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Good

The residential family centre provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The residential family centre is good because:

 Families feel safe at the centre. Children and adults are protected from abuse, neglect, violence and self-harm.  Parents receive good support to help them understand the impact their behaviour has on their children and how to address the need for change.  Families receive consistently high-quality care that meets individual needs.  Staff work hard to ascertain the wishes and views of children and parents and this influences the shaping of the service. Families know how to make complaints and staff manage any complaints received appropriately.

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The residential family centre is good because:

 Families are very much engaged in the planning process, they have a good understanding of the assessment process and what is happening.

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The residential family centre is good because:

 The relationships between the staff team and families are very good.

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The residential family centre is good because:

 Staff work effectively with key professionals to ensure that all those involved are aware of placement issues and developments. Staff ensure that services address placement objectives and that children are safe.

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The residential family centre is good because:

 The provider’s vision, ambition and plans for the service result in continued improvements in the quality of care, positive experiences of families and the effective safeguarding of children and parents.

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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, Residential Family Centres Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all persons employed receive appropriate supervision and appraisal. (Regulation 17 (5)(a)) 01/03/2017

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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

 Ensure that regulation 25 monitoring reports are forwarded to HMCI as required. (NMS 19.6)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek feedback following a placement from professionals involved as part of their quality assurance process. (NMS 1.15)

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Information about this residential family centre

The service is run by a privately owned company which specialises in providing independent assessments of parenting capacity and risk assessment support. The centre is registered to provide care and accommodation for two families.

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Information about this residential family centre

Families also have access to additional support from a health visitor, family therapist and a psychologist. Alongside residential family assessments, the organisation offers day assessments, community-based assessments and semi-independent family and outreach support.

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Information about this residential family centre

The residential family centre is located in a residential area within the London Borough of Redbridge. Local shops, amenities and transport links are easily accessible.

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Good

Families receive consistently high-quality care, support and guidance that results in progressive experiences for parents and improved outcomes for children. Parents receive good support to help them understand their own capacity to change and the impact of their behaviour on children. The service is clear in its expectations about group living. Families feel safe during their stay at the centre.

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Good

Care planning is tailored to address the individual assessment needs of families, and the service pays very good attention to issues of equality and diversity. For example, a staff member explained that she had to change the nature of her observation of a family while out in the community as it was culturally inappropriate for her to walk directly alongside parents. Staff promote families’ access to interpreting services when this is required and staff complete diversity audits across the service. Families receive services that are sensitive to their varying communication needs. This is to ensure that families have good opportunities to engage fully with the assessment process. Families actively engage with plans and staff help them to understand what is happening throughout their stay. Staff and parents work well together to meet children’s day- to-day needs.

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Good

Staff complete assessments that are personalised to address the needs of each placement. Tools and methods used are creative and varied in order to meet the assessment needs of individual family members. This is particularly the case for first-time young parents and parents with learning disabilities. The centre’s programmes include extensive sessions focused on exploring issues of domestic violence and nurturing parenting programmes. Assessments are effective and realistic in evaluating parents’ strengths and weaknesses.

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Good

Staff work in effective partnerships with other professionals in order to achieve placement objectives. Families receive effective support on site and via external partners and resources to address their health, educational, social and psychological needs well.

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Good

The relationships between the staff team and families are very good. Staff work hard to ascertain the wishes and views of children and parents and this has an influence on the shaping of the service. One parent comments, ‘I get on really well with my key worker. She doesn’t tell me what to do, she offers me advice, so I have the opportunity to talk about what happened. When I’m explaining things, my point of view, staff listen.’ Asked to rate the service overall, a parent said, ‘I’d give it nine out of ten. I know I am a better mum because I’ve stayed here.’ Staff, in turn, invest in developing positive working relationships with families. A member of staff told the inspector, ‘The best thing about my job is getting to work directly with families. It makes what I’m trying to achieve feel real.’ Another member of staff said, ‘I really enjoy it when parents do much better than they thought they would here.’

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Good

Families are aware of how to make complaints. Since the last inspection, Ofsted has received one complaint about the service. Staff managed this effectively and appropriately. A parent shared, ‘I know how to make a complaint and would be comfortable doing so if I had to.’

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Good

The centre’s environment is safe and secure. The premises have undergone recent redecoration and refurbishment in communal areas, particularly the kitchen area, making the centre more homely and comfortable. Families are happy with their surroundings.

