Medway Birth Family Support Service

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Unique reference number SC483801 Inspection date 24 February 2016 Inspector Rosie Dancer Type of inspection Full

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Setting address 5a New Road Avenue, Chatham, Kent ME4 6BB

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Telephone number 07917 838573 Email info@family-action.org.uk Registered person Family Action Registered manager Ian Sparling Responsible individual David Holmes Date of last inspection N/A

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Brief description of the service

Family Action is a children's charity which provides a range of services throughout the country. It is the only service for birth parents in Medway that is subject to this type of inspection. The agency has been in operation for just over 12 months through commissioning arrangements with the local authority. The Medway Birth Parents‟ service is based in Chatham. It provides support to birth parents who are losing, or have lost, their children to adoption. It comprises a part- time registered manager, one full-time and one part-time social worker and a number of volunteers. Over the period of its operation the agency has provided support to 21 birth mothers and five birth fathers.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Requires improvement : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good Birth parents working with this agency experience positive outcomes as a result of its work. They are involved in developing the plan of work with them, and understand what the work aims to achieve. Referral information from the local authority is also used to develop plans of work with parents.

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Overall effectiveness

Birth parents‟ views are seen as important and they are listened to. The lifelong impact of adoption, and its impact on the birth parents and their children, are recognised and are reflected in the support provided.

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Overall effectiveness

Training and development of staff is seen as key to the success of the work and the staff‟s development opportunities impact positively on the service they provide. The arrangements for evaluating the overall outcomes of the agency are under development, and this means that opportunities for development and strategic planning may have been compromised. It also means that the information reported to the trustees is not as full as it could be. The statement of purpose sets out clearly the aims and objectives of the agency and provides the reader with a clear understanding of the work carried out. There are some shortfalls of information within the statement and the updated document has not been sent to Ofsted. There is a clear and comprehensive complaints policy and procedure, but there is a minor shortfall as it does not include the details of the registration authority should a person wish to refer an issue.

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Overall effectiveness

While staff and volunteers undergo checks on their suitability, not all personnel files evidenced that the process has been as robust as it should be. Referees are not contacted to verify that they are the authors of the references or to establish whether they have any concerns they may not have felt able to express in writing.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, the Adoption Support Agencies (England) and Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales. Reg. Requirement Due date

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Statutory Requirements

(2005) The registered person shall compile in relation to the agency a written statement which shall consist of a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1 (“statement of purpose”). The registered person shall provide a copy of the statement of purpose to the registration authority. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)) With specific reference to including in the statement: The relevant qualifications and experience of the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; the number, relevant qualifications and experience of the staff working for the purposes of the agency; a summary of the complaints procedure; the name, address and telephone number of the registration authority. 08/04/2016

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Statutory Requirements

(2005) Ensure the copy of the complaints procedure includes the name, address and telephone number of the registration authority (Regulation 16 (4) (a)) 08/04/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations: Ensure that the agency has a record of the recruitment and suitability checks which have been carried out for staff, volunteers and persons on the central list. The record should include: identity checks; checks to confirm qualifications which are a requirement and others which are considered by the agency to be relevant; checks to confirm professional registration where relevant; verification of references; reasons for any gaps in employment histories. (National minimum requirement 21.3).

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Recommendations

Ensure that the registered provider monitors the management and outcome of the services in order to be satisfied that the agency is effective and is achieving good outcomes for children and/or service users, and that the agency is complying with the conditions of registration. (National minimum requirement 26.4)

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users

Birth parents engage well with the agency staff and make progress in many areas of their lives. They say that they like and trust the workers, they feel that they are cared about, and say that the agency is a service for them when previously they felt they had no one who listened to them or cared about them.

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users

Birth parents are fully involved in developing a plan of work and a good balance is achieved between helping them address areas of need identified by the local authority and achieving their own aims and objectives.

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users

The support meets birth parents‟ needs and they are very positive about having been involved with the workers. They recognise the benefit the work has had for them in their daily lives and in their overall emotional well-being. One service user said, „Without them I would not be here.‟

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users

The support they receive ensures birth parents have an increased understanding of their situations and make positive changes in their lives. For example, some try not to repeat past patterns through taking action to ensure that they do not have further pregnancies. Others leave relationships in which there has been domestic violence, and some begin to work with services that can help them, for example in relation to ending their substance misuse. Although the agency has not been working with parents for very long, some have made sufficient changes, and that has led to the local authority leaving subsequent children in their care, thus providing them with the opportunity to demonstrate that their parenting is now good enough.

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users

There are also benefits to their children who are being, or have been, adopted, as birth parents then play a more meaningful part in their child‟s adoption journey. This ranges from birth parents having a more meaningful input into meetings about their child before adoption through to engaging in letterbox contact with their children post-adoption.

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Quality of service provision

The agency provides a prompt, welcoming, professional and person-centred service to birth parents that is delivered in a flexible way to suit parents‟ needs. Parents are treated in a non-judgemental way and with dignity and respect.

