St Michael's Fellowship

Unique reference number SC047199 Inspection date 22 September 2015 Inspector Sharon Payne Type of inspection Full

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Setting address 84 Herne Hill Road, LONDON, SE24 0AN

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Telephone number 020 7733 8153 Email eighty.four@stmichaelsfellowship.org.uk Registered person St Michael's Fellowship Registered manager Joan Muir Responsible individual Sue Pettigrew Date of last inspection 15 December 2011 St Michael’s Fellowship 84 Herne Hill Road Inspection report for residential family centre Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

St Michael’s Fellowship is an independent charity dedicated to improving families lives. They provide four residential family centres located within South London. The team in this residential family centre specialises in offering a service to families where there is parental mental ill health. The centre is able to offer a residential assessment for up to five families.

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The overall experiences of children and parents

The overall experiences of children and parents are Outstanding.

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The overall experiences of children and parents

Families benefit from a research-informed service which is innovatively evolving to best meet their needs. The setting has particular expertise in working with parents who have personality disorders. The setting provides exceptional holistic support to parents and the proactive therapeutic approach works inspiringly well. Excellent background sessions enable parents to reflect and tackle issues and consider the impact on their children.

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The overall experiences of children and parents

The setting proudly uses a new initiative comprising of a three-phase approach to assessments. Assessments provide comprehensive evidence and accurately express parents’ capacity to change. The use of cognitive behavioural therapy and an extensive range of creative practices are key to parental transformation. An example is the use of mindfulness, which helps parents to be purposefully present in the moment.

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The overall experiences of children and parents

Parents learn the importance of safeguarding their children. Staff undertake an extensive level of research based safeguarding and child protection training. Professionals consistently report that staff make an exceptional difference to the lives and experiences of children and their parents. The organisation has dedicated gender specific programmes to tackle domestic violence. Parents are able to engage in award winning schemes and pilot projects which enable them to flourish in their role.

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The overall experiences of children and parents

The organisation excels in their commitment to research, enabling them to positively contribute towards improving families’ lives and the overall social care sector. Partnership arrangements are forward thinking, highly effective and well embedded resulting in a life enriching experience for families. Feedback from professionals is considerably impressive. Leaders and managers demonstrate dynamic leadership and clear strategic vision. The setting has an exceptionally stable, diverse staff team who have a wealth of experience in various areas. This includes art therapy, mindfulness, cognitive therapy, counselling, youth work and special needs education. There is a culture of continual reflection and analysis to inform further improvement. The only recommendation relates to the need to consistently obtain feedback from professionals to further improve assessment reports.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

seek feedback following a placement from professionals involved as part of the quality assurance process. (NMS 1.15)

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Quality of assessment

Placing authorities highlight that assessments are ‘always child-centred’, ‘thorough, well-evidenced and analytical’. The setting succeeds in providing clear, concise reports which competently reflect placing authority and court requirements. Staff confidently make recommendations which demonstrate extensive awareness of the needs of each family. Reports assertively conclude with the suggested legal order, practical support and therapy necessary for successful parenting. Families benefit from ongoing resettlement work, which provides continued care and support. The setting does not benefit from consistent feedback from professionals as part of the quality assurance process. This would enable the setting to fully monitor satisfaction with their work.

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Quality of assessment

Assessments provide comprehensive evidence and accurately express parents’ capacity to change. They clearly detail their level of insight and understanding into historical and emotional experiences and the effect on parenting. The setting proudly uses a three-phase approach to assessments. This new initiative enables parents to initially demonstrate their capabilities independent of intervention. This allows staff to obtain a clear understanding of each parent’s strengths, areas requiring development and concerns. During phase two, staff provide tailored support after identifying needs. During phase three, their involvement is reduced unless there are parenting concerns.

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Quality of assessment

Comprehensive care planning empowers parents as staff continually adapt their ways of working to best meet presenting learning needs. Staff work positively with parents helping them understand their circumstances and what needs to change. Staff comment on their ability to give families a ‘realistic sense of hope’. Staff work actively to engage parents at every stage of the assessment. This includes weekly placement plans and daily review meetings, which contributes to the transparent process. Parents know on a day-to-day basis what their strengths are and the areas they need to work on. Parents comfortably challenge elements of the assessment process, where needed.

