Kaleidoscope Assessment Services

Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 1 Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Finsley House, Finsley Street, Briercliffe, BURNLEY, Lancashire, BB10 2HN Monitoring visit

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is registered to accommodate up to three families at any one time. The residential family centre is privately owned. Families access the centre at the direction of the court and/or the local authority for the purposes of assessment.

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Inspection date: 20 February 2018

Date of previous inspection: 29 July 2015

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This monitoring visit

This residential family centre was judged to be good overall at its last inspection on 29 July 2015.

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This monitoring visit

Concerns were raised with the regulator relating to one of the flats in the centre. Concerns related to the flat’s state of repair, trip hazards in the flat, the functioning of the boiler and the fire safety in the centre.

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This monitoring visit

The monitoring visit, which took place on 20 February 2018, specifically addressed the above issues. Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 2

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Statutory Requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

22: Fire precautions 20/03/2018 The registered person shall after consultation with the fire authority take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment and make adequate arrangements for the evacuation, in the event of a fire, of all persons in the residential family centre and safe placement of residents. (Regulation 22(1)(a) and (c)(iii))

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Summary of findings

The flat was observed to be generally in a good state of repair. However, some of the issues raised by the complainant should have been identified and acted upon at an earlier stage. A small step from the kitchen to the flat’s living area presented a trip hazard and a CCTV camera had been removed from above a doorway, leaving two small holes which needed filling. Managers undertake weekly audits covering a wide range of areas, which include any deficits in the home’s state of repair; however, these issues had not been identified. Encouragingly, as soon as these issues were identified by the inspector, a local building contractor was contacted and came to the centre to rectify the deficits immediately.

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Summary of findings

The flat’s boiler was in good working order at the time of the visit. There was hot water and heating, and the flat was an appropriate temperature for a family with a baby. The boiler had been reported as faulty a total of three times and each time a heating engineer had been called out within a suitable timescale to look at the boiler. On two of these occasions, no faults had been identified. Additionally, there were sufficient electric heaters to warm the flat should the boiler fail for any reason. Residents at the centre confirmed that their boilers worked and they had heating and hot water.

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Summary of findings

The centre’s fire safety was considered during this visit. All flats have smoke alarms that are linked to the main fire alarm. Each flat is supplied with a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket. The fire alarm was tested and found to be in working order. Families are briefed on fire safety when they first arrive at the centre and fire drills are completed at regular intervals to ensure that they know how to evacuate in the event of a fire. Each flat has a separate fire risk assessment and checks on fire escape routes and fire equipment are carried out weekly. Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 3 One concern was raised regarding a locked fire door which connected the flat to the centre’s office area. The fire service attended the centre at the request of the inspector and advised that although the flat had ample means of escape without the

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Summary of findings

use of the connecting door, the door should be kept unlocked so that it could be used as an escape route if needed. This is due to one of the fire exits in the flat being a large bedroom window that opens as a door. This was not considered a suitable means of escape for a family with a baby. The building contractor removed the lock on the door on the day of the inspection to rectify this issue. The fire service also arranged to come to the centre and complete a full fire safety audit on 23 February 2018. An action plan was drawn up as a result of this visit. The plan includes the replacement of some fire doors and some amendments to the centre’s fire risk assessments. This has resulted in a requirement being made.

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Summary of findings

Families living at the centre have ample opportunity to raise any concerns they have about their accommodation. There are fortnightly residents’ meetings and fortnightly feedback sessions which specifically address any complaints residents have and ask if their flats are suitable for them. The centre also holds regular ‘grumbles’ sessions for residents to raise any issues or concerns they have. Residents were consulted and stated that there were no concerns about their flats’ state of repair and they were confident that if they raised any issue with managers it would be addressed.

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Summary of findings

In summary, there are no significant concerns about the centre’s general state of repair. Some issues were raised by the fire service in respect of fire safety arrangements and an action plan has been issued. Managers acted quickly when minor deficits in one of the flats were noted and these were rectified on the day of the inspection. The issues identified could have been resolved through more regular consultation with the fire authority and more vigilant monitoring of the individual flats’ environment, as well as residents making better use of the ample opportunities they have for raising any concerns in respect of their accommodation.

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Finsley House, Finsley Street, Briercliffe, BURNLEY, Lancashire, BB10 2HN

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Residential family centre details

Rebecca Stevenson Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 4

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Inspector(s)

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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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