Meadows Care celebrates 15-year anniversary

L to R: Jonathan Rigg, Niel Shelmerdine, Jane Toner

Residential care provider Meadows Care is celebrating its 15-year anniversary this May.

Meadows Care, which looks after vulnerable children across the country, was opened in 2004 and is run by its owners Jonathan Rigg, Niel Shelmerdine and Dr. Jane Toner.

An independent specialist company, Meadows runs smalls homes for up to four young people with three staff members, two of whom sleep over.

Since its inception, Meadows, which was named after a young person cared for by Fred and Niel, has worked with over 90 local authorities and looked after hundreds of young people across the United Kingdom.

Today the company has around 250 staff members, including its own clinical therapy team and school, which recently retained its ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for its fourth succession.

Director and owner Mr Rigg said: “We look after vulnerable children who don’t fit foster homes or a traditional care home. We have so many referrals and we have to try and find the right environment to suit each child.

“We provide a nurturing environment in small  homes in good residential areas with the aim of getting children in our care back into the education system. We want our children to have aspirations whilst being good neighbours.

“Many of our young people are still in contact with us after leaving our care. It’s lovely to keep in touch with them and see how they are getting on.

“Recently we had a visit from a former service user who has her own family now; she left our care eight years ago and has broken that cycle of care.”

He added: “We want the best for our children and Meadows are very proud of the work we do to help them in life.”