided by the manager. They receive regular supervision, which enables them to reflect on and seek continuous improvement in their practice. Daily handovers and monthly team meetings further ensure that staff work effectively as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete mandatory training as required, supported by additional training to provide them with the skills and knowledge to fulfil their role. Those staff who do not hold the diploma in residential childcare are enrolled as soon as probation Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 5 periods are completed, with a clear expectation to complete this qualification within an agreed timeframe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are suitable monitoring systems in place. This enables the manager to review the progress children make and put appropriate measures in place when any shortfalls are identified. However, the manager recognises that some of the daily recordings are not specific enough and is working with staff to address this. An example of this is a lack of specific dates on daily records and updates to care plans. This could affect children’s understanding of their records when they view them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is warm, welcoming and homely and, overall. provides a good standard of accommodation for children. They can personalise their bedrooms. However, at the time of the inspection, two bedrooms needed redecorating due to ripped wallpaper. The manager was in the process of arranging this, while consulting with the children on their choice of decor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed two of the three requirements made at the last inspection in relation to continuity of staffing and evaluating the children’s plans to keep them safe. The requirement in relation to education remains in place, due to not all children attending education in accordance with their individual education plan. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 6

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Statutory requirement

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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children maintaining attendance in education.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 October 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, ensure staff complete recording and report writing training to contribute to children’s records effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 7 information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 for children’s home: SC361811 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: Egerton House, Wardle Road, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Sarah Oldham, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 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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