Eclesia Family Services

Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family Services 1 Eclesia Family Services Eclesia Family Services 65 Nickelby Close, London, SE28 8LY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre provides parental assessment for one family.

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre registered with Ofsted in May 2023. There has been no registered manager since August 2023. There is an interim manager who is social work qualified and is supported by the responsible individual.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this inspection, there was one family undergoing residential assessment.

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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: Eclesia Family Services 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and their parents receive individualised care and support that is tailored to meet their needs. Parents benefit from an effective assessment process which focuses on safeguarding and meeting the emotional, social, educational and health needs of their children and themselves. One parent said that being at the centre was a 'great experience for me and my partner, they helped to set good routines for me and baby, I learnt to be healthier.’ Adding that being at the centre ‘helped me to be more open so I am working better with other professionals.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Assessments are of good quality and are evidence-based. Assessments are considered, balanced, and comprehensively assess each parent's capacity to meet their children's needs. They demonstrate parent’s strengths as well as their vulnerabilities. Assessments effectively address the letter of instruction by triangulating information from family history, observations, and key-work sessions to evidence and support realistic recommendations to the court.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents understand the assessment process and feedback is regularly sought from them. Parents receive weekly updates on their progress, which enables them to see what is working well and what could be improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Family placement plans could be strengthened. Currently the plans are basic and are based on the initial referral. They do not specify the assessment process for each family and information is kept in different documents. One structured, specific family placement plan would provide further clarity for parents, promoting transparency and consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents, with support from staff, schedule their weekly activities and timetable. Parents are able to access various activities, such as swimming, baby groups, baby massage and specialist parenting courses. Keyworkers refer parents to targeted support such as drug and alcohol services and counselling support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Leaders, managers and staff have developed positive working relationships with the local children’s centre where parents can access further support and structured parenting groups. The centre offers bespoke support from their inhouse psychotherapist, and from the parenting practitioner who will work with families individually, if agreed as part of the family placement plan. The centre also utilises the services of a specialist perinatal health visitor to provide advice and guidance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre has a homely feel. The physical environment is small but adequate for single family accommodation.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family Services 3 Leaders, managers and staff demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Parents learn how to keep themselves and their children safe.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Professionals have stated that the centre will highlight any safeguarding concerns promptly. They have no concerns regarding the staff’s understanding of safeguarding. Staff have undertaken appropriate training and show good understanding of safeguarding processes, whistleblowing, and the role of the local authority designated officer.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments undertaken prior to admission reflect the family's needs and have clear plans to support and mitigate against these risks. If there are safety measures required such as drug or alcohol testing, this is agreed with placing authorities and parents before families move into the centre and are part of the family plan. Results from drug and alcohol testing are comprehensively recorded and shared appropriately with parents.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Historic risks are understood as well as the parent's presenting needs. This means that staff always have in mind all of the information that they need to know to enable them to be alert to any emerging risks. Key-work sessions are held in response when new risks are identified.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments are reviewed and updated. However, the dates for these reviews are not always clear. Incidents are recorded appropriately. However, management oversight on these is not recorded. Clearer recording would help to be more accurate about risk.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents know how to complain and complaints are addressed fully. Managers take complaints seriously and are aware of the managing allegations process.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safer recruitment is in place. However, managers do not consistently record when verbal verification of some staff’s references has taken place. This is necessary to ensure that there is safe recruitment of individuals who work with vulnerable children and adults.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

The staff team’s communication with other professionals is frequent and effective. Feedback from external partners about staff conduct and professionalism is positive.

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good

Leaders and managers recognise the areas for development and have plans in place to make improvements. In the absence of a registered manager the responsible in- dividual has remained the consistent management presence. The responsible indi- vidual plans to become the registered manager as a new responsible individual has been appointed. Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family Services 4 The instability of management arrangements has had some impact on the organisa- tional aspects of the centre’s management responsibilities resulting in some short- falls. The shortfalls relate to family placement plans, management oversight, refer- ence verification, staff induction and the learning and development programme. Alt- hough staff receive mandatory training there are no clear plans to further their learning and development. The staff induction could also be strengthened as it is a

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good

basic introduction to the centre and does not cover more detailed aspects of the role.

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good

The statement of purpose and resident’s guide do not accurately reflect the services offered at the centre. For example, it is not clear that the centre outsource parent- ing assessment manual software (PAMS) assessments. Likewise, the current resi- dent’s guide needs amending to accurately reflect the description of the accommo- dation.

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good

Managers provide staff with regular and effective supervision. Team meetings are regularly held where reflective sessions are facilitated by the in-house psychothera- pist which are valued by staff.

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good

One staff member said that they ‘feel listened to’ and feel ‘well supported.’ Staff un- dertake appropriate mandatory training and staff are suitably qualified and experi- enced. One parent described her relationship with staff as being the ‘best thing’ about the centre. This aligns with the centre’s ethos and person-centred approach as outlined in their statement of purpose. Staff’s partnership working with external professionals is effective, communication with social workers is good.

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good

Managers act upon suggestions made in the monthly monitoring reports and recog- nise where improvements are needed. Managers have realistically recognised areas for improvements within their own quality review and are keen to put these in place. Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family 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, 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 provider shall appoint an individual to manage a residential family centre if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the residential family centre; Where the registered provider appoints a person to manage the residential family centre, he shall forthwith give notice to the [Chief Inspector] of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment is to take effect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(1)(a)(b)) 21 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the residential family centre has a clear statement of purpose and resident’s guide that reflects the services offered and accurate description of the accommodation. (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 8.1)  The registered person should ensure that the family placement plan is robust and specifies the objectives and intended outcomes of the placement and assessment. (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 9.2)  The registered person should exercise effective leadership of the centre's staff and operation, so that the centre is organised, managed and staffed in a manner that delivers the best possible outcomes for parents and children. (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 12.4)  The registered person should ensure that all staff references are checked and telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining the written references. (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 14.1)  The registered person should ensure that there is a good quality learning and

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Recommendations

development programme, which staff are supported to undertake and includes a robust induction. This would enhance individual’s skills and keep staff up to date Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family Services 6 with professional and legal developments. The learning and development programme should be evaluated for effectiveness at regular intervals and is updated if necessary. (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 16.2, 16.3)  The registered person should regularly monitor, in line with the Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002, all records kept by the centre to ensure compliance with the centre's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring (Residential Family Centres: NMS, 19.2) Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family Services 7

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Eclesia Family Services

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 65 Nickelby Close, London, SE28 8LY

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Prudence Diedericks

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Eclesia Family 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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