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Quality of service provision

Assessments clearly set out the goals to be achieved, and the pace of work is set to suit the birth parent. This ensures that they have the best opportunities to engage fully in the work.

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Quality of service provision

Along with individual support, the agency runs groups that birth parents find very useful and supportive, because they meet with others who are in similar situations to them. A birth parent confirmed that she loved attending the groups that are just for them and said that they get to do fun things together, such as crafts and baking. A commissioner said, „The groups seem really beneficial. ‟

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Quality of service provision

The manager, staff and volunteers are well trained and sensitive to each birth parent‟s individual needs. They approach their work in a calm and reassuring way and have up-to-date knowledge and a good understanding of the impact adoption has on birth parents.

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Quality of service provision

Staff and birth parents build helpful working relationships, and it is through these that birth parents feel able to engage fully with the support offered to them. Some have been able, with support, to attend and benefit from attendance at significant meetings, such as goodbye contacts with their children or meetings with their child‟s adopters. A social worker said that the agency provides, „Good support that has really helped (birth mother), through supporting goodbye contact and a meeting with the adopters.‟ Overall, the birth parents progress well in achieving their aims, and understand and deal with the emotional impact of adoption more effectively because of the support provided to them.

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families

The agency staff have a good understanding of safeguarding children and vulnerable people and of dealing with safeguarding issues. Training for staff in these areas is of a good quality, and there are comprehensive policy and procedure documents that underpin the work. Staff have a good understanding of the impact that historic abuse and neglect have on people, and of the implications of this on the safety of children and vulnerable adults and their well-being. Although the work of the agency does not involve directly working with children, the work of the organisation does. There is a culture of openness and honesty and a clear ethos that the welfare and safety of a child takes priority over all other considerations. Staff, leaders and managers strive to ensure the safety and well- being of all through research-based practice. This is a service commissioned by the local authority, and links to the authority are

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families

strong and enable effective liaison on any concerns about children or adults . There have not been any matters requiring referral to children or adult safeguarding services but the workers make sure that social workers are aware of relevant information, such as subsequent pregnancies, so that they can take appropriate action. They have also, with the consent of the person involved, referred and supported parents to access services when they have been concerned for a parent‟s mental health. Birth parents are informed about and understand, within their levels of functioning, the agency‟s approach to child protection and the limits of confidentiality. They are supported to develop a better understanding of their part in the situations in which they find themselves. Through this they begin to take responsibility for their past actions. Birth parents trust staff and are confident to talk to them about any concerns they

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families

have. There have been no complaints made about the service, but there is a comprehensive complaints policy and procedure. However, this does not include the name address and phone number of the registration authority to enable a person to refer a complaint to Ofsted should they wish to do so. There is a formal staff and volunteer recruitment process, and all people working for the agency have had checks carried out through the Disclosure and Barring Scheme. Some aspects of the recruitment process are not well evidenced, and recruitment practice varies between staff and volunteers. The recruitment process does not include the requirement for appointing managers to verify the content and status of the written reference with the writer. These shortfalls have been recognised by the organisation and are being addressed.

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Leadership and management

The work of the service is underpinned by a statement of purpose. There are some shortfalls in the information contained within the statement of purpose but these do not impact significantly on people‟s understanding of what to expect, as the statement clearly sets out the aims and objectives of the agency.

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Leadership and management

The agency is managed effectively by leaders and managers who demonstrate a passion and strong commitment to supporting birth parents. The registered manager has suitable experience and qualifications in social work practice and is nearing the completion of a management qualification. The leaders, managers and workers have developed good working relationships with commissioners and partner organisations and information is shared in an open and transparent way. A professional working with the agency said, „I look forward to continuing to work with them.‟ Staff share the passion and vision of the leadership and management and provide a good service to birth parents. The staff are appropriately qualified or trained to carry out their respective roles, and they are well supported in these through regular case supervision, clinical supervision and management and peer support. The arrangements for monitoring the service‟s work is in development. More

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Leadership and management

sophisticated means of monitoring the practice and the overall quality of the work are being explored to ensure that commissioners and trustees are better informed about the impact that the agency is having on the lives of birth parents. However, there is a clear understanding overall about the agency‟s strengths and weaknesses, and effective action is taken to ensure continual development and improvement. For example, the agency recognised an unmet need for formal counselling and has secured funding for this. Another positive piece of developmental work is being carried out to try to engage more birth fathers in the support services. This is through the development of a secure social network page for them to access support from the agency and others who are in similar situations.

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Leadership and management

Being a commissioned service, the agency is reliant on funding through continuation of the contract. However, its context within a large organisation provides a good level of security for the current users of the service. Records of the work are well maintained and confidentiality is assured. The agency has appropriate insurance cover.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the inspection framework and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of adoption support agencies.

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