Kaleidoscope Assessment Services

Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 1 Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Limited Finsley House, Finsley Street, Briercliffe, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 2HN Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

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

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager left her role to become the responsible individual in February 2024. An interim manager is applying to Ofsted for registration.

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Information about this residential family centre

Two families were living in the centre at the time of the inspection.

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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 centre is not yet delivering good assessments of parenting capacity and/or is not delivering good care and help. The weaknesses identified need to be addressed to fully support children’s and parents’ progress through the assessment process and to mitigate risk in the medium and long term. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that mean children’s welfare is not safeguarded and promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 2

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improvement to be good

When families move into the centre, initial meetings and consultations do not always evidence their views to inform their individual placement plans and overall experiences. In addition, for one parent, the centre’s pre-admission records and risk assessment contained an inaccurate health diagnosis. Consequently, staff have misunderstood the parent’s specific health needs.

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improvement to be good

One flat had not been cleaned since a family moved out. Some communal areas of the centre had not been well maintained and the garden area contained some rubbish and broken paving stones. The staff team acted to address these issues during the inspection. However, these issues had not been identified by staff or managers on duty before the inspectors raised the concerns.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, a child has been cared for by staff for a sustained period at the request of the placing authority. This is outside of the provider’s registration and demonstrates that the provider does not have a clear understanding of its role. Leaders and managers have failed to challenge the placing authority effectively in relation to the level of childcare that they are able to provide to support parents.

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improvement to be good

Families said that they feel supported by staff. They have positive relationships and trusted adults who they can talk to about how they are feeling. Placing authorities have provided positive feedback about the support families receive when they move into the centre. There is also a more proactive approach in place for obtaining letters of instruction and families’ placing authority documentation to support the assessment process.

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improvement to be good

The social worker assessments are informed by a range of sources. This includes direct work with parents to support them to develop their parenting skills, daily assessment records and parents’ weekly appraisals. The appraisals reflect parents’ progress and capacity and regularly assess their well-being. They tie in closely with their assessment and are an opportunity for them to share their views and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Parents are encouraged to build on their independence in line with their needs and circumstances. They access a range of activities for children, in and out of the centre. Children’s and their parents’ memories are captured in life-story and memory books, which are given as keepsakes no matter the outcome of their assessment. Monthly activities, coffee mornings and house meetings provide parents with forums to talk about their experiences and how they could be improved. Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 3

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improvement to be good

Parents with mental health conditions access the centre as part of their assessment process. A ligature cutter was not on site at the centre. Staff were unsure of the whereabouts of the cutter or where this should be kept. A senior manager informed the inspectors that they had taken this off site. This is not in line with the provider’s policy and places families at potential risk should staff need to take emergency action.

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improvement to be good

Some staff and senior members of staff are unclear of the role of the local authority designated officer. This means that they do not understand the role of key safeguarding professionals in the protection and safeguarding of children in a residential setting.

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improvement to be good

The centre’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) policy does not provide staff with clear guidance about how often to record CCTV observations for families who are on full CCTV monitoring when requested by their placing authority. This has led to some inconsistencies in the frequency of recordings when staff are carrying out family observations. The responsible individual amended the CCTV policy during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding incidents are understood and acted on by the staff team. Staff have appropriately intervened to promote children’s safety and well-being. A traffic light system is used in the daily assessment records. This helps to clearly identify parents’ progress when there are serious concerns and evidence how staff have responded to these.

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improvement to be good

Impact risk assessments to assess families’ suitability to live together have improved. Families’ individual risk assessments are updated regularly, and they identify strategies to manage and minimise specific risks. Families do not go missing from the centre. No allegations or serious safeguarding incidents have been reported.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers address any shortfalls in staff practice promptly. Following the misuse of CCTV by staff, suitable action has been taken to educate the staff team about the use of CCTV monitoring and their roles and responsibilities while reviewing the footage to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers provide a transparent and thorough response to any complaints. For example, one parent was formally notified of the outcome of an investigation into a medication error and additional training and guidance were implemented as a result. Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 4

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good

The deputy manager has been promoted to the role of interim manager. He is working towards attaining the required qualification for his role. He requires time to embed his vision and to improve his oversight of the centre, monitoring the accuracy of records and setting clear expectations for staff.

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good

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of records. Families’ records are not always accurate. Some records are contradictory and include misleading information. Some incident reports do not provide a comprehensive chronology of the discussions had with placing authorities about decisions made to safeguard families.

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good

Quality assurance and monitoring audits have the potential to be purposeful documents and helpful to the manager in his role. However, these systems are not yet effective and require further development as they have failed to identify the shortfalls identified during the inspection.

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good

Following some concerns, leaders and managers are to change the use of a mobile phone app as a means of staff communicating and sharing information while in the workplace. This is to ensure that information is securely managed and there is a system in place that has full management oversight and supervision.

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good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff employed at the centre are safe to work with families. Staff enjoy working with families and feel supported by the senior leadership team. Regular practice-related supervision sessions and staff meetings take place. They are used to review practice, share information and amend the support families require.

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good

Staff access a range of training which gives them the skills to meet families’ needs. The manager oversees this well. He proactively identifies additional training to support families. Training is undertaken in response to any lessons learned and when specific training is identified to meet a family’s needs at the point of referral.

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good

The provider is part of the north-west residential family centre’s forum meetings. Leaders and managers use lessons learned to improve practice and to reflect on decisions made relating to families’ placements. This is evidenced in a monitoring of assessment outcomes record. It also provides an opportunity to use feedback from parents to update systems and make improvements to families’ experiences during their stay at the centre. Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 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, The 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

Specifically, a ligature cutter should be kept on site at the centre.

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Requirement Due date

Staff should be supported to understand the role of key safeguarding professionals. 21 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff at the residential family centre are appropriately trained and understand the requirements imposed by this regulation before they use any such devices. (Regulation 21A (4))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the CCTV policy should provide staff with clear guidance about how often to record CCTV observations for families who are on full CCTV monitoring. 21 June 2024

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, families’ records should always be accurate and incident reports should provide a comprehensive chronology of the discussions had with placing authorities about decisions made to safeguard families. 21 June 2024 Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 6 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 man-age the centre (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 8 (1))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, quality assurance and monitoring audits should be effective in identifying any shortfalls or concerns.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should have effective oversight of records to ensure that they provide clear and accurate information about families. 21 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

In preparing or reviewing the placement plan the registered person shall, so far as practicable—

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Requirement Due date

seek and take account of the views of the members of the family. (Regulation 13 (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, when families move into the centre, initial meetings and consultations should evidence families’ views to inform their individual placement plans and overall experiences. 21 June 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the centre provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated. Avoidable hazards should be removed as is consistent with a domestic setting. (‘Residential family centres: national minimum standards’, page 19, paragraph 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: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 7

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Finsley House, Finsley Street, Briercliffe, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 2HN

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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Kaleidoscope Assessment Services 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 who are 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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