Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 1 SC069198 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 children’s home is operated by a private provider and provides care for three children with emotional or social difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 24 January 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/03/2022 Full Outstanding 15/05/2019 Full Outstanding 28/08/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are three children living at the home. All three children have extremely diverse needs. Since the previous inspection, one child has left the home and another child has recently moved in. The manager and staff have worked hard to create a calm atmosphere, and the home has been settled in recent months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have choices, and their individual needs are respected. Children can choose how their rooms are decorated, what food they eat and what activities they can take part in. One child has pets that he takes extremely good care of. This helps give the child confidence in their decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s relationships with their families. Families are welcomed into the home, and staff support safe contact with them where this is appropriate. Staff regularly travel to another part of the country to support one child’s links with their family. This supports the children in retaining their sense of identity and enables them to maintain their relationships with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are all in education. One child has just taken GCSE exams and has secured a part-time job in the summer. Two of the children have secured college courses that match their interests that start in the new academic year. Another child is supported to attend the school that they have attended for some time. This positive emphasis on education will support children to develop healthy routines, to see their peers and have friendships outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a variety of enjoyable activities. They enjoy going out with staff, and they also link up with local youth clubs and school activities. The children enjoyed a holiday in Wales last year, and this year they are planning their holidays abroad. One child told me how excited she was to visit Greece this year. She has never been overseas, and staff have taken her out to the airport to look at the planes to help prepare her for this exciting new experience. Activities such as these broaden children’s experiences and help them develop confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with children to help them develop independence skills. Staff have listened carefully to children’s feedback about the independence work and have put in place realistic methods to support children to learn how to cook meals. Staff had not considered children’s age and skills when letting them administer their own medication, but following discussion during the inspection, this was changed.

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

Risk management plans have been improved and are now individual to each child. There have been no episodes of children going missing from home since the last Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 4 inspection. The home has been much more settled in recent months, and the children’s individual needs have been met more effectively.

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

The home has a therapist who works with children and staff. The therapist offers direct support to the children, and they offer advice and guidance to staff. Staff have worked closely with the therapist to support the children.

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

A system of incentives encourages positive behaviour. As a result, children’s behaviour has improved, and there has been a reduction in incidents in the home.

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

A safer recruitment practice is in place. This ensures that children are protected from potentially unsafe adults.

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

There have been some incidents of bullying in the home, and one child told the inspector that they had felt ‘harassed and bullied’ by another child. Staff tried hard to work with the child who was bullying and used different methods to prevent this behaviour. Unfortunately, they could not help to stop this behaviour, and eventually the child left the home.

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good

The manager’s monitoring of the home has omissions. Some documents contain incorrect information. This was reviewed and rectified by the manager while the inspection was in progress.

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good

A child told the inspector that they were unhappy with some of the decisions that had been made regarding their care. The child felt that they were not listened to by the manager. When this was discussed during the inspection, it appeared that the decisions made sense, and the omission was that they had not been communicated to the child effectively.

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good

There are locks on a fridge door and a food cupboard, and there are door alarms on the children’s bedroom doors. The use of these and other monitoring methods has not been reviewed for some time and may no longer be necessary. This means that some aspects of the home convey an institutional impression.

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good

The manager has an ambitious vision for the home and high expectations for the children. He has worked hard to build positive relationships with the children and the staff. This means that children’s confidence about their relationships in the home has started to improve.

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good

Staff training is thorough, and all staff have participated in mandatory training, which is both face to face and online. Supervision is regular and of good quality. It provides plenty of opportunity for staff to reflect on their work with the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 5 Team meetings are regular, and staff discuss their plans and ambitions for the children. This helps to ensure that everyone caring for the children is consistent in their approach so that the children’s boundaries are clear and they feel secure. Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 7 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 7 Specifically, the registered person should ensure that they are aware of children’s worries and concerns and that these are taken into consideration when planning their care.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should ensure that the policies and procedures in the home are kept updated and reviewed regularly.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(c)(i)(ii)) 7 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 8 This specifically relates to the registered person removing locks from food cupboards and fridge doors unless there are risks that make them necessary.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that, where appropriate, children are supported to prepare for independence by taking responsibility for their own medication.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, ensure that the need for door alarms on children’s bedrooms is reviewed regularly, as is written in the home’s statement of purpose.

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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: SC069198 9

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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

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC069198 10 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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