Gawber Road

Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 1 Gawber Road

p.1

24/7 High Support Accommodation for Young People

p.1

32 Gawber Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S75 2AF

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is privately owned and operated. It provides accommodation for up to six families who are subject to parenting assessments.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account Outstanding

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected Outstanding

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The residential family centre provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the residential family centre contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and parents.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Date of previous inspection: 12 September 2014

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

This residential family centre is outstanding because

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Robust, fair and in-depth evidence-based parenting assessments are undertaken; these prioritise the needs and safety of children within a nurturing and supportive environment. The staff team has a wealth of experience and works closely with parents to safeguard them and their children.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Parents and children’s life experiences improve tremendously through the direct work, advice and guidance and new opportunities provided during their assessment.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Parents are consulted every day about their parenting assessment. They are given the opportunity to express their views through a range of approaches that include verbal and written feedback, residents’ meetings, exit questionnaires and their evaluation of the staff team.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The manager’s inspirational style creates a culture of continuous improvement. This makes the parenting assessments individually tailored to each family’s needs. Exceptionally high levels of monitoring and the review of parents’ progress throughout their assessment supports and safeguards children.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Staff research new ways of working that are then incorporated into their practice. This improves the quality of their parenting assessments. Additional training for staff in the exploration of the influence of gender in assessment, new approaches to domestic abuse and motivational interviewing further enhance an already well- trained, diverse and stable staff team.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The staff recognise the importance of multi-agency working with health, social care and the judiciary. These close working relationships provide parents and children with an abundance of expertise to ensure that their children are kept safe from harm.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

The residential family centre’s areas for development

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Improvements are required to the garden and the decoration of the ground floor toilet and shower facilities. This would provide parents with a more positive environment in which to undertake their assessment.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The updated statement of purpose has not been sent to Ofsted. Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

p.3

Statutory requirements

Requirement Due date The registered person shall keep under review and where appropriate revise the statement of purpose and resident’s guide and notify Ofsted within 28 days of any such revision. (Regulation 4 (4)(a) (b)) 30/06/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 The centre should provide a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated. (NMS 11.2) In particular, decorate the ground floor toilet and shower room. Ensure that the garden and paths are free from weeds and that the grass is cut to provide families and children with suitable facilities. Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Families benefit immensely from the highly individualised and in-depth evidence-based parenting assessments that reflect the parent’s placement agreement. One parent said: ‘The assessment process has been amazing. I came for a reason. I needed help and to learn. Now I am going home with my children.’ Another commented: ‘When I came here, staff treated me with respect, as a person. They downloaded details for the local mosque and brought me halal meat. This meant a lot.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

High-quality assessments focus specifically on parent’s ability to parent their children safely. A legal professional commented that staff: ‘Complete robust, fair and evidence- based assessment reports.’ Final assessment reports are evaluative, analytical, and reflect the parent’s strengths and weaknesses. The wealth of evidence obtained throughout the assessment fully substantiates this, and ensures that the recommendations made maintain the well-being and safety of the child.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

A social worker said: ‘Staff from the start focus on the child, and they positively reinforce the agreed boundaries. They have a good balance of being supportive, state when parents are doing well and are direct when improvement needs to be made.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents respond exceptionally well to the nurturing ethos and approach that staff impart, while still maintaining clear safeguarding boundaries and expectations. Staff demonstrate high aspirations through their strong desire for families to do well. This is accomplished through their skill in quickly establishing strong and trusting relationships between themselves, parents and children.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

In addition, seamless and continuous consultation occurs with parents throughout their assessment. Consultation forms part of everyday practice, and parents have the opportunity to give their views and opinions. Staff listen to their views, act upon and include these throughout their assessment. This gives parents a voice and empowers them. A parent said: ‘I get on with all the staff and can talk to them, which is important,’ and another commented: ‘I love the residents’ meetings. This is our opportunity to discuss things as a group, and work together.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents gain enormously from well-planned admissions and discharges. Care and attention are given to providing families with information about their individual assessment on arrival. A parent said: ‘I was worried when I first came, but felt better once everything was explained.’ At the point of leaving the centre, staff support families to make sure that housing, finances and support networks are in place. Staff continue to provide support through telephone contact for a time after families leave. This reassures families that support and guidance are still available and assists them in their continued success. Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 5 Parents and children enjoy and participate in an array of social and leisure pursuits. They respond to the advice and information shared with them by staff on the importance of play and stimulation for their children. As a result, children benefit

