First Steps North West

Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 1 First Steps North West First Steps North West Ltd 15 Queens Road, Accrington BB5 6AR Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This is a privately owned and run residential family centre. The primary purpose of the centre is to support local authorities, courts, parents, and children in the provision of fair and evidence-based parenting assessments. The centre is registered to accommodate up to five families.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of the inspection, there were five families in residence.

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Information about this residential family centre

The residential family centre was registered with Ofsted on 27 May 2022.

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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 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 last inspection: 14 February 2023

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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: First Steps North West 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff are committed to supporting residents to make progress in their parenting. Staff support families to overcome any barriers that have an impact on their ability to care for their children, bond with them and keep them safe. Staff ensure that direct work completed with residents is focused on the experience of children. Records of work completed with residents capture children’s experiences and residents’ views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff work hard to build relationships with residents which are based on trust and respect. Residents say that they value the support and guidance from staff. Residents who have moved on from the family centre choose to stay in touch with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff help residents to stay connected with people who are important to them. This enables residents to maintain important relationships and develop their support networks for the future. On one occasion, managers worked with a placing local authority to ensure that a resident and their child were able to spend Eid with their wider family safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Residents enjoy the positive links made within the local community. These resources include playgroups, health centres and specialist services. This enables residents to build up links and to access support and advice that they need during the assessment process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff routinely seek residents’ views about the support that they receive. Residents’ views are taken seriously and acted on. Residents understand how to complain. Managers respond to complaints quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Residents who move into the centre are welcomed sensitively. Managers meet residents before they move into the centre, which residents say makes them feel more at ease. Managers ensure that residents who have a planned transition out of the centre have suitable housing and resources in place. This helps residents to settle into their new home successfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Residents and prospective families can access a guide to the family centre which provides them with information about the centre. However, the guide is not available in an accessible format for children. This does not help children understand what to expect when they move into the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Managers have not ensured that all residents’ records are produced in an accessible format. This does not ensure that all residents have the information they need to understand reasons for care planning decisions made about their children. Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 3 How well children and parents are helped and protected: good.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

An experienced social worker leads the assessment process. The assessment reports are clear and include evidence of the children’s journey throughout their assessment. Assessments focus on safeguarding and children’s well-being and provide clear evidence-based recommendations for children’s futures. This helps professionals to make well-informed decisions in the best interests of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff support the parents throughout the assessment. Staff challenge parents when necessary, encouraging them to reflect on their own behaviour. This enhances the parents’ understanding of how to maintain their children’s welfare, safety, and development. Staff use a range of resources to help residents to transfer learning into their parenting. One parent said this work has helped them to understand domestic abuse from a child’s perspective and to reflect on their own experience of parenting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff revisit expectations with residents at regular points throughout the assessment process. This helps residents to understand what is expected of them. Staff use surveillance in accordance with residents’ individual plans to monitor the care that children receive. Staff intervene if children are at risk of immediate harm. As a result, risk of harm to children is reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Residents’ plans detail their known needs and provide staff with clarity on steps they should take to support them. Staff complete room checks with residents. This enables residents to learn how to maintain their home environment to be a safe space for their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Fire risks are assessed, and shortfalls are acted on quickly. This helps to ensure that the house is a physically safe environment for residents to live in. However, managers have not made arrangements for all new staff and residents to the centre to take part in fire evacuations. This does not provide assurance that staff and residents know how to leave the centre in the event of a fire.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Managers do not ensure that they have a full employment history and proof of address for all staff before they start to work in the centre. This does not ensure that safer recruitment practice is adhered to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is dedicated and child-focused. She has a good understanding of the quality of staff practice and how this impacts on residents’ experiences. Management monitoring and review systems are in place and are effective. As a result, shortfalls in staff practice are identified and acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that there are enough suitably skilled staff in place to meet the needs of the residents and their children. Staff morale is high. Staff say they enjoy working in the centre and feel supported by managers. One member of staff said she feels ‘a huge sense of privilege’ to work at this centre. Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 4 Staff well-being is prioritised and as a result staff feel valued. Staff can access support from a dedicated person who is independent from the management structure in the centre. This ensures that barriers to staff working to the best of their ability are quickly resolved, which provides consistency for residents and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager leads a culture of learning and development. Staff access a range of training opportunities, which ensures that staff have the skills to meet the needs of the residents and children they support. Induction arrangements for new members of staff are effective. Staff have regular supervision and attend team meetings, which provides staff with opportunities to reflect and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to developing practice to improve the experiences of residents. Staff receive open and honest feedback about their performance. This helps staff to understand what is expected of them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from residents and residents who have moved out of the centre is routinely sought. Feedback from residents is positive. This remains true in circumstances when the assessment recommended separation of the child and parent. Managers use feedback to inform ongoing evaluation of staff practice and actions to further improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has built positive working relationships with professionals, which creates a ‘team around the family’ approach. Feedback from professionals is overwhelmingly positive. One social worker said that managers share regular updates and contribute to multi-agency meetings. However, managers do not always appropriately escalate concerns to other agencies when families’ needs are not met. This does not ensure that delays in care planning are resolved quickly. Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person 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

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure under paragraph (1)(b) must in particular provide for—

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Requirement Due date

liaison and co-operation with any local authority which is making child protection enquiries in relation to any child accommodated in the residential family centre.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the child protection policy details the escalation policy if another agency is not meeting the needs of a family. This also relates to the registered person ensuring that managers and staff adhere to this. 19 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that conclusions or recommendations are made as a result of the assessment or monitoring and that—

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Requirement Due date

such conclusions or recommendations are objective and based on verifiable evidence; and

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Requirement Due date

the evidence on which they are based is capable of being presented in a manner that is clear, accessible, and appropriate to the persons who will need to consider them. 19 August 2024 Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 6 (Regulation 13A (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all residents have access to their records in a format which is accessible to them.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work at a residential family centre unless—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to him in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

Where the following conditions apply, the registered person may permit a person to start work at the residential family centre notwithstanding paragraph (4)(b)—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2 in respect of that person, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters specified in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of that person has been obtained in relation to the matters specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

pending receipt of, and satisfying himself with regard to, any outstanding information, the registered person ensures that the person is appropriately supervised while carrying out his duties. (Regulation 16 (3)(d) (5)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that they ensure that a full employment history is obtained before staff work in the centre. 19 August 2024 Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 7 Subject to paragraph (1A) the registered person shall after consultation with the fire authority fire and rescue authority—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that the persons working at the residential family centre and, so far as practicable, residents, are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire, including the procedure for saving life. (Regulation 22 (1)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all staff and residents who are new to the centre take part in a fire evacuation. The registered person should ensure that all staff and residents understand how to leave the centre safely in the event of a fire. 19 August 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person must provide a resident’s guide for children of appropriate age and for prospective resident children. (Residential Family Centres National Minimum Standards; standard 4; page 16)

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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: First Steps North West 8

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: First Steps North West Ltd

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 15 Queens Road, Accrington BB5 6AR

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Residential family centre details

Email address: firststepsnwltd@gmail.com

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Inspector

Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 9 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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Inspector

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