For Families Ltd

Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 1 Foundations for Families Foundations for Families Limited 17 Longford Road, Bognor Regis, Sussex PO21 1AA Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

The aims of the centre are to undertake assessments of parents’ ability to care for their children. All assessments are usually commissioned by a local authority or court. The centre can accommodate up to four families. The manager was registered by Ofsted on 21 November 2019.

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Information about this residential family centre

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this residential family centre

We last visited this setting on 16 June 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

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good

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of previous inspection: 16 June 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children benefit from an effective assessment process, which places their safety, welfare and development needs at the centre of all the work that the staff do. Careful thinking goes into the progress and experiences that children and parents have and, as a result, transitions into and away from the centre are very well managed. Staff are committed to ensuring that parents are involved in their transition plans. Staff learn from planned admissions and work towards ensuring that the experience is positive for all families. Families experience a special meal to mark their moving on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff offer ongoing guidance to families when they leave, and families take this up. Families who live far from their home area experience staff who help them to keep in touch while also helping to find support services for when they return to their own area. This means that families return to an area with support set up, and this helps them to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parenting assessments are a strong area of practice and are of a good quality. Parents said that they are involved in the process and usually know how well it is going. Staff track the progress of parents, and this is well recorded. Parents know the stages of their assessment and can comment, for example, at their six-week review. Professionals stated that the good-quality reports help them to make decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff respond to the needs of each family. They recognise each parent’s strengths and help them to build on this while also helping them with any areas of weakness. Parents talked about what they have learned and how they can apply it to parenting their child. As a result, parents feel enabled to make a success of the assessment process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

There is a clear link between the assessment framework and models of attachment. Staff receive training to understand the links resulting in clear references to them in daily logs. Staff understand what underpins their practice. As the centre develops, theory is used to inform any proposed changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff and parent relationships are good and based on openness and respect. Staff are empathic to parents during parenting sessions. Parents feel listened to. They are aware of the complaints process and are supported to use it if necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents give their views, wishes and feelings at the fortnightly house meetings. The manager responds verbally to suggestions but has now committed to responding in writing so that all parents can see the outcome. Legal discussions about courts and the process are in place so that parents know their entitlements and rights. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 3 Parents have good day-to-day experiences. Staff work to ensure that parents have enjoyment together while also supporting them separately to have positive experiences. There is a sense of fun in the house; for example, parents bought football outfits for their babies to wear while watching England games during the European Football Championships. There are also quiz nights and other trips out. This results in a feeling of togetherness and the giving of support to each other.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Clear safeguarding procedures are in place, and staff know them well. Assessment of risk is clear, and staff follow these assessments closely. Staff demonstrate good safeguarding practice, and it is at the centre of the work that they do. Parents learn about children’s behaviours by attending parenting sessions. Through this work, they are taught how to protect their child and how to respond to behaviours.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Training sessions help parents to think about risk. Staff receive appropriate support and guidance on how to have potentially difficult conversations with parents. Responses from parents can sometimes be emotional and challenging. Staff manage such situations well and remain calm. This approach ensures that any parent who may be distressed is sensitively supported, and other parents are suitably reassured.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents’ opinions differ on whether they receive consistent messages from staff, for example around boundaries. This could be confusing for a parent. Managers take action where it is known that there are inconsistencies.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding arrangements in place to protect children, and parents promote their welfare. The procedures are well known, and staff follow them. Staff know the importance and value of working with other agencies to safeguard and protect children. One member of staff said, ‘Anything of concern that we do pass on to management is acted on immediately.’ A social worker said that the staff have always implemented safety planning and have communicated any safeguarding concerns to her promptly. This shows that staff and professionals feel confident in the processes in place to safeguard children.

