Foundations Stalybridge

Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 1 Foundations Stalybridge Progressive Care Limited 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 seven families at any one time. The residential family centre is privately owned. Families access the centre at the direction of the family court and/or the local authority, for the purposes of assessment. The manager is not registered but has applied to the regulator to become registered. The manager does not yet have a relevant level 5 qualification.

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Information about this residential family centre

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 November 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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Overall experiences and progress of

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and parents are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and parents are poor.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of previous inspection: not applicable

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable. This is the residential family centre’s first inspection since registration in April 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 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

*8: Registered person – general requirements

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider and the registered manager shall, having regard to the size of the residential family centre, the statement of purpose, and the number and needs of the residents, carry on or manage the centre (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 8(1)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall make suitable arrangements to ensure that the residential family centre is conducted–

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with due regard to the sex, religious persuasion, racial origin, and cultural and linguistic background and any disability of residents. (Regulation 10(3)(b)) 01/03/2020

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*12: Arrangements for the protection of children

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The registered person shall prepare and implement a written child protection policy which–

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is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the residential family centre from abuse or neglect; and

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sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect.

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The procedure under paragraph (1)(b) must in particular provide for–

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Requirement Due date

the prompt referral to the local authority in whose area the residential family centre is situated, of any allegations of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the residential family centre; 15/12/2019 Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 3 written records to be kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect, and of the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

consideration to be given in each case to the measures which may be necessary to protect children in the residential family centre following an allegation of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

a requirement for persons working at the residential family centre to report any concerns about the welfare or safety of any child accommodated in the residential family centre to one of the following–

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Requirement Due date

(iii) an officer of the [Chief Inspector];

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(iv) an officer of the local authority in whose area the residential family centre is situated; or

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(v) an officer of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. (Regulation 12(1)(a)(b), (2)(b)(d)(e)(f)) *13A: Assessments

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The methods of assessment or monitoring must be capable of evaluating the parents’ capacity to change.

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The registered person must ensure that conclusions or recommendations are made as a result of the assessment or monitoring and that–

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such conclusions or recommendations are objective and based on verifiable evidence; and

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the evidence on which they are based is capable of being presented in a manner that is clear, accessible and appropriate to the persons who will need to consider them. (Regulation 13A(3)(4)(a)(b) 01/03/2020

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The registered person shall keep under review and revise the placement plan as necessary.

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In preparing or reviewing the placement plan the registered person shall, so far as practicable– 01/03/2020 Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 4 seek and take account of the views of the members of the family. (Regulation 13(3)(a)) 15: Staffing of residential family centre

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The registered person shall ensure that there is, having regard to–

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the statement of purpose of the residential family centre, its size and the numbers and needs of its residents; and

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the need to safeguard and promote the health and welfare of residents,

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a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working for the residential family centre. (Regulation 15(a)(b)) 19: Records

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The registered person shall maintain in respect of each family accommodated in the residential family centre a record which–

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includes the information, documents and other records specified in Schedule 3 relating to the members of the family;

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is kept up to date. (Regulation 19(1)(a)(b))

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Specifically, detailed records should be kept of all incidents and assessments. Records should be accurate and recording templates should be fit for purpose. 01/03/2020

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The registered person shall establish and maintain a system for–

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improving the quality of care provided at the residential family centre. (Regulation 23(1)(a)(b)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

If, in relation to a residential family centre, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons 15/12/2019 Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 5 indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 26(1)) 4: Statement of purpose and resident’s guide

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Requirement Due date

keep under review and where appropriate revise the statement of purpose and resident’s guide; and

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notify the [Chief Inspector] within 28 days of any such revision. (Regulation 4(4)(a)(b)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

9.1 Prior to placement, a risk assessment is carried out to ensure both that the centre is well placed to meet the family’s needs and that the family is able to fit in with the centre’s other residents. It informs the level of supervision necessary for the parents and is kept under review throughout the placement. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 6

