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

A private provider operates this children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for three children who may have emotional or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: SC361811 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2023 Full Good 12/07/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 16/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a nurturing and comfortable home. Children have choices in how their bedrooms are decorated, their hobbies, holidays and weekly menu. Childrens artwork, medals and certificates of achievement are on display. This gives a family feeling to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to build positive and secure relationships. Children say they can trust and confide in staff. Staff work well with professionals and families to ensure that relevant information is promptly shared. This means that the multi-agency teams are aware of each child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend education and promote children’s learning at school and at home. Staff attend meetings to ensure that the correct level of support is in place. Children have stable routines which support educational engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Therapeutic support enables children to better understand the reasons behind their feelings and behaviours. A child who has recently left the home said,’ [Name of home] was a lifesaver, I don’t think I would be alive today if I hadn’t lived there.’ Children learn skills which will support them in their adult lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning arrangements fully consider children’s wishes and feelings. Staff encourage children to take part in their care planning meetings. When children choose not to attend meetings, they are confident that staff will advocate on their behalf.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have helped to create detailed memory books, including digital memory books of children’s experiences while living in the home. This means children can look back at the fun times they have had. This supports their sense of self and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Childrens internal care plans are not always clearly linked to the children’s local authority plans. Some local authority plans are out of date. Childrens plans should form the basis of their care.

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

Risk management is effective. Children each have detailed risk assessments which guide staff in managing each child’s risks. Staff understand the risks for each child and they take steps to ensure that children are kept safe. Staff support children to develop their understanding of risks and give children strategies to keep themselves safe.

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

There has been a significant reduction in children missing from the home. This is because clear risk assessments provide clarity to staff. Staff communicate well with professionals and families to promote a coordinated response when children go missing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 4 Staff are effective in managing risks of child sexual exploitation. As a result, risks reduce which means that specialist support is no longer required to keep children safe.

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

When children have self-harmed, staff have worked with the children to develop their own safety plans. Staff know the children’s triggers to self-harm. They are creative in offering support to reduce the risks and incidents.

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

The manager uses safer recruitment procedures when employing new staff. This ensures that staff who work with the children are thoroughly checked to ensure that they are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is respected by the team. They feel that she is an approachable leader. She has positive relationships with both staff and children. The manager is working creatively to ensure that staff feel valued to support them to remain in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is regular and of good quality. It provides an opportunity for staff to re- flect on their work with the children. Staff are offered annual appraisals. Children contribute to the staff appraisals. This supports staff development to ensure positive care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular team meetings which enable staff to discuss their plans and ambi- tions for the children. There is also a thorough handover of information when staff change shift. This ensures that care practice is consistent and that boundaries are clear. This means children feel secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of the service is thorough. There is a regular audit of the home, which includes input from education and therapeutic staff. This helps to sup- port the manager in her critical evaluation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff sometimes use institutional language which can make children feel different from their peers. The company has planned some changes in the language used in the home. Staff training has been planned to address this issue. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 5

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Recommendation

 The children’s plans should form the basis of their care, it is important that the relevant local authority provides the home with relevant up to date plans and that the home should develop their own plans to mirror and support this plan in the children’s best interest (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 41, paragraph 9.1))

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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 6

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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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Inspectors

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Paulette Forbes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC361811 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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