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The quality of assessment Good

Staff complete assessments that take full account of the placing authorities’ and court’s requirements. Staff complete parental assessments in accordance with placement plans. These assessments focus strongly on the needs of children, are highly analytical and are evidence-based. They demonstrate a clear understanding of case history, risk and parental capability to change. Assessments routinely include a chronology and clearly demonstrate how assessments are completed. Staff produce high-quality reports that parents routinely access. Final assessment reports are based on sound evidence and give a clear account of assessment methods.

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The quality of assessment Good

Assessments reflect families’ changing support needs and how the assessment programme has been modified to reflect this. Assessments are realistic about parental capacity for change, and all recommendations about children’s futures reflect children’s best interests. Parents are clear about the nature and scope of assessments and of the emerging views of assessors, as staff consistently offer verbal and written feedback.

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The quality of assessment Good

Staff responsible for the completion of written assessments are very experienced, skilled, qualified social workers. They have an excellent knowledge of key issues, such as child development and attachment theory, to inform practice and support their assessments. Staff receive good support and supervision in preparing written reports. This results in consistently high-quality assessment reports with realistic recommendations about children’s lives. Staff have excellent opportunities to reflect on their practice. This is a priority for managers and acts to enhance the continual improvement of the service.

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The quality of assessment Good

Parents are very much engaged at every stage of the assessment. They feel involved and listened to. One mother described her difficulties in reading and her appreciation of the centre’s use of video to help her develop play techniques with her baby. The centre has good systems in place to support families to share their views, and staff actively encourage families to do so. This helps shape the development and improvement of the centre’s services.

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The quality of assessment Good

Families are aware, from the point of placement negotiations, of the centre’s use of surveillance. Essentially, this is staff’s use of CCTV and audio baby monitors. Agreements are in place to ensure that all parties share a mutual understanding about the centre’s surveillance techniques. Staff regularly review the use of surveillance systems and update plans in line with changing circumstances.

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The quality of assessment Good

Staff work in close collaboration with other professionals working with families at the point of their admission to the centre and thereafter. This is particularly the case with health professionals, field social workers and staff of community-based children’s centres. Staff’s liaison and communication with key partners is effective and professionals are able to make a significant contribution to the assessment process. This ensures that assessments are reflective of the centre’s multi- disciplinary approach to working with families.

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Good

Children’s protection and welfare is central to the centre’s work. The staff team has a very strong commitment to working diligently with parents to help keep their children safe. Children and parents benefit from the centre’s comprehensive child and adult protection policies and regular staff training that enhances safeguarding practices.

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Good

There have been no allegations made against staff or others since the last inspection. There have been no referrals of a child or adult protection nature, or any episodes of missing persons. Staff are clear in their expectations about group living and manage any indication of dissatisfaction with the service promptly and sensitively. Families receive clear information about accessing independent advocates if they wish to do so, and have opportunities to meet with the person undertaking monthly regulation 25 monitoring visits on behalf of the provider.

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Good

Staff devise relevant and comprehensive risk assessments, which they regularly review and revise in line with the assessment of parents’ capacity to protect their children and provide safe care. Staff ensure that they obtain comprehensive background information from the local authority at the point of referral. This ensures that staff have a clear understanding of family history and risk, and are able to establish effective assessment methods for individual children and parents.

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Good

Staff are experienced in meeting the diverse needs of individual family members, and the services and practice reflect an anti-discriminatory ethos. For example, the staff team has experience of working effectively with fathers, teenage mothers and parents who have had children previously removed from their care. Some members of the staff team are experienced in the use of Parental Assessment Manual Software as a feature of their assessment of parents with a learning disability. Staff support parents to explore alcohol and substance misuse and the impact that this has on their ability to care for their children safely.

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Good

The centre promotes families living healthy lifestyles. Staff manage the administration of medication safely and receive training in first aid. All families are promptly registered with local primary care services and the service has excellent links with midwifery and health visiting services in particular. Staff work collaboratively with mental health professionals to ensure that parents’ mental health support needs are met effectively.

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Good

Staff closely monitor the psychological health of individual family members, paying attention to the development and sustaining of healthy family relationships, attachment and bonding, particularly between parents and their children. Staff intervene appropriately if there are concerns about children’s attachment and emotional needs. The service has good access to a psychologist who is available to complete integrated assessments. Staff also have access to clinical supervision facilitated by a psychologist to support their practice in this area of their work and to explore issues that are more general.

