Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 1 SC477939 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 operated by a private provider. It offers care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2019.

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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

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2024

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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: SC477939 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good 15/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have experienced significant complexity and instability in their childhoods make good progress. Staff recognise the children’s progress and celebrate with them when things go well. Progress is not always linear, but staff are very proud of the children and tell them this. This helps to build the children’s self-belief.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and positive relationships with staff. The children return home from school and are met with affection, hugs and interest. Children happily share their news with the staff. The love, warmth and respect children receive help them to trust the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. One child, who has faced substantial challenges and exclusion from school, is now achieving excellent attendance. Another student is preparing for GCSEs and making applications for college. In attempts to support children’s educational outcomes, the manager and the home’s therapist have provided formulation training to support teachers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are motivated in supporting children’s socialisation and friendships. Children who have struggled to form and maintain friendships now have the ability and esteem to build positive relationships with their peers. Staff nurture these friendships and develop relationships with children’s friends’ families so that arrangements can be made for children to see their friends, including having sleepovers. This allows children to feel fully at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers are committed to ensuring that children develop and maintain long-lasting relationships with their families. Staff support quality time between children and their families. This has included therapeutic meetings to build and re-establish relationships. The child’s views are thoroughly considered, and any plans are set at a suitable pace for them. For one child, this has been significant for them in building relationships with family members and enhancing their sense of identity.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of the children’s specific needs and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments provide clarity to staff. These are regularly reviewed, and strategies are adapted to protect children and yet allow them to take age- appropriate risks in line with their individual development stages.

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

The manager has built a strong child-focused safeguarding culture in the home. When incidents occur, staff work creatively and sensitively with the children to help them understand the world around them and recognise risks. This helps children to make balanced and informed choices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 4 Children express that they feel safe in their home, listened to and valued. Relationships between staff and children provide the foundation for children to feel safe. One child explained that they have no reason to be home late or go missing because staff listen to them and support them to lead a ‘normal’ life.

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

Staff recognise that children need to feel safe and secure. The care afforded to children is reinforced by a therapeutic framework that has a strong emphasis on nurture and care. When children demonstrate emotional distress, the consistency of this approach enables them to work through their feelings with support from the people caring for them. This has resulted in there being no physical interventions and very few consequences being required. Staff’s use of positive behaviour management has been highly effective in developing a calming and nurturing home environment for the children.

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

Medication errors have occurred, but these have not had a direct impact on children. Managers have acted on errors quickly and reviewed health and safety practices to make them more robust. Any learning has been acted on to reduce the risk of further errors.

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

An incident has occurred that could have compromised a child’s safety. Managers have taken appropriate action and followed safeguarding processes. Learning from this incident has taken place to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and leads by example. High expectations are set in a supportive and encouraging manner. This approach drives practice forward for the children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been a champion in the development of positive working relationships with professionals. Feedback from professionals is exceptional for her management of the home and her approach to ensuring that the best quality of care is provided to the children. One professional said, ‘I wish we as an authority could place all our children looked after in their homes; they really, really care.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good level of oversight and organisation regarding children’s care and the home’s strengths and weaknesses, including the development of staff. Any learning is quickly acted on and shared with the staff to ensure that the quality of care afforded to children is a priority. However, on one occasion when a complaint has occurred, the outcome has not clearly and consistently been recorded in a manner that is easily understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager places a high emphasis on training to support staff’s learning and skill base. Additional learning exercises are used in supervision sessions and team meetings to support development, which ensures a consistent approach to caring for the children. Staff always have a positive and nurturing attitude towards the children regardless of any challenges. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 5 There have been some changes in the staff team, but core staff have remained. New staff in the home have embraced the culture promoted by existing staff. Staff receive regular supervision and clinical supervision, and team meetings take place regularly. Staff welcome these opportunities and find them highly beneficial.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high. They feel valued, respected and fully supported by the management team. Staff enjoy their work and recognise the impact that they have on children’s lives. This contributes significantly to children’s progress and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value and celebrate the richness of diversity, equality and inclusion. Day-to-day practice reflects these principles, and children feel confident to express and explore their individuality. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Specifically, this is in relation to clearer recording when completing outcomes of complaints received. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC477939 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 OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Angeline Clarke, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 8 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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