Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 1 SC460593

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Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns this home. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there were three children living in this home.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/08/2021 Full Good 23/09/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress since the last inspection. This progress can be seen and felt in this home as the children have a strong sense of belonging. They get along well with one another and with the staff. The children say that they are happy in the home and they were invested in the inspection process. They said that the staff care for them like they are their family. One child said, ‘We are like a family. It is great here. It is better than any other home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make progress in all areas of their life. Their mental and emotional health is promoted and in turn improved. This is because of the consistent nurture and care that they receive from the staff. Incidents of self-injurious behaviour have reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s increased confidence and self-assurance can be seen. Children say that the staff help them. They feel able to speak about their feelings and they recognise their triggers. One child said, ‘The staff all really help me. I do not have a bad word to say.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education attendance has increased. If they struggle to attend school, the staff speak to the children to find out what will help them to attend. At one child’s request, a member of staff supports the child to attend lessons at school. The staff continue to promote the children’s education in the home. The staff spend time with the children in the home completing educational activities such as maths, science, reading and artwork. The staff help the children to increase their independence skills. The staff support them to complete tasks such as food shopping, cooking, completing application forms and doing mock interviews.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to understand the importance of helping others and they are helped to give something back to their community. They took the lead in organising a charity walk and charity bake sale. This has helped to give the children a sense of achievement and feelings of pride, as they donated the money they raised to their chosen charity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to understand their own and other’s feelings. Restorative conversations and meetings are held between the children, and between the children and the staff. A reflection model is used to help them to think about how they feel before, during and after incidents. This approach benefits the children as they can repair any harm caused, learn from incidents and increase their resilience. These important skills continue to be built on to support children in their later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals speak positively about the care that the children receive from the staff. Professionals say that the children are settled and happy in this home. This is because of the quality of care that is provided by the staff. One professional said, Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 4 ‘They [the staff] are persistent and consistent with their care. I am very impressed with them [the staff]. I do not worry about the quality of care provided to [name of child] in this home.’

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

Children are kept as safe as possible. The staff respond appropriately and swiftly to any serious safeguarding incidents. Effective safety plans are put in place with clear strategies for the staff to follow. A holistic and multi-agency approach is adopted when plans are put together, and the organisation’s therapy team provide input into these. These plans are revised and changed to meet the needs of the children. For example, waking night staff are put in place when children’s risks are higher at night.

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

The children trust that their voices are heard and they know how to complain. They know that they can speak to Ofsted and how to do this. All children have shared complaints and allegations with the manager. She takes all complaints and allegations made by the children seriously and follows these through. The manager keeps the children up to date with what is happening and what to expect. This gives the children the confidence to share their worries and concerns.

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

The children are helped to recognise risks and how to keep themself as safe as possible. Interventions are completed on a one-to-one basis with them on sensitive issues such as personal safety, substance misuse, healthy relationships and consent. Group project work is completed with the children on topics such as knife crime, bullying, online safety and keeping safe when away from the home. The children are engaging in this work, and they speak positively about it. One child said, ‘They [the staff] speak to me about things that might be bad for me. They [the staff] explained how some people might not be good for me.’

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

Despite the manager’s efforts to train staff on the whistle-blowing policy, some staff were not aware of the procedures. The manager has a plan in place to revisit this training with all staff in team meetings and in supervision sessions.

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

Missing-from-home episodes have reduced. The children are discouraged from going missing. This is because the staff are successful in encouraging the children to take part in positive activities with one another and the staff. If a child does go missing from the home, the staff are proactive in searching for them in known areas. All relevant safeguarding agencies are informed and the missing-from-home protocol is followed. When the children return, they are welcomed back to the home. The staff speak to the child about what has happened and where they might have been. This helps the staff to understand the incident from the child’s perspective and how best to reduce the risk of future missing-from-home episodes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 5 The manager has grown in confidence since the last inspection, and she has a positive presence in the home. The children and staff speak positively about the support that she provides to them. The manager has demonstrated that she is willing to work with Ofsted, and she has put effective plans in place and acted on them. As a result, she has ensured that all previous requirements and recommendations have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created a child-focused and open culture in this home, and she has worked hard to ensure that the children feel settled, safe and happy. The manager cares about the children and she has their best interests at the heart of her practice. The children know that the manager cares about them, and they say that she is always willing to help. The manager makes changes to the day-to-day running of the home to best fit the needs of the children so they can continue to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are provided with training on aspects such as self-harm, including ligature cutting, first aid and child exploitation. This ensures that the children’s individual needs are met. The staff speak positively about this training and they say that it helps them to feel more confident in their role. The organisation’s therapy team complete specialised training in team meetings. This training helps give the staff insight into the children’s life experiences, so they can see beyond their behaviours and they can understand the child’s trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is open, honest and transparent. She ensures that everyone is aware of what is happening for the children, and she maintains strong communication with all professionals, including Ofsted. The manager submits timely notifications to Ofsted. These are clear, concise and provide Ofsted with essential oversight of the safeguarding practice in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A deputy manager and senior practitioners support the manager. The management team provide the staff with regular supervision sessions, which staff say are helpful. Newer staff to the team say that they feel well supported and made to feel welcome. The leaders and managers challenge and address poor staff practice, and they act when staff’s practice does not improved. This ensures that staff maintain the same high level of support for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. In particular the registered person should ensure that staff have knowledge of their whistle-blowing policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12).

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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: SC460593 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Alison O’Donnell

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Inspector

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC460593 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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