Melanie Waddy

Melanie Waddy Inspection report for adoption support agency

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Unique reference number SC359792 Inspection date 15/11/2016 Inspector Christine Kennet Type of inspection Full

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Setting address 39 Cranley Gardens, London N10 3AB

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Telephone number 0208 815 0073 Email mwaddy@fertileminds.org Registered person Registered manager Melanie Waddy Responsible individual Date of last inspection 10/12/2014 Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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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. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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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

The adoption support agency was registered in March 2007 and is operated by an individual practitioner. She is a registered psychoanalytical psychotherapist offering short- and long-term therapy to adults affected in any way by adoption. This agency does not provide birth records counselling or intermediary services.

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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 .

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Overall effectiveness

This is a good agency, where positive outcomes are evident for service users. The agency helps service users to manage difficult feelings when outcomes do not meet their expectations, for example managing feelings of anger, rejection and the expectations of family members.

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Overall effectiveness

Clear referral information informs risk assessments and agreements for therapy. The provider is aware of service users’ views and is open to incorporating ideas in future service delivery. Assessment tools measure outcomes and progress. However, improvements in the collation and use of this information could make the service more effective.

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Overall effectiveness

The provider ensures her own professional development and shows a real interest in the lifelong impact of adoption on service users.

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Overall effectiveness

There are no breaches of regulation. Several recommendations that are identified relate to the policy and development of the service, and do not have an impact on direct practice for service users. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Overall effectiveness

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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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the child protection procedures are submitted for consideration and comment to the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB). This is with specific regard to the agency's safeguarding policy. (Adoption: National Minimum Standards, page 64, standard 22.4)  Ensure that when the agency, for any reason, cannot adequately and consistently maintain its services, which comply with regulations or NMS, an effective plan must be established and implemented either to rectify the situation or to close down the service. (Adoption: National Minimum Standards, page 59, standard 20.3)  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 service users, and that the agency is complying with the conditions of registration. (Adoption: National Minimum Standards, page 75, standard 26.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person of the adoption support agency formally approves the statement of purpose and reviews it at least annually. (Adoption: National Minimum Standards, page 53, standard 18.3) This is with specific regard to ensuring the timeliness of updates and that the statement of purpose is signed and dated. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Recommendations

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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users

Service users, regardless of their status, receive an adoption support service that helps and supports them to make positive changes in their circumstances. Services have not always brought the results desired, but service users receive good support which helps them to understand their circumstances and cope with their disappointments. Service users said that they felt accepted, and had received a flexible and effective service.

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users

The service user survey gave overwhelmingly positive responses to the service offered and how this had helped. For example, one service user said: ‘Best money I ever spent. I honestly believe that the services will enable us to be better parents, and face the challenges that we will face as a united couple.’ Another parent said, ‘My relationship with my youngest child is greatly improving, because I have a safe space in which to air my thoughts.’

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users

Commissioning authorities that have used the agency’s service recommend service users to approach this agency. There are good relationships between the agency and commissioners. On occasion, the agency reports to commissioners in respect of adoptive parents’ suitability to take up or resume the adoption task. For example, one service user said, ‘The agency helped me to explore the psychological issues around adoption, which I believe will be invaluable preparation both for the assessment process and for adopting a child.’

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Quality of service provision

The agency provides an efficient and welcoming service which considers all difficulties and obstacles for service users when it offers a service, for example offering alternative venues to be inclusive, or helping when there is sensitivity or special needs. One service user said: ‘All queries were answered quickly and efficiently. It was clear, and dialogue was always open and warm.’

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Quality of service provision

Prior to services commencing, the agency undertakes an initial assessment to determine the suitability of services. The agency makes very clear agreements with service users prior to starting therapy to ensure that they understand the purposes of proposed interventions. For example, one service user said, ‘We had a long, in-depth Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Quality of service provision

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. meeting, and then discussed the objective of the counselling and the needs of the agency.’

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Quality of service provision

Occasionally, the initial assessment determines that the agency cannot meet a service user’s need or that the risks presented are too high. In this circumstance, the agency suggests alternative provision or ensures a referral to a more appropriate resource.

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Quality of service provision

The agency approach is professional, flexible and focused. The initial assessment determines the risk of suicide and self-harm. Regular review and evaluation of the service takes place either every six months or at the end of service provision, if this is sooner. The agency uses the clinical outcomes in routine evaluation (CORE) system as a tool to measure progress and outcomes. This includes an evaluation of the service user, their well-being and outcomes.

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Quality of service provision

The provider is well qualified and a skilled psychoanalytic psychotherapist. She continues excellent professional development, keeping up to date with adoption matters through work with an adoption panel and through training, reading and study. Services are making differences to people’s lives and helping them to cope with past issues in relation to their or others’ adoptions.

