Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 1 SC442864 Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited

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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 with social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2024 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 10/01/2022 Full Good 10/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have had positive moves out of the home to live with family members or to more independent living, after having had an extremely positive experience at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved into the home. The children struggled to settle into living in a different environment and did not always get on with each other. This resulted in one of the children moving out. The manager has conducted a learning review to understand what did not work well and to ensure that it does not happen again.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have focused on building positive relationships with children. They have worked with the company’s therapeutic team to help them offer support, nurture and guidance to the children, while maintaining boundaries. This will help the children feel safe and secure in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s views are considered, through meaningful conversations with staff and the manager. Children have access to an advocate. This ensures that they feel heard and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend the school in their own community so that they can maintain friendships and links. School staff say that the children’s attendance is very good and that staff are flexible and communicate well with them to ensure that children’s needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see family members regularly. This helps them to maintain their relationships and promotes their sense of identity.

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

Incidents in the home have been appropriately managed by the team. However, on occasion, the police have had to be called to manage behaviours between children. The manager has clear oversight of incidents to ensure that the police were only called as a last resort to keep children safe.

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

Incidents of staff holding children to keep them safe have reduced. When incidents do occur, the manager ensures that there are discussions afterwards with both staff and children. Each incident is individually evaluated, and the manager is developing a child- friendly approach to help the children understand why being physically held is necessary. This aims to increase their understanding and support their sense of safety. However, opportunities to identify patters and trends have been missed.

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

Staff say that there is inconsistent care offered to the children by the team as different staff members implement different boundaries. This confusion can make children Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 4 distressed, which impacts on their behaviour. The manager has a plan to ensure that staff practice remains consistent, with discussions at regular team meetings and staff supervision and maintaining oversight of handover meetings between staff.

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

Regular health and safety checks are kept updated. Damage to the home is repaired quickly. This helps maintain a homely environment.

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

The home’s location risk assessment is comprehensive and addresses local risks. It reflects new and emerging risks. Collaboration with police and other agencies ensures statistics are up to date and control measures such as risk assessments are in place.

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

Safer recruitment procedures are followed. This ensures that staff who care for children are thoroughly vetted and appropriate to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced, child-focused and committed to her role. She offers effective oversight of children’s daily routines, plans and risk management plans. The manager knows the children very well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some formal supervision sessions with staff have been missed due to incidents in the home. This is something that the manager is taking action to address. There are regular team meetings which provide opportunities for staff to discuss the children’s needs and share effective strategies to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff actively promote equality and diversity through a focus on belonging, respect, inclusion and growth. Tailored care, such as haircare and skincare based on ethnicity, highlights the commitment to meeting individual needs and creating an inclusive environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that the manager and the leadership team are supportive and that they can always reach someone if they need advice and support. The manager models good practice to staff and spends positive time with the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the care children receive from staff is consistent from the whole team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should analyse the incidents of physical intervention to identify any patterns and trends. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.36)

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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: SC442864 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 OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442864 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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