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

Inspectors found that there were widespread and serious concerns about the safety and welfare of residents at the residential family centre, resulting in a judgement of inadequate for the overall experiences and progress of children and parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

The assessments produced by the centre for the purposes of informing care planning for families do not always accurately reflect the parents’ capacity to safely and effectively care for their child. Some conclusions and recommendations made in assessments do not correspond to identified concerns about parenting capacity. This results in placing authorities and courts being incorrectly advised. Key information is missing from some assessments relating to safety and to welfare concerns for children. One assessment was submitted to court with the wrong name for the parent. Several family assessments could not be located when the inspectors requested them, which hindered the inspection process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

Families reported that they were unclear about how they were performing in relation to their assessment objectives. They felt that there was insufficient feedback to enable them to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Although there was some evidence that they were provided with feedback on direct observations and in some key-work sessions, parents did not understand how this related to the assessment process. Families should have four-, eight- and 12-week consultations about their placement and assessment, but these are not happening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

One parent had a language barrier which prevented her from fully participating in her placement at the residential family centre. Staff were unsure whether she had understood the instructions about caring for her baby. She did not attend a residents’ meeting due to not being able to understand and participate. Registration of her baby’s birth was delayed twice due to her not understanding whether the baby’s father could attend with her to register. This means that her views, wishes and feelings were not heard or acted upon. Residents meetings are held at which residents sometimes make requests. There is no evidence that these requests are considered or acted upon. Additionally, residents are referred to by their bedroom number, for example B4, which depersonalises them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

Parents stated that they have to knock on the office door and wait for staff to be available to them. At a residents meeting, parents were instructed to understand and be patient with staff due to there being six families residing in the unit. This does not promote the high level of individualised care and attention that the parents need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

Staff are not all sufficiently skilled, supported and experienced to provide good care and support to parents and children. A staff meeting recorded that the residents are ‘running the unit, and there seems to be a high lack of respect from residents towards staff. Residents have been allowed to remain in bed, and this has hindered Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 7 babies from getting into a routine’. This does not evidence good practice, where parents are appropriately supported to acquire the requisite parenting skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

Senior managers and the current manager of the residential family centre have identified several areas for improvement and have begun to take steps to improve the quality of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: inadequate

There are some positives in respect of the parents’ and children’s experiences. Parents report they get on well with staff and other residents. There are opportunities for parents to participate in education and gain qualifications, and the home environment is warm, clean and tidy, well-furnished and decorated.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff do not always have the skills to recognise and act when safeguarding issues arise. The incidents that are recognised are very poorly recorded, so it is often unclear to see what action was taken and how the information was shared. For example, one parent was not attending to her baby. The baby was left for 13 hours without being fed or changed. Although staff had prompted the parent to respond to the baby, they had not intervened to prevent his needs from being neglected.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

One parent was displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour, with her child in the same room. There was minimal recording of these incidents and staff gave differing versions of the extent of her inappropriate behaviour. No information was flagged to the placing authority as a concern or included in her assessment.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

A further incident occurred where a baby bouncer was kicked by a parent, with the baby in the bouncer. Staff described a different event from that which was recorded. This parenting assessment had a positive outcome, but it was unclear how this safeguarding incident had been considered as part of the assessment and how it had informed the outcome.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

One parent was found on two occasions to be co-sleeping with her baby. There was no record of whether staff intervened or of how this was addressed with the parent.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

