The Woodbridge Family Centre

Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 1 The Woodbridge Family Centre The Woodbridge Family Centre 7 Butterwick Walk, Corby NN18 9HF Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

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

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager is new in post and is preparing an application to register with Ofsted.

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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

This is the centre’s first inspection since it registered in June 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families benefit from a service that offers quality care, support and guidance. Parents receive the support they need to help them understand their own capacity to change and the impact their behaviour has on their children. Members of staff are acutely aware that the nature of parental assessments creates a power imbalance between families and staff. On occasion, parents do not always share trusting, positive relationships with some staff members. Staff address this by providing parents with regular updates on their progress. Staff take time to get to know parents and to understand how they like to receive feedback. This helps to promote positive relationships between families and the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Direct sessions between families and staff cover topics which include attachment, bonding, nutrition, emotional warmth, basic childcare and child development, as well as practical housekeeping skills. Early years work tracks and monitors children’s development, using national frameworks. There is a focus on fun, play and promoting activities which help parents to understand their child’s development. Each family leaves the centre with a memory and milestone book. This is a particularly important memento for families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Final assessment reports are evidenced based, evaluative, child focused and meaningful. They are informed by the work undertaken with the parents while they reside at the centre. Transitions into and out of the centre are supported well and a programme of outreach support is available if this is necessary. When parents are unable to keep their children at the end of the assessment, staff are highly sensitive and enable parents to spend as much time as possible with their children to make memories and prepare for the separation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

There are good working relationships with local stakeholders. Routine visits by the health visiting service mean that child development issues are also prioritised and understood. Where differences in professional opinion arise, centre staff are open to considering new ways of working to help enable the best outcome for families.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding is at the core of the centre’s working practice and the needs of the child are paramount. Parents receive support and guidance about how to keep their children and themselves safe from harm and abuse.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff thoroughly assess risk, which enables families to live in a safe environment. New referrals are carefully considered and individual risks affecting each family are identified and recorded. There are clear strategies to minimise risks, which provides staff with relevant information on which to base their safeguarding practice. Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 3 Staff receive effective training in child and adult protection, and they can confidently explain the home’s safeguarding procedures. Safeguarding discussions take place regularly during staff induction, team meetings and individual staff supervision sessions.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding incidents are discussed and debriefed by managers and staff to enable them to consider lessons learned. If any shortfalls in staff practice are identified, changes are made to ensure that safeguarding policies and processes are effective.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Families reside in premises which are physically safe. The centre has strict policies to manage the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Closed-circuit television appropriately and sensitively monitors specific areas, including babies’ cots.

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good

There have been changes in the management structure of the centre during its first year of operation. The previous registered manager stepped down and a new manager, who is a qualified social worker, is now in post, as well as a new responsible individual. These changes in the senior management team mean that internal monitoring and review processes have not had time to properly embed. Consequently, internal monitoring and review systems are not always effective. For example, there is no clear plan to ensure that managers and staff are focused on continuous improvement of the service.

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good

There is a well-qualified, well-trained staff team in post. Recently, the staff team has been stretched as they are providing support to a family living at a property nearby. This has led to an increase in the use of agency staff at the centre. As a result, families are not always receiving care and support from members of staff who they know. This undermines the quality of the service and it does not help families to build trusting relationships with staff. The number of staff employed, their experiences and qualifications are not shown accurately on the centre’s statement of purpose and this information was not available to the inspector. This caused delay in the inspection process.

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good

The centre has sufficient space for families but space for staff and for visiting professionals is limited, which makes private discussions difficult at times. The provider acknowledges this and has plans to move to a larger property. Families benefit from their own lounge areas where they can receive support from staff in private. There is a shared kitchen and dining room. Areas of the centre would benefit from further maintenance. The paint on some walls has worn away. The position of a self-closing device on a lounge door makes it difficult to access the room while holding a baby or toddler.

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good

Staff are overwhelmingly positive in their comments about working at the centre. They enjoy working with families, feel well supported by managers and feel valued. Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 4 Most staff training is up to date and relevant. The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have led to delays in some face-to-face staff training. However, training to support staff to meet the needs of individual families is delivered quickly. The management team robustly challenges placing authorities, when necessary, to promote and safeguard the best outcomes for children. Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 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 compile in relation to the residential family centre a written statement (in these Regulations referred to as "the statement of purpose") which shall consist of a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 4 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that the statement of purpose accurately reflects the number, relevant qualifications and experience of persons working at the residential family centre. 10 August 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make every effort to achieve continuity of staffing. (‘Residential family centres: national minimum standards’, 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that that the centre provides a comfortable and homely environment that is well maintained and well decorated. Avoidable hazards should be removed, as is consistent with a domestic setting. Risk reduction should not lead to an ‘institutional’ feel. (‘Residential family centres: national minimum standards’, 11.2)

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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: The Woodbridge Family Centre 6

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: The Woodbridge Family Centre

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 28 Hever Close, Northampton NN5 4WN

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: David Angier-Brown

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Residential family centre details

Email address: lmwape@thewoodbridgefamilycentre.org.uk

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Inspector

Catherine Honey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: The Woodbridge Family Centre 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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