Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 1 SC064836 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 owned and run, and is registered to provide care for up to three children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide trauma-informed therapeutic care.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good 01/05/2019 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Good 26/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through living at the home, children make progress in their lives. The individualised care they receive helps them overcome difficulties they may face and to develop emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered nurturing care from staff who work hard to establish healthy routines and boundaries. This helps children feel secure and able to manage better the demands of attending an educational setting and social situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A particular strength of the home is the relationships that staff establish with children. Over time, children learn to trust the staff and value the supportive environment they are offered. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘They have been able to build a relationship and trust [with the child] that no one previously was able to do.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s views and encourage their ambitions and aspirations. Professionals spoken to highlighted how well staff and the manager act as advocates for children and are proactive in meeting the aims and objectives in children’s plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s pre-care experiences are understood well by the staff. Their understanding is guided by regular discussions with the home’s therapists, and this informs the responsive and flexible care that is offered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to learn the skills they will need in adulthood. Staff encourage increasing levels of independence and for children to practise these skills. The planning for children to move into semi-independence is detailed and thoughtful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all admissions to the home have been subject to suitable information gathering prior to admission. This has led to one child being admitted and discharged in a short space of time. This resulted in a placement move for the child and disruption for children living in the home.

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

The risks that children face and their individual vulnerabilities are understood well by the manager and staff. This understanding is informed and strengthened through regular meetings between the staff and the home’s therapists.

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

When incidents of missing from home occur, staff are active in searching for children, following procedures and securing their safe return to the home. Staff work well with other agencies and regularly review assessments of risk to ensure that children become safer through living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 4 Children benefit from the holistic care that staff offer and, as a result, incidents of children wanting to harm themselves and incidents of missing from home have been significantly reduced.

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

Since the last inspection, there have not been any complaints or the need for staff to physically restrain children.

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

Allegations made against staff by children have undergone investigation by the manager. However, managerial reports are not fully coherent, and not all allegations have been notified to Ofsted or the local authority designated officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is respected by staff and professionals alike. He brings enthusiasm and commitment to his role, has an excellent understanding of children’s plans and knows them well as individuals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides a positive and supportive environment that enables staff to feel confident in their role . Staff report feeling fully supported by managers, both formally and informally. They consider that the emotional demands of their role are understood and that they are offered a range of opportunities to discuss the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager establishes and maintains good relationships and channels of communication with other agencies. Professionals commented on the manager’s aptitude and enthusiasm for working through presenting problems in a child-centred way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good oversight of the care offered by staff in the home, and there are processes and frameworks he employs to assist with this overview. There has been some delay, however, in ensuring key decision-making meetings are recorded on children’s files.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the home is well maintained. However, worn kitchen worktops and a leaking conservatory roof detract from what is otherwise a welcoming home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the weaknesses of the care planning processes employed for one child to join the home. Managers intend to complete a learning exercise in order to prevent a future recurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The two recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care panning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to gathering sufficient information from professionals and family to determine the child’s suitability to live at the home. 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; and

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 31 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s files are kept up to date, particularly in relation to key decision-making meetings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that records kept regarding children’s complaints or allegations of staff conduct are clear and decision-making is coherent. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)  The registered person should ensure that the fabric of the home is well maintained and welcoming, in particular that kitchen worktops are renewed and leaks to the conservatory are promptly repaired. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC064836 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: Egerton House, Wardle Road, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064836 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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