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

immensely, supporting their development and learning by the number of child and toddler playgroups that they attend, the participation in in-house messy play, music sessions, and community outings. A parent said: ‘I’ve loved the messy play sessions and the girls love the music group. I have now found a toddler play group to use when I leave.’

p.5

How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Highly effective planning ensures that the identified risks are minimised. This is achieved by implementing specific safeguards and clear strategies at the start of each placement. All staff explicitly know and understand the risks posed to each parent and child. On arrival, immediate discussion and consultation with parents ensures that they are involved in the process. Parents are given the full explanation of the purpose of their parenting assessment. This makes certain that they are clear on the identified risks to themselves and their children. Parents participate and work alongside staff to devise and agree the strategies to minimise the identified risks. This fully ensures that parents understand and are able to take action to safeguard their child.

p.5

How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Children and parents feel safe because of the consistent implementation of the specific boundaries and house rules. This explicitly includes the close supervision and monitoring by the staff team; for example, the use of baby video monitors and 15- minute observational checks. There have been no instances of parents and children going missing, or incidents of neglect. When a child sustained an injury, safeguarding procedures were adhered to and the staff worked proactively with all of the agencies involved. Staff take immediate action to safeguard children, such as increasing the staffing levels when escalating risk is identified. This helps to ensure that they can protect and keep all children safe from harm.

p.5

How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

The management team is proactive in ensuring that the staff receive training to update their practice. This incorporates the latest research, new methods and guidance. These include working with disguised compliance, new approaches to domestic violence, and signs of safety. This helps to equip staff exceptionally well to support and identify risks, making a significant difference for children, keeping them safe.

p.5

How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

The designated officer for safeguarding said: ‘Prompt action was taken when a child protection incident occurred; procedures were followed. The manager kept all parties informed throughout.’

p.5

How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Improvements have been made to the home, with the decoration and refurbishment of a number of rooms. This provides families with good quality facilities within a domestic- style environment. However, some areas are still showing signs of wear and tear. The garden areas, while safe, look untidy, with weeds in paths and the grass area. This detracts from the overall safe, well-equipped and comfortable homely environment that Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 6 supports parents positively during their assessment.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been in post since 2013 and has a wealth of experience, spanning over 25 years of working with children and families. She holds a social work and management qualification.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children and parents benefit immensely from a leader who inspires her staff team to look to improve the quality of the service continuously. Staff respond well to this motivational ethos to deliver the very best outcomes for children and parents within the aims and objectives of the centre’s statement of purpose.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A highly experienced, trained, diverse and stable staff team works cohesively together to meet the needs of children and parents. A staff member said: ‘We work so well together to support families. I think this is a real strength.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say that they receive excellent support. They routinely receive formal supervision and annual appraisals that include reflection on their practice and their development. There is a very strong focus on training. Residential support workers hold a level 3 qualification in working with children and families. All have training in child and adult protection. In addition, staff undertake further training in a variety of areas. These includes domestic violence, drugs awareness, learning disabilities, mental health, child development and attachment. Furthermore, staff implement the latest childcare and parenting guidance to ensure that they provide parents with skills and the most up-to- date information on good parenting and child safety, such as updating their advice to parents on co-sleeping.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work extensively with other agencies and professionals, including health, social workers, guardians and solicitors. A social worker said: ‘The social worker assessors are in constant contact by phone, email and progress reports. They do check matters and seek advice. They are flexible in their approach and recognise the parent has learning needs,’ and another said: ‘The communication is very good indeed.’

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Parents and children benefit significantly from the robust and detailed monitoring systems that exist internally and externally. The manager is aware of the service’s strengths and weaknesses. Actions to meet identified areas for improvement are implemented. Frequent reviews of family assessments take place and include monthly formal reviews over the 12-week process. In addition, there is continuous and robust evaluation that encompasses a raft of monitoring systems that actively scrutinise the quality of the service. This includes monthly visits from the independent visitor. Immediate action is taken to remedy any identified shortfalls.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Recommendations made at the last inspection have been acted upon, with the Ofsted address detailed in the statement of purpose; however, this is still to be sent to the Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 7 regulator. Additional freezer space is also now available for families to use.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and parents. They watched how professional staff work with children, parents, and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 8

p.7

Residential family centre details

Registered provider: 24/7 High Support Accommodation for Young People

p.8

Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Shrewsbury House, Shrewsbury Road, Penistone, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S36 6DY

p.8

Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Caroline Huxford

p.8

Inspector

Mrs Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report for residential family centre : Gawber Road 9 to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 4234 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9