Children's Home run by Meadows Care Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may have experienced childhood trauma. The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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Information about this children's home

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and one child has moved out. At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living in the home. All children were spoken with during the inspection, including a child who had since moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2025 Full Good 16/07/2024 Full Good 10/10/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from positive relationships with staff and are involved in decisions about their care. Staff support children's health needs, family relationships, interests and community activities. Children are helped to understand risks associated with using the internet, and staff respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns. However, safeguarding practice is not consistently effective. Managers do not always identify and address weaknesses in staff responses to incidents, and risk assessments do not always provide clear guidance. Staff do not consistently understand or support children's individual identity needs, and some leadership monitoring systems have not yet led to sustained improvement.

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improvement to be good

Prior to children moving into the home, staff do not always have a sufficient understanding of their needs. Following one child's recent move into the home, staff were unclear about aspects of the child's history, family relationships and cultural and religious needs. As a result, the child did not feel fully understood, and staff were less able to provide personalised care and fully understand the risks affecting them. In contrast, staff supported another child to move on from the home in a planned and thoughtful way. The child spoke positively about the support they received from staff during this transition.

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improvement to be good

Children's identity needs are not consistently respected or supported. One child said that staff would benefit from additional training on gender identity. As a result, support is not always tailored to children's individual beliefs, wishes and identity needs. One child said that the resources staff propose are not relevant to them. This limits opportunities for children to feel listened to and understood.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are not well maintained. Maintenance issues are not always addressed in a timely manner, although managers have now taken action to resolve this. In addition, staff did not provide sufficient support to one child whose bedroom had become very untidy. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from a well- maintained home environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff usually ensure that children are involved in decisions about their care. They regularly seek children's views through house meetings and day-to-day discussions. Staff support children to take part in activities that they enjoy or would like to try, including air cadets, going to the gym and day trips. Children are also offered access to independent advocates, which helps them to share their views and raise any concerns. Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

Children's physical and emotional health needs are supported. Staff ensure that children attend health appointments and have access to therapeutic support when needed. One child said that staff had helped them access health services despite their initial concerns. The child also said that this support had helped them become more confident.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to maintain and develop meaningful relationships with people who are important to them. When appropriate, children are well supported to spend time with their families. Children also develop positive friendships in their local community. This helps children maintain links to their personal histories and build positive and lasting relationships.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not always take effective action to keep children safe. Staff responses when children go missing from home are not consistently effective. This is partly because staff do not always have access to clear and detailed risk plans that provide practical guidance on how to respond to known risks. On one occasion, staff failed to contact the police when a child did not respond to welfare calls for several hours. Staff also delayed informing the on-call manager and relevant professionals. These delays reduced oversight of the child's safety and wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not always respond effectively to early signs that children may be at risk of harm. On one occasion, the manager identified that a child was seeking support, but staff did not respond appropriately. As a result, an avoidable incident occurred. Although practical steps were taken afterwards to support the child, staff did not have a meaningful discussion with them about the incident until 5 days later. This delayed the opportunity to help the child understand and reflect on what had happened.

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improvement to be good

Staff use a therapeutic approach to manage behaviour and keep children safe. As a result, there have been no incidents of restraint since the last inspection. However, children said that staff do not consistently apply boundaries or consequences. This inconsistency means that children do not always receive clear expectations about acceptable behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to understand risks associated with using the internet. Staff use device checks, supervision and parental controls to promote children's safety online. When children make disclosures, staff respond appropriately and share information with relevant professionals. This helps to ensure that concerns are identified and acted on promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Oversight of serious incidents is ineffective. As a result, managers do not consistently identify and address shortfalls in safeguarding practice at the earliest opportunity. For example, when a child was not reported missing to the police in a timely manner, Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

managers failed to identify deficiencies in staff practice. In addition, the child's risk plans were not updated to reflect the actions staff should take if a similar incident occurs. This lack of professional curiosity and evaluation limits opportunities to learn from incidents and improve safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and leaders do not ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities. Following a child's move into the home, staff were unclear about who was responsible for key-work support and had not read the child's records to understand their history and needs. Consequently, staff did not develop an effective care plan or provide care that was sufficiently informed by the child's individual circumstances. This left the child feeling misunderstood and hindered staff's ability to meet their needs effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently receive supervision in line with the home's policy. This shortfall has been identified previously, including in independent person reports and at the last inspection. In response, the manager has introduced a system to monitor supervision and record reasons for any gaps, including staff absence. However, this improvement is not yet embedded in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff complete appropriate induction and training and can demonstrate how this helps them support children effectively. However, one child felt that staff did not fully understand their gender identity needs because they lacked relevant specialist training. As a result, staff do not always have the knowledge and skills needed to respond effectively to all children's individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders monitor the quality of care provided by the manager and staff. The responsible individual provides regular oversight and has identified weaknesses in staff supervision and safer recruitment practice. A development plan is in place to address these shortfalls. Leaders have also strengthened monitoring arrangements, particularly in relation to safeguarding incidents, to improve accountability and support better practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children's needs and updates are regularly discussed at team meetings and team consultations with the in-house therapist. The meetings are also a space for learning and reflective practice. During the consultation meeting, gaps in staff knowledge are identified and an action plan is proposed. Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(iv)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children's views regarding their identity needs are listened to, respected and acted upon where appropriate. The registered person must also ensure that children are supported and encouraged to keep their bedrooms clean, tidy and maintained to an acceptable standard. 10 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that appropriate boundaries are in place for children to help keep them safe. The registered person must also ensure that, when children are at risk of harm, staff take immediate and effective action to safeguard and support them. 10 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 10 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and receive relevant training on children's needs and plans and how to respond to risks. Managers must use monitoring systems effectively to identify shortfalls in practice and share learning with staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the home's policy. 10 September 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address unwanted behaviour should be restorative in nature to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 1240936 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Meadows Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Meadows Care Ltd, Egerton House, Wardle Road, Rochdale OL12 9EN

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Inspector

Nus Bibi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1240936 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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Inspector

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