Children's home run by Meadows Care Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 1 SC477939 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

This home is operated by a private provider. It provides 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: 28 January 2025

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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

28/01/2025 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to providing stability for the children. This allows children to settle into the home when they move in. They have time to develop strong, positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Children can talk to staff about their lives and any issues they are experiencing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s preferred methods of communication. For example, one child previously liked having information shared via pictures. Now they are older, they have asked to have things written down. Staff do this to help the child to understand their routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school or college. There are varying degrees of attendance, with one child having 100% attendance and another who has struggled to attend. When required, staff support children with their learning at home. This has helped to improve one child’s reading. Success is celebrated, and this is not only academic success. One child excels at football and plays for a local team. Staff are proud of and celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for their futures. Children have individual plans that are specific to their stage of life. This is particularly important for children who plan to move to semi-independent living as they have developed their skills in budgeting, shopping, and cooking for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health needs of the children are well understood. Staff work closely with professionals to support healthier outcomes for children. This has resulted in one child increasing their weight, which is required to aid their medication regime.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specialist support is available for children through therapy. The therapist also helps staff to implement the home’s model of care effectively. The therapy team works closely with the children and staff. It offers advice and strategies to support the emotional well-being of the children and help them to cope with past trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop good relationships with children’s families. Staff listen to children’s views about who they want to spend time with. Children spend time with their families in the community, and families are welcome to come to the home for tea. This informal arrangement allows children to spend quality time with their families.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children and the challenges they face. They provide emotional support to children during moments of frustration. They also help children to manage their thoughts and feelings at times of crisis. Staff help children to reflect after incidents, enabling them to consider alternative responses and Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 4 understand the consequences of their behaviour. This has led to improved self- awareness and children’s understanding of the effect their actions have on others.

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

Staff model positive behaviour and use strategies such as humour to help children when they are upset. Since the last inspection, there has been no need for more restrictive interventions. An incentive-based approach to managing behaviour works well for some children, who like working towards targets. Consequences are also used to manage children’s behaviour. Following two incidents that happened close together, staff issued several consequences, which reduced their effectiveness and was overwhelming for the child. The manager later identified and addressed this overuse of consequences.

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

Staff are creative in helping children to explore personal issues and understand themselves. These methods allow children to discuss sensitive topics, including puberty, gender, and sexuality. Staff promote an inclusive environment where children feel safe to express themselves and to be confident with their identity.

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

There is a clear missing-from-home process. Staff understand their responsibilities and act quickly to locate children. However, on one occasion, staff failed to contact all known friends of one missing child. This resulted in the child being missing overnight. The delayed response left the child at increased risk of harm for a longer period of time than necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her role and wants the best for the children. She advocates on behalf of children to ensure that they have the support and care they need and deserve. Her ethos filters down through the staff team, which wants the same for the children in its care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager prepares children to adapt to staff changes. For one child, the manager created a tool that has been useful in helping the child to get to know new staff. However, some new staff have left their roles after a short period of time, which has had an impact on the child. The home now has a full staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they like working at the home and that the staff work well together. Staff speak highly about the manager, who they say is approachable and gives them a lot of support. Staff are knowledgeable about the children and have a good understanding of their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training and development opportunities. There are comprehensive systems in place for staff to enhance their skills to enable them to meet children’s needs effectively. Furthermore, there are opportunities for staff to progress further in the company. This helps to retain experienced staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals say that they have a good relationship with the manager and staff. They are confident that the children are well cared for and that staff meet the needs Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 5 of the children well. They also report that staff reach out for advice and support when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not robustly escalated delays in obtaining some plans for children from placing authorities, including a pathway plan and an education, health, and care plan. This compromised the manager’s oversight of these important documents and ability to challenge gaps in information. Also, there is some variation in the writing for the child in daily logs. Staff sometimes use professional language and some sentences that are not helpful. This will not help children to understand their experiences in care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the staff must follow all the steps in a child’s missing-from-home plan to take effective action when a child is missing and at risk of harm. 10 November

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must challenge and escalate concerns effectively when local authorities and other agencies do not provide plans for children within agreed timescales. 10 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 10 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion, and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘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 8

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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

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC477939 9 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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