PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Ltd

Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 1 PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this residential family centre

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

p.1

Information about this residential family centre

The manager was registered with Ofsted in August 2019 and holds a social work qualification.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 27 October 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre has recently been refurbished and accommodation is of a high standard. Families have ample space to meet their needs and staff ensure that each family has equal access to laundry and cooking facilities. The upper floor of the home is dedicated for staff use. This allows staff to be available to families without impacting on their living space and comfort.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families understand the expectations of the assessment. Families usually visit the centre before moving in, but where decisions are made quickly, staff ensure that the expectations of the centre are shared with families at the earliest opportunity. Staff provide families with a residents’ guide for them to refer to which contains all relevant information.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff ensure that families are aware of their appointments, and these are planned in their individual planners and calendars with them. Families know what they should be doing and when.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff assess parents’ learning styles and explore their preferences when they move into the centre. This information is shared among staff so that they are aware of how to best deliver information to the family. Senior staff direct the delivery of learning sessions throughout the assessment steps and identify additional sessions specific to parents’ individual needs or emerging themes. Staff identify when topics need revisiting or further work. Families have relevant information delivered to them in an accessible way and therefore have the best chance to learn.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Assessments are fair, balanced and evidence based. Clear and reasoned recommendations are made to the courts and involved professionals. Staff use a ‘day in the life’ descriptive tool to powerfully highlight the lived experiences of children to their families and involved professionals. Families are clear about their progress during the assessment and what they need to do next.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff provide lots of opportunities for parents to have their views heard and to share their ideas about how their experience in the centre could be improved. Families feel heard and their views are considered when making changes to the service.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff manage moves out of the home sensitively and in line with the family’s needs. Staff support families to visit new properties so they can decorate their homes, which ensures that parents are able to focus on their assessment when in the centre. Staff provide transport for families to ensure that anxieties about arrangements to move out are minimised. On one occasion, the managers and leaders supported a longer transition plan to support a family who required longer to move out. Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 3 Staff plan baby photoshoots and create footprint moulds so that parents and children have keepsakes from their time in the centre.

p.2

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff manage safeguarding incidents appropriately. They are responsive to parents and intervene to safeguard children when required. Allegations are managed safely, with external professionals being notified. A safeguarding officer provides additional scrutiny of incidents, alongside the registered manager and responsible individual. Children and their parents are kept safe.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff know the families and their circumstances well. They understand which areas of the home require careful monitoring, either via direct observation or through CCTV. Surveillance and monitoring are used appropriately and in line with regulations and the centre’s policies. Staff carry out room and mobile phone searches when required, in line with local authority direction and parental consent.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents do not go missing from the centre, and staff do not physically intervene with parents. However, staff have a good understanding of how they should respond to de-escalate potential conflict or if parents did not return to the centre safely.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments when the family move in identify the relevant risks and are updated regularly. However, risk assessments that assess whether a family should move into the centre are completed on the day or retrospectively. Therefore, consideration of a family’s needs and how these would be met alongside the other families in the centre is not carried out in a timely way.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff manage and monitor medication well. Staff assess parental capacity to manager and administer medication safely to themselves and their children.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff make health and safety checks and monitor the environment consistently to ensure the families live in a safe home.

p.3

How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff are generally recruited safely. However, there are some gaps in employment histories that have not been accounted for, and the reasons for leaving childcare roles are not always identified.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand parental needs and risks and the progress that families make. They are realistic in their expectations and about the parents’ capabilities. Leaders and managers are positive role models in striving for positive outcomes for the parents, and this is reflected in the staff team’s practice and approach.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders focus on the quality of care for families and in developing the centre. They attend a providers’ forum to share areas of good practice and keep up to date with current legislation and any changes to frameworks. Leaders and managers Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 4 have taken effective action to meet the recommendations and requirements set at the previous inspection.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and leaders do not speak with families who have made a complaint about their concerns. This is a missed opportunity to explore the concerns further and limits the scope of the enquiries. In some cases, there is no evidence that the local authority was informed about the concern, and parents do not receive written responses in relation to their complaint.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On one occasion, there was a delay in Ofsted and the local authority designated officer being notified following a complaint. There have also been some delays in Ofsted being notified of safeguarding incidents. This prevents the regulator from having an up-to-date account of the centre and its operation. These issues have not impacted on the safety of families in the centre.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have worked at the centre for a long time and understand their roles and responsibilities. New staff have been provided with supportive guidance from their colleagues. Staff are well supported by the senior team. Managers have implemented suitable procedures to promote transparency, which means that personal relationships within the staff team do not impact the quality of care or the safety of families.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand the whistle-blowing policy and the escalation process. Staff feel comfortable raising any concerns with leaders and managers and are confident these would be dealt with appropriately.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to support families appropriately. The centre has links with a clinical psychologist who works directly with the families, provides consultation to staff and attends staff meetings to deliver training to the staff team. Staff are well prepared to meet the needs of the families they work with and make accurate contributions to the assessment process.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are detailed and held regularly. Managers and leaders use team meetings to share current updates to legislation, guidance and frameworks. Staff consider research and learning from serious case reviews. Staff understand the local and wider context of their work.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with regular supervision. New staff have probationary reviews to promote their development and monitor practice. Supervisions are undertaken by experienced and qualified senior leaders. They focus on developing practice and staff well-being. Staff feel supported to achieve high standards in their work. Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that any complaint made under the complaint procedure is fully investigated.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a written record is made of any complaint or representation, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation. (Regulation 20 (2) (6))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, complainants should be spoken to following submission of their complaint to ensure full details are available to investigate, and written responses should be provided to the complainant following the conclusion of the investigation. 3 October 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

employ a person to work at the residential family centre unless that person is fit to work at a residential family centre; or

p.5

Requirement Due date

allow a person to whom paragraph (2) applies, to work at the residential family centre unless that person is fit to work at a residential family centre.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

he has the qualifications, skills and experience necessary for the work he is to perform;

p.5

Requirement Due date

he is physically and mentally fit for the work he is to perform; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to him in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2. 3 October 2024 Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 6 (Regulation 16 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, that where a person has worked with children or vulnerable adults, the reasons why their employment ended must be verified, and also that full employment history with written explanation of any gaps must be provided.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should have an effective system in place to notify the appropriate authorities within 24 hours of the occurrence of significant events in accordance with Regulation 26. The system should include what to do when a notifiable event occurs at weekends. (‘Residential family centres: national minimum standards’, page 31, paragraph 21.1)  The registered person, prior to a placement, must complete a risk assessment to ensure that the centre is well placed to meet the family’s needs and that the family is able to fit in with the centre’s other residents. It should inform the level of supervision necessary for the parents and be kept under review throughout the placement. (‘Residential family centres: national minimum standards’, page 17, paragraph 9.1)

p.6

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: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 7

p.6

Residential family centre details

Registered provider: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited

p.7

Inspectors

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: PAFA (Parenting Assessments For All) Limited 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 4234 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8