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Quality of assessment

Staff have a good working knowledge of child development, attachment theory and current interview practice. They follow a clear theoretical model and consistently reflect on the process. Staff assess risks and resilience and provide extensive exploration of feelings, past and present circumstances. A social worker highlights ‘parents were treated with absolute respect and everything was explained to them as best possible considering their mental ill-health’. Parents confirm the respectfulness of staff. A placing authority highlights staff ‘do not hide anything’. Staff use observation skills to inform assessments and surveillance equipment is not used.

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Quality of assessment

All professionals working with the family contribute appropriately to the assessment. Evidence includes the views of social workers, health visitors, psychiatrists and psychologists. Effective liaison contributes significantly to high quality assessments and realistic recommendations about future plans.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

The service is Outstanding at how well children and parents are protected and helped.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

The setting provides exceptional holistic support to parents. A placing authority comments on the ‘excellent and consistent progress’ parents make which provides a ‘full opportunity to parent’. Another placing authority would rate the service ‘10 out of 10’. The majority of parents confirm their immense satisfaction with the service. A parent states they are ‘grateful to be here’ and they welcome being ‘given a second chance’. A parent states they have ‘learnt a lot’ and ‘changed for the better’. They express surprise at having ‘enjoyed the experience’ and would grade the service as ‘outstanding’.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

Families benefit from extensive assistance tailored to their learning needs. Their programmes include weekly key work meetings, couples and relationships, individual background and play and development sessions. Parents are able to enhance their daily living skills through cooking and budgeting sessions. An excellent example of the former is their increased knowledge in relation to providing a healthy diet. For example, this includes learning how to make homemade baked beans.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

The proactive therapeutic approach works inspiringly well with parents. The setting have expertise in working with parents who have personality disorders. The way of working helps give these parents a good sense of containment, security and trust. Excellent background sessions enable them to reflect on their pasts and tackle issues, understand their behaviour and the subsequent impact on their children.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

The setting uses cognitive behavioural therapy and an extensive range of innovative practices to bring about change. An example is the use of mindfulness, which helps parents purposefully be in the present moment. This increases awareness, clarity and acceptance of their reality. Parents learn to relax through the use of a mindfulness colouring book. The setting provides them with diaries to disclose their feelings and offers beneficial coping mechanisms. An example is the ‘stop and think’ technique, which dynamically helps parents, stop, breathe and focus on what is happening now in the present. This enables them to cognitively think through stressful situations.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

Staff creatively use drawings to help parents understand their feelings. The development of keyrings with pictorial aids also acts as a visual prompt to help parents remember their daily routines. Parents welcome the daily support and guidelines commenting that the input from staff is ‘helpful’. They particularly appreciate the positive impact on their parenting, an example being the constant stimulation and active engagement with their children. They say that the bond with their children is ‘getting stronger’ and ‘it’s a good feeling’.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

Families benefit from an array of fun, creative and mentally stimulating activities. This includes trips to museums, the zoo, the park, outdoor festivals and arts and crafts. They celebrate seasonal events, for example decorating eggs at Easter and making cards and decorations at Christmas. Staff value positive engagements in social activities stating it ‘is not all about the assessment’. Parents learn the importance of safeguarding their children. Safety sessions incorporate environmental risks and risk minimisation. Parents reflect on their use of recreational drugs and the impact on children, realising that this can contribute to neglectful care. Staff undertake an extensive level of safeguarding and child protection training which skilfully informs their working practices. This includes highly valued research-based accredited training which addresses the presence of disorganised attachment. Studies highlight that this is the most accurate and reliable

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

way of assessing whether a child is being maltreated.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

Staff highlight that ‘the safety of the child is always paramount’. They work with parents to help them understand the child's experience when the living environment is chaotic, volatile, unpredictable and emotive. A placing authority reports that, ‘Staff are skilled at managing challenging behaviour and encouraging parents' strengths.’ Parents highlight that they are constructively working on controlling their ‘mood and emotions’. Comprehensive risk management systems focus on improving the protection of children and parents. Staff regularly review risk assessments in response to changing needs. A social worker confirms that staff are ‘honest and frank’ with parents and actively challenge them on safeguarding concerns.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

Professionals consistently report that the help and protection children and parents receive is of an exceptionally high standard. The organisation has dedicated gender specific programmes to tackle domestic violence. Their research-informed Caring Dads course is currently part of a pilot being evaluated. Their award winning programme for young fathers is also highly commended by the All Party Parliamentary Group.

