Bonner House

Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 1 Bonner House Dudley Lodge Bonner House, 172 Sellywood Road, Birmingham B30 1TJ Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is registered for 10 families and is operated by a registered charity. The centre’s manager has been in post for a number of years and holds a social work qualification.

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Information about this residential family centre

Families usually stay at the centre for 12 weeks for their assessment. A range of assessment programmes are used.

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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

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that a serious incident that has occurred at the setting since the previous inspection is under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incident were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected requires improvement to be 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 is not yet delivering good help and care for children and parents. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 2 Date of previous inspection: 26 July 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 3

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improvement to be good

The majority of families who come to the centre receive a high-quality, safe service. However, shortfalls related to the care of one family have led to a judgement of requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Assessments are well balanced, evidence-based and detailed. They present a clear account of parental strengths and weaknesses. The recommendations of the assessment help professionals to make informed decisions about children’s futures.

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improvement to be good

Staff work hard to create positive relationships with parents at the start of their assessments. They take account of parents’ differing needs and will work to find imaginative and different ways of presenting information.

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improvement to be good

Group sessions and workshops have increased since the previous inspection. From these, parents are helped to learn the importance of child development and basic childcare. These opportunities assist parents to better understand themselves and their ability to parent their children well.

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improvement to be good

Parents are kept well informed of the progress of their assessment through regular meetings. This allows parents to express their views about their time in the centre and to check their understanding of their own progress. Parents’ feedback is valued and recorded.

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improvement to be good

The majority of children living at the centre are protected from harm. Safeguarding measures in place to ensure children are protected from harm are generally effective. However, on one occasion, a child sustained a serious unexplained injury.

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improvement to be good

On that occasion, safeguarding measures were not applied effectively. Shortfalls in the monitoring of the family by staff, as well as shortfalls in record-keeping, were identified. A child who should have been monitored at all times, either by CCTV or directly by a staff member, was not. Daily logs do not always evidence that staff are regularly checking on parents or children, either face to face or via CCTV as agreed in their plans. Therefore, it is not always clear what has happened over a period of time or how staff have responded. On one occasion, a lack of professional curiosity meant opportunities to check on a child’s welfare were missed.

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improvement to be good

Action taken by staff immediately after the suspected injury was identified helped keep the child safe. The provider has identified some shortfalls in staff practice and has taken action to consider how improvements can be made. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 4 The majority of stakeholders, including social workers, are satisfied with the way in which children and families are kept safe. Staff hold high-quality sessions with parents as part of the assessment process. These help parents gain a better understanding of the risks they or their children may be, or may have been, subject to. For example, parents have the opportunity to learn about safe and responsible social media use, as well as domestic abuse.

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improvement to be good

The parents know how to complain. Complaints are responded to promptly. Centre meetings give further opportunities for the parents to discuss issues together. The staff team resolves any conflicts between families effectively. This ensures that the atmosphere in the centre remains calm and settled.

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good

Management monitoring systems are not always effective. Following a recent serious incident, an internal review into what happened was not completed with enough rigour. While the provider has identified some shortfalls and has taken action to rectify these, a rigorous, objective internal review was not completed. This is a missed opportunity to identify any systemic shortfalls in the operation of the centre, such as the quality of quality assurance measures and how well policies are implemented.

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good

The residential family centre demonstrates a capacity for continuing improvement. Since the last inspection, the provider has had a focus on staff development and well-being. Staff value the support provided to them through a wide variety of training opportunities, team meetings and supervision.

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good

All requirements and recommendations from the last inspection are met. For example, more detailed records are kept about children and families and recruitment processes have been made safer, ensuring only suitable people have access to vulnerable adults and children.

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good

Staff have a variety of experience and qualifications in social work, education and early years. Members of staff are helpful, caring and nurturing in their approach. Parents said that they have positive relationships with staff and that staff have the time to give them individual attention. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 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 prepare and implement a written child protection policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the residential family centre from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 12 (1) (a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that supervision and monitoring by staff of children’s welfare is carried out so as to protect children from harm.

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Requirement Due date

Also, that records of monitoring of children’s welfare are accurate. 30 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall establish and maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided at the residential family centre. (Regulation 23 (1) (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that in the event of a significant incident, a review of the centre’s quality of care is carried out to determine any shortfalls in the centre’s operations. 30 October 2021 Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 6

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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.

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Dudley Lodge Family Assessment Centre, 143 Warwick Road, Coventry CV3 6AT

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Inspector

Catherine Honey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 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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