On one occasion, staff condoned a father who had a driving ban and another male parking away from the home to avoid detection by the closed-circuit television monitors. The male was not permitted to enter the home and was presumably a risk to the child although his risks were not recorded.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Risk assessments appropriately identify risks for parents. They do not, however, relate the parents’ risks to the impact on the child. For example, a baby whose mother was at high risk of absconding did not have this recorded as a risk in his individual risk assessment. Some risk assessments could not be located, and therefore the risk management strategies are unknown. Not all risks assessments are signed by staff to say that they have read and understood them. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 8 On one occasion, a parent had to remind staff that they required visual checks every hour. This suggests that staff are not following the placing authority’s plan to keep the child safe by making regular welfare checks.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff store and help to administer some medications. The records for recording this do not show the quantity of medication in the pack before and after administration. Therefore, there is no way of knowing whether the parent has taken the prescribed dosage, has overdosed or has failed to take their medication until a weekly stock check is undertaken.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Incident reports lack detail, and some are missing altogether. For example, managers were unaware that a current resident had gone missing at some time during their placement. There was no incident log or other clear record of the circumstances. One parent self-harmed and, although there was an incident report for this, it was not recorded and cross-referenced in the log book. The lack of records leaves parents and children vulnerable and prevents placing authorities from being fully informed of concerns and safeguarding issues. One placing authority expressed some serious concerns about the practice at the centre, particularly around the recording and sharing of serious incidents.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Parents report there are insufficient staff on shift to accommodate emergency situations. On one occasion, a parent needed to attend hospital yet had to wait until additional staff were brought on shift so that she could be accompanied.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

Managers report that placement matching takes place and that risks are considered in respect of the potential impact on residents’ safety. There are no records to evidence that this risk management activity takes place.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: inadequate

It is concerning that the manager’s review of the quality of care under regulation 23 does not identify that there have been any safeguarding concerns or issues since the residential family centre commenced operating. It is therefore unclear whether managers fully understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management of the centre has changed in the time that it has been operational. The impact is that there has been poor managerial oversight and an absence of strong leadership. Staff have not always been kept well informed about changes, and this has had an impact on staff morale. A manager has been recruited who has relevant experience. The Manager is due to complete her Level 3 Leadership and Management qualification in December 2019 and to commence her Level 5 Leadership and Management qualification in January 2020. The Manager commenced her post in October 2019. Her application to register with Ofsted is in progress but not submitted at the time of the inspection. The responsible individual has been proactive in keeping the allocated inspector informed about the management arrangements for the centre. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 9 The new manager has support in place from within the organisation and, prior to this

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

inspection, some deficits in practice and recording had been identified. Managers were in the process of addressing some of the shortfalls identified at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The residential family centre has not been led and managed in a manner that is consistent with the aims outlined in its statement of purpose. Although inspectors noted that improvements had been made, these were not yet sufficient to address all the issues identified at this inspection. This fails to demonstrate that the care being delivered meets the individual needs of parents and children or promotes their safety and welfare effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The standard of record-keeping is poor. Many records are missing. There is insufficient detail in records of serious incidents. Some forms in use are not fit for purpose and do not relate to residential family centres.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not been well supported in their roles. Very few supervisions have taken place. There is little evidence in the supervision records of reflective practice or discussion about the needs of residents. Neither are staff meetings taking place at the required frequency. Where there are records of staff meetings, these show that there is little discussion about the families who are resident at the centre. They highlight that staff do not always have the skills to implement boundaries and feel unsupported when they do so. One member of staff reported feeling unsupported and not getting clear direction, describing herself as having to ‘wing it’. This does not demonstrate that managers support staff to deliver high-quality care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers identified performance issues with one member of staff. These issues had not been effectively addressed and the member of staff, who had no previous experience in this area, had not been formally supervised since she started working at the centre several months earlier. The single performance review that she had had did identify some concerns, yet there was no plan in place to address them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Notifications under regulations 26 have not been sent to the regulator as required, and the manager’s evaluation of the service does not identify some of the key issues raised at this inspection. This hinders the monitoring of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose has not been kept up to date. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 1

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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 and 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.

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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: Foundations Stalybridge 1

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Progressive Care Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 51 Attercliffe Common, Sheffield S9 2AE

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Residential family centre details

Email address: shabir.ali@progressivecare.co.uk

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Inspectors

Charlie Bamber, social care inspector Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations Stalybridge 1 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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