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How well children and parents are protected and helped

The setting provides a safe and secure environment for families. Certificates are in place to confirm the safety of the premises and equipment. Staff recruitment additionally meets regulatory requirements. Families benefit from the current refurbishment programme, which ensures they have well-maintained accommodation. Each family has their own room; they share a television lounge, self-contained laundry room and a spacious kitchen and dining room. The playroom provides a comfortable place for children and includes a sensory area for additional stimulation. The garden is a pleasant space with outdoor play equipment and outdoor seating.

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Working with partners to improve outcomes

The service is Outstanding at working with partners to improve outcomes.

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Working with partners to improve outcomes

The organisation excels in their commitment to innovative practice, research and their contribution towards improving families lives and the overall social care sector. The setting’s expertise in working with parents with a personality disorder is commendable. They provide specialist training within the organisation to other residential family centres. They also share their knowledge with local authority social workers by providing bespoke training. The setting has considerably strong links with an extensive range of professionals and agencies.

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Working with partners to improve outcomes

The dynamic partnership with Middlesex University and their Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies Team is of mutual benefit to both parties. Staff are receiving an enhanced level of training from this team, which includes the use of specific evidence based assessment tools. These currently include the parenting role interview and the attachment style interview. This continuous professional development will aid best practice as the university is evaluating the setting’s assessments. There are also additional plans to collaborate in research which will ultimately benefit the social care field.

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Working with partners to improve outcomes

Families benefit from the setting’s highly effective, well-embedded relationship with local children’s centres. This proactively enables parents to access community resources which are life enriching to their own and their children’s lives. As well as sessions with the general public, families have closed sessions for residents only. The programme of activities includes play and stimulation for children, such as singalong sessions and outdoor exploration. Children benefit from access to a well-equipped sensory room. Parents can receive advice from midwives, speech and language therapists and a Citizen’s Advice Bureau worker. This enables them to access a range of professionals in a comfortable, familiar environment.

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Working with partners to improve outcomes

Parents can enhance their skills through completing courses in first aid, infant massage, complementary therapies and confidence at work. They can also express their creativity through cupcake decorating and jewellery making workshops. These skills are also useful for future employment or as possible business opportunities. The links with the children’s centres also caters to the parents’ diversity. There are specialist groups for young parents and fathers, which caters for issues unique to them. Portuguese and Spanish parents can also meet together in a supportive environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The effectiveness of leaders and managers is Outstanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Families benefit from residing in a well-established setting which is forward thinking and continually evolving to meet their needs. Leaders and managers are highly aspirational for all parents. There is an earnest desire to further influence the sector and understand the difficulties of parents in recurrent child proceedings. The setting is proudly creating a niche market for their work with parents who have a personality disorder. The organisation’s collation of data forms the basis of highly valued information which is being used to inform forthcoming research. Leaders and managers have an inspiring vision to have a strategic impact on family centre practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers demonstrate respectfully dynamic leadership, which values the input of parents, staff and partnership arrangements. Feedback from professionals is considerably impressive. A court professional describes the setting as an 'excellent' and ‘open and well-organised residential unit’. Social workers highlight they would have ‘no hesitation with placing families with them again’. Placing authorities and parents comment on the ‘positive experience’. A health visitor describes the service as being ‘flexible’ and ‘responsive’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The setting has an exceptionally stable, diverse staff team who have a wealth of experience in various areas. This includes art therapy, mindfulness, cognitive therapy, counselling, youth work and special needs education. The Registered Manager is a qualified social worker and has a relevant management qualification. Their past 15 years have been spent in management positions within the setting. This individual expresses great pride in their team and staff members describe the Registered Manager as being ‘pivotal’ to their success.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are highly knowledgeable and parents comment that they are ‘friendly’ and ‘always supportive’. A social worker further adds that staff are ‘very professional and courteous’. A parent was particularly complimentary in regards to their rehabilitation stating that ‘the therapists are amazing people’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There is a culture of continual reflection and analysis to inform further improvement. The setting undertakes meticulous monitoring in accordance with regulatory requirements. This includes monthly visits by the Director and an excellent annual evaluation which includes consultation with parents, staff and placing authorities and summarises their future objectives. Management regularly assess the service and practice through weekly team meetings and case discussions. Parents provide daily feedback forms, comment sheets and share their views in house meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision, appraisals and extensive training. The organisation commissions an external learning coach and team facilitator to assist in this process. This includes embedding into the programme of training further opportunity for team reflection and development to improve performance and practice. Deputy managers in the organisation also meet regularly and are introducing a research informed ‘five-a-day’ proposal to further enhance children’s lives. These five areas concentrate on the support needed to improve emotional and brain development.

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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 residential family centres.

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