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Quality of service provision

Service users have careful and skilled help to understand the impact of adoption not only on themselves, but also on extended family members. For example, service users made some of the following comments about the impact:

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Quality of service provision

 There was no sense of judgement, though it was at times challenging.  She challenged our assumptions; how experiences influenced our thinking and perception.  We discussed some very difficult and challenging things, and it was all handled very sensitively.

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families

The agency has a good grasp of safeguarding procedures and practice. The individual understands and has the knowledge to make a referral when there are concerns about children’s and/or vulnerable adults’ safety. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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families

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. The individual running this service receives up-to-date and relevant safeguarding training. This enhances her understanding of safeguarding practice, including up-to- date areas of risk factors and concerns such as risk of radicalisation and exploitation.

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families

There are clear policies and procedures that guide the work of the agency. This includes close attention to the health and safety of service users while using the premises. The provider made recent updates to the safeguarding policy to reflect all areas of child protection, adult safeguarding, the risk of radicalisation and historical abuse. The updated policy has been submitted for consideration and comment to the local authority designated officer (DO) and benefits from some recommended changes. The policy has not been submitted to the local safeguarding children’s board (LSCB) and a recommendation is made in this report for the provider to do so.

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families

The provider has a comprehensive complaints policy which informs service users of the process if they wish to make a complaint. This includes the necessary referral and information addresses. This information will soon be available via a link on the agency website.

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families

Historic allegations are treated sensitively and appropriately, and are included in the safeguarding policy. Feedback from the service users’ survey strongly agreed that these matters were dealt with carefully by the agency.

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families

The provider ensures service users’ safety as far as possible when offering services, for example close liaison, with the service users permission, with referring agencies or general practitioners. If the provider has concerns, she will encourage service users to seek appropriate resources or, with permission, contact other health professionals to offer support. In addition, the provider has security systems in place to ensure her own health and safety, as a sole practitioner.

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Leadership and management

The individual shows a strong commitment to adoption support, and is a knowledgeable and skilled professional. The agency only offers services to adults for psychotherapy and does not provide direct services for children, intermediary services or birth record counselling. The provider has a background in nursing and is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. She has relevant experience of adoption, which includes being a member of an adoption panel. In this role, she receives regular training, and updates on adoption law and current issues. She is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and is a Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Leadership and management

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. qualified psychoanalytic psychotherapist.

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Leadership and management

Service users enjoy good and appropriate relationships with the provider. They find the service approachable and are able to build effective working relationships. The agency works well in partnership with commissioning authorities. Feedback to commissioners is undertaken only when service users have given consent for this to happen, the exception being when there are safeguarding issues.

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Leadership and management

At the last inspection in December 2014, five recommendations were made. The first was in relation to ensuring that the aims and objective of the agency’s statement of purpose were outcome focused and showed how the service would meet outcomes. The agency now has a recently revised statement of purpose which is clear, accessible and comprehensive. The registered provider must confirm this statement of purpose by signing and dating it. Prior to this recent revision, several years elapsed without any review of the statement of purpose, so the agency must ensure that regular annual reviews take place as recommended in the national minimum standards for adoption.

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Leadership and management

The second recommendation related to the child protection procedures. The agency was requested to submit for consideration and comment the child protection procedures to both the DO and the LSCB. The agency has not submitted the policy to the LSCB, but has submitted it to the DO. Comments from the DO have brought further changes to this policy. Some confusion emerged at the agency about the need to submit the policy to both agencies. The recommendation to submit the policy to the LSCB is repeated in this report.

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Leadership and management

The third recommendation related to the agency ensuring written procedures for dealing with allegations of historical abuse, and this policy is now in place.

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Leadership and management

The fourth recommendation related to maintaining supervision notes that detail the time, date and length of each supervision. A clearer representation of supervisions was available at this inspection.

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Leadership and management

The fifth and final recommendation related to ensuring a comprehensive, written health and safety policy for all service users. While the provider has not formulated a policy, essential information is collated about health and safety to ensure the well- being of service users on the premises.

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Leadership and management

Further shortfalls were found in leadership and management issues, first in relation to completing periodic reports on service delivery to aid monitoring progress and review of the service, and second in relation to ensuring a contingency plan in the event that the agency cannot consistently maintain its services. Two Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Leadership and management

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. recommendations to address these shortfalls are made in line with the national minimum standards for adoption. Despite these shortfalls, no individuals are placed at risk and the impact is minimal.

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Leadership and management

The agency keeps good records of the work undertaken. All records are stored in a confidential and secure manner, and the provider takes this responsibility seriously.

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Leadership and management

The provider regularly reviews the quality of the service provided and outcomes, and obtains feedback. Information received is not being collated in a useful way that would support the improvement of the agency. Some attention to the collation and use of such feedback would help the provider to understand strengths and weaknesses and collate a clearer plan to develop the future of the service. Financial reports from the agency’s accountant confirm the agency’s financial viability. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Leadership and management

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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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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