Family Assessment Centre

Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment Centre 1 Family Assessment Centre Kaleidoscope Assessment Services Limited 881 Chester Road, Stretford, Manchester M32 0RN Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is registered to provide care for up to three families at any one time.

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Information about this residential family centre

The residential family centre is privately owned. 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 his role in June 2024. An interim manager who was the centre’s deputy manager has applied to Ofsted for registration.

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Information about this residential family centre

There were two families living in the centre at the time of the inspection. The inspectors spoke with both families.

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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: 4 April 2023

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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: Family Assessment Centre 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents have trusting relationships with staff and they feel able to talk with them about any concerns or requests. Parents are welcomed into the centre in a sensitive way. Staff help them to understand expectations of their placement and how the assessment process works. Parents receive planned individualised support that is centred around their identified needs and risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The assessing social worker works closely with the staff team to ensure that their work is targeted to inform the assessment process. This means that direct work is focussed on family’s individual identified needs. Consequently, the quality of the assessments is good and they include clear conclusions and recommendations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff work well with parents to develop their parenting skills and confidence. They support parents to develop their knowledge in specific areas, such as the importance of healthy relationships, hygiene and exploring childhood illnesses. Parents are supported to understand the impact that their own childhood experiences may have on their parenting. An in-house play worker also offers regular sessions to parents to develop their understanding of play and stimulation and the diverse ways that this can be delivered to their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Resident meetings are held regularly. The manager is considering various ways to improve the process to engage parents more effectively in the meetings. That said, records evidence that parents are encouraged to share their views. Parents are also encouraged to give formal feedback during their assessment process and on completion of their placement. The manager promptly addresses any feedback, requests or concerns and parents are updated on actions taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents are encouraged to make use of community resources including play centres and a local swimming pool. In house activities and practical sessions are promoted in the centre. Well-being Wednesday’s, baby disco and cookery sessions are part of the centres weekly plans and they are enjoyed by the families. Monthly days out with families have also been introduced to provide the families with fun away from the centre and to create positive memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families flats and communal areas are well maintained. They have all the equipment and furnishings that they require. Staff support families to keep their space clean and tidy. The centre is monitored well to ensure that it is safe for families. However, the outside areas of the centre, including the garden are not fit for purpose or welcoming for families. Parents told the inspectors that the garden requires some development to make it homely.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment Centre 3 Parents feel safe during their stay in the centre with their children. Care planning records and viability pre-placement assessments evidence that consideration is given to whether parents can live together safety with one another. When risks are identified associated with parent’s mental health or domestic abuse, individualised safety plans are in place to mitigate risks and to support parents.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff have made appropriate use of the whistleblowing policy to report any concerns when working with families. Overall, serious incidents or concerns with parenting have been responded to appropriately by staff. Local authority social workers reported that safeguarding concerns are dealt with and shared promptly. When there have been some delays in staff intervention while monitoring families, leaders and managers have taken appropriate action to address this. They ensure that only staff who demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding practice, continue to work in the centre. Furthermore, the manager regularly revisits safeguarding practice and processes in the team meetings.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Families risk assessments are informed by information from placing authorities and other agencies, such as probation services. They provide staff with clear strategies and consider any impact on parents and their child. Consequently, staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents receive help to manage their emotions appropriately and to promote positive behaviour. Staff work closely with external mental health professionals. A newly appointed in-house psychotherapist provides regular support to parents. When parents make unsafe decisions or put their children at potential risk, leaders and managers make prompt decisions to end parents’ placements to safeguard children. Post placement debriefs are used to identify any lessons learned from the end of placements so that changes can be made to improve future family’s experiences.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in areas that are relevant to ensuring families safety, such as mental health and epilepsy. Staff help parents to understand risks to their children, how to care for them safely. This is done through direct work, social work sessions and teaching. They address areas such as safer sleep, domestic abuse, parents’ criminality and social networking.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safer recruitment processes are in place. This includes rigorous checks carried out for staff who have lived or worked overseas. Interview questions used to recruit new staff, evidence that leaders and managers capture the applicants understanding of whistleblowing, allegation management and professional boundaries, all of which the manager is focused on developing in her staff team.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents are confident about how to raise a complaint. Complaints are appropriately investigated and a written response is given to parents to explain the outcome and provides them with the opportunity to challenge any responses. Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment Centre 4

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good

There have been no formal arrangements implemented by the provider for an identified suitable person to oversee the centre or the new manager, in the absence of the responsible individual. There are arrangements in place to resolve this issue. However, the centre has been operating without any clear plans for senior management oversight for a few weeks.

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good

Leaders and managers have not submitted notifications to Ofsted when they have made referrals to the local authority designated officer (LADO). While this has not impacted on the safety of families, this is an area of knowledge to develop within the leadership team in relation to notifiable incidents. In addition, one referral to LADO was sent at a slight delay following a whistleblowing incident.

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good

The manager has offered continuity of support to the staff team during a turbulent time. This has included a change in the ownership of the company and some management changes. The manager understands parent’s individual needs and risks. She is realistic in her expectations of parents’ capabilities and she is a positive role model in striving for positive outcomes for families. Partnership working is positive. The manager works closely with external professionals and agencies to support their engagement with the families.

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good

The manager is honest and transparent about the strengths and areas of development of the service. She demonstrates a consistent oversight of significant incidents and she uses lessons learned from incident and practice reviews to improve the service. She requires time to implement her vision and to embed further expectations and changes.

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good

The manager uses supervisions, probationary reviews and personal improvement plans effectively to track staff competence in their roles. Training is monitored well to ensure that staff have the skills to meet the needs of the families in the centre. The manager is focused on sustaining the current team and ensures that their practice is well monitored. Staff are complimentary about the support the manager provides them and she takes her role seriously. Consequently, the staff team is becoming more stable and settled.

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good

The manager’s review of the quality-of-care report shows that families and professionals’ feedback is used to make improvements to the service. However, the independent visitor does not consistently obtain feedback from staff and professionals during their visits to the centre. This means that full scrutiny of the quality of the service is not provided in the independent visitor reports. Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment 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 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 manage the centre (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, formal arrangements should be implemented by the provider for an identified suitable person to oversee the centre and the new manager, in the absence of the responsible individual. 23 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

If, in relation to a residential family centre, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, any referrals made to the local authority designated officer should be submitted without delay and notified to Ofsted. 23 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

Subject to regulation 4(6), the registered person shall not use premises for the purposes of a residential family centre unless—

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Requirement Due date

the premises are suitable for the purpose of achieving the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

the premises to be used as the residential family centre are of sound construction and kept in a good state of repair externally and internally. 23 August 2024 Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment Centre 6 (Regulation 21 (1)(a) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the garden and external areas of the centre should be kept tidy, fit for purpose and suitable for families to spend time in them.

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Requirement Due date

The person carrying out the visit shall—

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Requirement Due date

interview, with their consent and in private, such of the residents and persons working at the residential family centre as appears necessary in order to form an opinion of the standard of care provided in the residential family centre.

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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: Family Assessment Centre 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 Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Family Assessment Centre 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 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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