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Good

The service has an increased focus on direct work with parents to promote healthy bonding and attachments. Staff encourage parents’ participation with community- based children’s centres to support their efforts at the centre. Parents have access to a range of creative learning experiences, such as baby massage, play and stimulation, and singing. The introduction of the Nurturing Parenting Programme promotes healthy attachment between parents and children.

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Good

Managers ensure safe recruitment practices when employing new staff, and vetting and selection procedures are robust. This ensures that staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children and adults.

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Good

The building’s premises are safe and secure. Staff conduct routine health and safety checks and fire precaution measures are good. The centre has recently undergone a programme of redecoration and refurbishment. The premises are comfortable, well maintained and equipped to meet the aims of the centre. There are plans in place to develop a sensory play area to enhance families’ opportunities for creative, safe play. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The previous inspection highlighted shortfalls in the effectiveness of the centre’s leadership and management. The majority of these issues have since been resolved. However, further improvement is required if the management of the service is to be considered strong.

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Requires improvement

At present, the responsible individual is also the service’s registered manager. Additionally, the provider is responsible for the management of other services within the organisation. Consequently, the residential family centre does not benefit from the attention of one, centre-designated manager. This compromises the effectiveness of the management of the service. There are clear plans in place to address this issue, as the centre’s staffing structure is due to change with the planned appointment of a centre-dedicated registered manager.

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Requires improvement

The provider is yet to establish an effective system to obtain regular feedback from external professionals and other stakeholders. If this is established, it will ensure that their opinions and views have an influence on shaping future service development and improvement.

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Requires improvement

The provider’s support of the staff team is effective in prioritising the needs of children and their parents. However, staff do not consistently receive regular formal supervision from their line managers. Appraisals do not always take place annually. This does not ensure that staff performance issues and developmental needs are formally identified and resolved.

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Requires improvement

Staff have excellent opportunities to reflect on and improve their practice. They receive regular peer and informal supervision, in addition to clinical group supervision. Staff identify these as being essential to their professional development. A new member of the staff team comments, ‘I feel lucky to be part of the team, everyone’s been brilliant.’ Staff meetings provide staff with another opportunity to explore practice issues and service development. Staff induction and training opportunities are excellent; a number of staff are completing relevant professional training, including formal management and social work qualifications. Staff have access to core training that is available online and they regularly attend training facilitated by the host Local Safeguarding Children Board.

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Requires improvement

Overall, the service’s monitoring systems are effective. Since the last inspection, an independent consultant now conducts monthly regulation 25 monitoring visits. The scope and quality of these visits are an improvement on those previously produced. Visits include discussions with families to ascertain their views about the centre’s operation, their experiences and service improvement. Reports, however, are not always sent to Ofsted as required.

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Requires improvement

The service’s statement of purpose is a comprehensive document, which outlines well the aims and objectives of the service. The residents’ guide is an informative easy-to-read booklet for families, which explains the purpose of the centre, services provided and what families can expect. The provider continues to introduce new and relevant initiatives that help to assess effectively the capacity of parents to care for their children safely. Examples of these are the Freedom Programme, which focuses on exploring issues of domestic violence, and the newly introduced parental nurturing Programme.

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Requires improvement

The service’s new staffing structure will assign dedicated roles and responsibilities to specific staff members, thus developing a highly skilled core team. There are also plans in place to introduce to the service an online substance misuse programme that explores issues of recovery and relapse. The provider comments, ‘Everything is a challenge, but I have to make sure that the service is one of value and that the service does what it’s supposed to do.’

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Requires improvement

Staff and the provider work positively with other agencies and continue to build upon effective working relationships. The provider’s recent partnership arrangement with a local job centre is a good illustration of this. The initiative will facilitate opportunities for parents to explore education and employment options while resident at the centre.

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Requires improvement

The service is well staffed and appropriately resourced to meet the aims of the centre. The service is financially sound. There is a clear development plan in place, which is realistically ambitious in the provider’s vision for service expansion and improvement.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences of children and parents are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of residential family centres: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences of children and parents staying at the residential family centre. Inspectors considered whether the work of the residential family centre is founded on safe care, individualised support and robust parenting assessment practice. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, parents and each other, and discussed the effectiveness of assessment, support and care given to children and parents. Wherever possible, they talked to children and parents. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the residential family centre knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and parents. This 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 Residential Family Centres Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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