Victoria Villa

Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 1 Victoria Villa Keys Family assessment Centre Limited 4 Lion Hill, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire DY13 9HD Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

A large national private company operates this residential family centre. It is registered to provide a service for six families.

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Information about this residential family centre

A manager is in post and is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

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good

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The residential family centre provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents benefit from a warm welcome and a positive regard from staff. The manager has worked hard to improve the environment since the last inspection. As a result, the centre is relaxed and has a calm atmosphere. Assessments are well planned with parental participation being central to the process. Staff work to empower parents and work in a non-judgemental way. This assists parents to settle more quickly into the centre and helps to reduce anxiety and concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents and children benefit from the consistently good quality, detailed parenting assessments. The assessments focus on each parent’s ability to parent their children safely. There is suitable evidence obtained throughout the assessment to fully demonstrate the full findings of the assessment. This is documented in a clear and balanced way in the final assessment report.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parenting assessments are carried out by experienced, qualified social workers. Families engage meaningfully and are responsive to the guidance from the staff team. Many parents make excellent progress and children thrive at the centre. Assessments are of good quality, have a strong social work analysis and include clear recommendations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents’ learning styles are incorporated into all aspects of the assessment process. Social workers provide excellent weekly feedback to families. This is focused and highlights the family’s strengths and areas for development. Parents’ views are routinely sought and considered as part of this process. Targeted actions are identified to ensure that parents know what areas they need to focus on the following week. This helps to keep assessments focused and specific to each family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Direct work sessions provide parents with the opportunity make progress and learn new skills. For example, they receive support to understand more about child development, domestic abuse, risky individuals, healthy relationships and support networks. It is clear that parents receive a wide range of informative sessions that have a positive impact. However, there is limited evaluation and analysis in the records of the sessions. This can limit the purpose and direction of the work undertaken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

A small number of families have stayed longer than the intended assessment period. Careful planning and challenge do not always take place to ensure that children do not experience delay. One family remained at the centre for 15 months. Decisions to accommodate families beyond the assessment period have been well intentioned and there has been reflection and learning when assessments have drifted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

There are systems in place to record parents’ interactions with their baby on the centre’s mobile phone. This is part of a planned approach identified within the centre’s model of assessment. However, this is not yet contained in the surveillance Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 3 policy, and it is not clear about how parents are helped to understand where and for how long the footage will be stored.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

There is a strong and robust safeguarding culture at the centre. Staff are clear about the process to follow if they are concerned that a child has been harmed. Supervision levels are increased as necessary to keep children safe and parents are sensitively supported through this process. This contributes to effective safeguarding practice in the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

For the most part, risk assessments provide staff with clear and helpful strategies that prioritise the safety of children and their families. Risk assessments outline risks posed to children in relation to family members who do not reside at the centre. When risks increase, appropriate strategies are implemented to ensure that children and parents are safe. Guidance for staff is clearly detailed. Staff follow this guidance well to ensure the safety of children and their parents. However, some risk assessments have not been updated with current levels of supervision for when families spend time out of the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Some families are involved in The Freedom Programme, which supports families who have suffered domestic abuse and violence. The programme has helped parents learn about abusive relationships and coercive control. This empowers them to re- evaluate their relationships and enables them to prioritise the welfare and safety of their children.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents receive written guidance about expectations and behaviour during their stay. The staff reiterate this and explain the importance of respecting others and the rules and boundaries that need to be adhered to during the placement and the assessment process. This helps parents to maintain positive and acceptable behaviour overall. When required, action is taken to address unacceptable behaviour and to protect children.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents know how to complain. Suitable records are maintained on the action taken and the outcome of the complaints made. Parents are helped to understand the outcome and action taken. This demonstrates that complaints are taken seriously and are responded to and concluded without delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change in manager since the last inspection. The new manager is ambitious and caring. She has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service and uses this knowledge to improve experiences for children and their families. The manager is suitably experienced to manage the centre and does so effectively. Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 4 The manager is supported by a strong deputy; together, they share the same vision and high standards. There is good managerial oversight, with a clear vision and high expectations of staff practice. Because of good-quality leadership, changes in staffing have been well managed. The staff team is stabilising, staff morale has improved and staff feel valued in their role. This promotes a positive environment for children and their parents. One parent said, ‘It feels like one big family.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that the plans for families are comprehensive and address their needs. They have a good understanding of the parent’s capacity for change and can demonstrate the impact the centre has on children’s lives and their parents’ progress. Weekly meetings and case discussions with staff contribute to a reflective process, ensuring regular opportunities to discuss families and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and relevant. The manager understands the importance of investing in her staff team and there is a strong focus on staff development. Staff receive regular supervision and support. In addition, social workers are provided with case management supervision from a suitably qualified person. This helps to ensure that staff are equipped to deliver the best support, care and guidance to parents and children throughout their assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work effectively and in close partnership with other professionals. One partner professional said they are impressed by the quality of support. They used words such as ‘exceptional’ and ‘impeccable’ to describe the service provided and the communication during the assessment process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a wide range of monitoring systems in place. As part of improving practice within the centre, a new independent visitor has been identified. This has supported improved scrutiny and the manager works hard to address any actions that are identified. A review of the quality of care has not consistently been undertaken since the last inspection. However, this shortfall has been addressed since the current manager has had oversight of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of the centre’s records varies. Gaps were identified in some case records and chronologies and some records needed updating, for example risk assessments relating to the supervision of families when they spend time out of the centre. This is a recognised shortfall and there is a plan in place to improve the quality of records throughout the service. Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 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 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

The records mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (3) may be kept in electronic form, provided the information so recorded is capable of being reproduced in a legible form. (Regulation 19 (1)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure consistency in the quality of records, for example chronologies of assessments, the review of assessment plans and risk assessments. Any shortfalls should be followed up and rectified promptly. 3 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure they have effective systems in place to prevent drift and delay for children. This should be considered at the earliest opportunity. Services offered should be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. (Residential family centres: NMS 7.2)  The registered person should ensure that there is a clear and effective policy on the use of surveillance in parenting assessments. The policy should set out how the techniques will be used to contribute to assessments, how families will be informed of their use for their particular circumstances, how legitimate privacy will be protected and how residents will be protected from potential abuse of such measures. Leaders and managers should ensure that all methods of surveillance are included in the surveillance policy. (Residential family centres: NMS 10.1) Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 6

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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: Victoria Villa 7

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Keys Family assessment Centre Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Residential family centre details

Email address: manager.victoriavillas@keyschildcare.co.uk

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Inspectors

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Victoria Villa 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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