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good

Leaders and managers are ambitious for the centre and have high expectations of staff and parents. There are high standards in parenting assessments, support and safety, but monitoring systems are not effective in all required areas. There are examples throughout documents where relevant details are missing, information is not recorded and dates are inaccurate. An online record system is in use. However, there is no clear plan which directs staff on where specific information should be stored. This lack of direction means that staff may refer to out-of-date or incorrect information. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 4 Maintenance issues that arise in the centre are not addressed quickly and effectively. For example, creaking stairs that wake babies up have not been dealt with, as managers have not been able to find a tradesman to address this. A dripping tap was left unrepaired due to the same tradesman issue. This had a negative impact on

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good

the environment for parents and children.

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good

There is a limited system in place to review and improve the quality of care provided. The views of parents, children and professionals, while known, are not clearly used to develop and improve the services provided.

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good

A serious event that occurred was not shared with Ofsted in line with regulatory requirements. This limited the regulator’s ability to oversee the safeguarding practice at the centre. Internal monitoring systems did not identify this shortfall.

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good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the progress made in respect of the assessment plan of all families. Leaders and managers are present and involved in these plans. They take stringent action where placing authorities do not supply the support and accommodation that a family will need to succeed on leaving the centre.

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good

Leaders and managers provide staff with reflective supervision that is practice based and meets their developmental needs. Staff said that supervision is always regular and that they learn about being child focused, kind and supportive in their work with parents. Staff receive a personal development review annually at which targets are set. Staff receive an induction, which is sensitive to the work that they do and helps them manage their own feelings and responses to supporting parents and children. As a result, new staff are well prepared when families may separate or leave the centre.

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good

Working relationships are very positive. There is excellent feedback from professionals who feel confident in the work that leaders, managers and staff do to ensure good outcomes for families. Leaders and managers give strong challenges to placing authorities, particularly in relation to supporting parents when they are moving on from the centre. This helps families to feel confident that their needs will be heard.

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good

Leaders and managers know the strengths and weaknesses of the centre well. They identify that their senior leadership team is a strength and that sporadic staff meeting attendance is a weakness. The manager is committed to improving this and is working with staff in relation to expectations and meeting the needs of the centre.

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good

Leaders and managers are aware of the need for a more diverse workforce and have been working towards employing a full-time male worker. The aim is to have a safe male role model on the team as well as an added support for dads. The area in which the centre is located is not culturally diverse. However, leaders and managers are committed to developing a strong staff group that understands and embraces wider society. Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 5

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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

The registered person shall establish and maintain a system for reviewing at appropriate intervals; and

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Requirement Due date

improving, the quality of care provided at the residential family centre. (Regulation 23(1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that analysis and evaluation which includes the views of parents, children and professionals are used to inform the review.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that the review provides clarity about how the conclusions will inform the development of the services provided. 30 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that the residential family centre is conducted so as to—

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Requirement Due date

promote and make proper provision for the health (including physical, mental and emotional health) and welfare of residents; and

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Requirement Due date

make such provision for the care, treatment, education and supervision of residents as is appropriate to their age and needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that systems are in place to maintain the premises quickly and effectively. 30 August 2021

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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 take place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 26 (1)) 30 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

is kept up to date. 30 August 2021 Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 6 The registered person shall also maintain the records specified in Schedule 4 in respect of the residential family centre.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that the records referred to in paragraph (3) are—

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Requirement Due date

kept up to date. (Regulation 19 (1)(b) (3) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that all relevant information is recorded on documentation and stored in the relevant area of the system.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where parents are being supported to develop parenting skills, they are enabled to build and sustain constructive relationships with staff so that, where possible, they are able to resolve conflicts themselves in a positive manner. In particular, parents should receive consistent messages from staff. (Residential family centre NMS 4.3)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents 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 For Families 7

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Foundations for Families Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 17, Longford Road, Bognor Regis PO21 1AA

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Rachel Richardson

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Residential family centre details

Email address: info@foundationsforfamilies.co.uk

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Inspectors

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Ruth Coler, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Foundations For Families 8 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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