Majestic Family Services - The Laurels

Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 1 Majestic Family Services - The Laurels Majestic Family Services 16 Freemans Road, Minster, Ramsgate, Kent CT12 4EL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre can accommodate up to five families. At the time of this inspection, four families were in residence. The centre offers a service to parents and children of all ages who are referred from the courts and local authorities.

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Information about this residential family centre

The registered manager has been in post since 21 January 2022. She has recently resigned and is due to leave on 19 October 2022. A management oversight plan is in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The residential family centre provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the residential family centre contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and parents.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents feel that they are at the heart of their assessment. They are provided with a consistently high quality of care, support and guidance. They know what is happening at each stage of their assessment and are proactively engaged in discussions, including when supervision levels can be safely reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Assessments take full account of the placing authority and court requirements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Reports sent to commissioners provide them with detailed information on the progress that parents are making in their assessment. They draw on all information available throughout the assessment period. Observations and one-to-one sessions are used well. The reports are evaluative and analytical and show how theory and research support the recommendations, which are clear and considered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents are very positive about the activities available to them and their children in the centre. Baby massage and sensory sessions are particularly popular. Staff also encourage parents to access activities in the community. Consequently, parents have benefited from being able to join parent and baby groups and local gyms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents’ views and wishes are highly respected through regular one-to-one sessions with their key workers, placement reviews and house meetings. Parents feel able to challenge elements of their assessment and are confident that their views will be taken into account.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents are encouraged to get involved in the development of the centre. Managers and staff are highly responsive to requests or suggestions. For example, one parent suggested that a poster was put up that had the photographs and names of all the staff. This was promptly actioned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Staff provide parents and their children with opportunities to have memorable experiences during their time at the centre. With staff’s support, parents and their children have been able to go to the funfair, the beach and parks. Parents also participate in growing vegetables that they can then use to make nutritious meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Children and parents stay in a welcoming and safe environment. Staff work extremely hard to keep the environment as relaxed and calm as possible. Laughter is part of everyday life at the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents and children are welcomed into the centre in a planned and sensitive manner. Parents are encouraged to visit the centre before they move in to help them to gain a better understanding of what to expect during their stay. Parents receive information about the centre that is easy to understand. A high-quality assessment and bespoke moving on plan for one family helped them to go home with their child. Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 3 Staff work proactively to promote and develop positive relationships with parents. However, there is recognition that relationships can be challenging by the nature of the assessment work that is necessary.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff are highly experienced and skilled to ensure that children are protected from harm. There is a high level of visual monitoring of parents with their children, both during the day and at night. Parents understand why this is in place and sign their placement plans agreeing to this level of monitoring. Parents are supported to work towards reduced supervision and monitoring.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Clear and detailed bespoke risk assessments ensure that children remain protected. The risk management plan is a live document and is regularly updated. Risk management plans are updated at the three-weekly assessment reviews to ensure that parents’ progress is captured and that safeguards remain balanced, fair and effective.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff follow health service guidelines around the care of children. However, occasionally parents report that staff can give them conflicting guidance about the day-to-day care of their child, for example around breastfeeding. This has led to some parents feeling confused about how best to care for their child.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Arrangements for the management and administration of medication are safe and effective. A new electronic system is in place to monitor the administration of medication. When there was an error, this was quickly identified and appropriate action was taken.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff follow clear procedures and agreed arrangements on the action that should be taken if a parent and/or their child were to go missing from the centre. When one parent left their child at the centre, staff cared for the child until the parent felt able to return. Staff praised the parent for returning and supported them to complete their assessment.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff identify and respond well to the vulnerabilities and needs of parents and their children, including their cultural background and personal identity.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Clear arrangements are in place to ensure that children and parents are safeguarded effectively. All safeguarding procedures are well known by the staff, including what action should be taken if a concern is raised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager was on leave during this inspection. The inspection was supported by the deputy manager and the operations director. A strong leadership team is in place, and this has led to robust management oversight with a clear vision and high expectations of staff practice. Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 4 Leaders and managers have realistic expectations of what parents can achieve and have put in place effective processes and procedures to help parents to make a success of their time at the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers ensure that there are strong partnership arrangements with external agencies, including health professionals, social workers and children’s guardians. These partnerships help the centre to sustain the high-quality support, assessment, care and protection of children and parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers use quality assurance processes well to ensure that assessments are accurate and submitted on time. They make sure that each parent’s assessment provides a wide range of activities that help each parent to develop their parenting skills to care for their child safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers hold high expectations of the staff. The process of managing their performance is supportive and effective. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions, appraisal and excellent development opportunities. Staff supervision records capture professional curiosity and demonstrate an open culture to learning and reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

High-quality induction is well received by new staff, and they report being impressed with the quality of training on offer to them. Training is relevant to the needs of the parents and children and specific to staff interests. For instance, two members of staff are completing diplomas in mindfulness, and there is a plan to use this learning to support parents with their emotional and mental health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers know and understand the centre’s strengths and weaknesses and take forward new learning to inform and improve future practice. They have responded well to the requirements and recommendations of the last inspection and have built on areas such as risk assessments and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose is reviewed and updated regularly. Managers have created a bespoke statement of purpose that is specifically designed for parents and their children to help them to fully understand what to expect from their stay at the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are committed to promoting equality and diversity and meeting the needs of parents and their children. For example, they adapted the centre to meet the needs of a parent with mobility difficulties and have modified documentation for parents with specific learning needs. Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 5

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Recommendation

 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 centres: 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: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 6

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Majestic Family Services

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Atlas Chambers, 33 West Street, Brighton BN1 2RE.

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Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Majestic Family Services - The Laurels 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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