Care 2 Share

Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 1 Care 2 Share Care 2 Share Ltd 19 St Mary Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9RG Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is owned and managed by a private provider. This centre provides parental assessments for up to six families.

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre registered with Ofsted in May 2006 and the manager registered in 2011.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this inspection, four families were under assessment at the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and parents are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The residential family centre provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the residential family centre contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and parents.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Families receive excellent individualised care and support that is tailored to meet their needs. The centre has a very welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. It is decorated to a high standard, with the decor and furnishings providing a cosy and relaxed atmosphere. Parents and children develop positive relationships with staff. Parents describe staff as always being available to provide support and guidance. Staff demonstrate genuine warmth and compassion towards families. One father commented, ‘I didn’t feel judged. If I didn’t know something I could go to any member of staff. Every single staff member was helpful and supported me loads.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Excellent attention is given to planning assessments to ensure that the centre is the right fit for any families being admitted. Leaders, managers and staff insist that parents are fully informed and aware of the expectations for the assessment process, prior to confirming a family’s place. Social workers describe the process as ‘smooth’, saying this offers parents reassurance and helps them to settle at the centre. Introductory meetings with parents are managed well and sensitively, and information is shared at their pace.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents are very well supported to engage fully in the assessment process. When English is a second language for parents, the centre ensures that an interpreter is present, and written information, plans and agreements are translated into the parents’ first language. This also includes the work tools and materials for the individual model of assessment, as well as daily records and parents’ routine activity sheets. Additionally, if parents are referred to external agencies, staff ensure that parents are well supported to engage with other professionals. For example, a manager of a counselling support service said that staff ‘go out of their way to arrange for interpreters to accommodate the client’s needs’. This allows all parents to be fully involved at every stage of the assessment process and with the support offered to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents receive weekly updates on their progress. This helps them to see what is working well and the areas of their parenting they can improve. The use of a traffic light system and visual prompts support those parents who may have additional learning needs. Family placement plans are comprehensive and include good risk assessments with appropriate mitigation strategies identified and in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents’ feedback is regularly sought and acted on, with parents having various opportunities to share their views. This can be done informally or formally in the daily routine sheets, by participating in the weekly house meetings, completing questionnaires and monthly consultations with the independent visitor. Parents are aware of the complaints process. Formal complaints are rare. When made, they are dealt with promptly and effectively by leaders and managers. Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 3 Assessments are of a very high quality. They are considered and balanced and comprehensively evaluate each parent’s ability to meet their children’s needs safely. Assessments are informed by relevant research and theoretical hypotheses. The assessment recommendations arise from observations, key-work sessions, specific parenting tasks and the triangulation of all information, including historic, and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

known information. Assessments are analytical and highlight parents’ strengths as well as areas of concern, which always relate to the impact on children. One social worker said assessments are ‘very well written, with clear recommendations, and judgements are well evidenced’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Assessments are further strengthened by the collaborative work undertaken with external agencies. For example, the centre is working closely with health services and using video interactive guidance. This further strengthens assessment findings, as well as supporting parents in gaining insight and assisting them to become more sensitive to their child’s needs. For parents who may require specialist support, the centre has effective and established links with counselling, domestic violence and substance misuse services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents with additional learning needs are supported to ensure their understanding through the use of the ‘parent assess’ model. Their learning needs are reflected in the family placement plan and agreements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Leaders, managers and staff work hard to ensure that the centre meets the diverse needs of all parents. Cultural and religious festivities are celebrated. Parents are encouraged to take part in various activities, such as the ‘baby and me’ parenting group as well as other groups such as ‘five to thrive,’ ‘tummy time’, ‘baby massage’, ‘rhyme time’ and the online fathers’ parenting group. Recreational activities are organised to celebrate cultural and personal milestones. The centre hosts a range of social events from quiz nights and pamper nights to baking competitions and movie nights.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Safeguarding and child protection remains an outstanding area of the centre’s practice. There is a strong evident safeguarding culture, with a clear commitment to protecting and promoting the welfare of children and parents. Parents learn how to keep themselves and their children safe.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Few safeguarding incidents take place in the centre. On the rare occasions when they do occur, appropriate actions are taken, with excellent management oversight and evaluation for future learning. Communication with external agencies is transparent, effective and robust. The local authority designated officer and social work professionals said they do not have any safeguarding concerns in relation to the services offered.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Risk assessments are of a very good quality. They are comprehensive, dynamic and regularly reviewed. This ensures that children’s safety remains paramount. The registered manager uses impact risk assessments which are substantive and Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 4 consider all identified risks, with clear mitigation strategies well identified. This includes reviewing the suitability of staffing skills, experience and capacity to address risks. Historic risks are understood alongside parents’ presenting needs. This means that staff always have in mind all important information that they need to enable them to be alert to any emerging risks.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff are well qualified and experienced. They undertake regular safeguarding training and show a very good understanding of safeguarding processes and whistle-blowing procedures. Safer recruitment procedures are rigorously followed, which means staff are appropriately experienced, qualified and vetted.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Alongside ensuring physical safety, providing an environment for emotional safety is a strength of the centre and is at the core of its ethos. Staff model positive values and behaviours such as respect, inclusivity and kindness. This is valued by parents. One father said that the input he received at the centre enabled him to ‘feel safe to be able to do what I needed to do, safe to be able to care for [name of child]. I’m not the same person I was, and that’s directly to do with them.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The centre is very ably managed by a well-qualified, experienced and established registered manager. She is a passionate and committed social care practitioner who is child focused, creative and caring. She speaks sensitively, with knowledge and empathy for those in her care. She is open and reflective and has high yet realistic expectations for the centre, staff and families. The registered manager demonstrates professional curiosity, is innovative and continues to develop the service to provide the best outcomes for the children and parents in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A stable team of staff receive regular and high-quality supervision and appraisals that enable to them to positively reflect and learn from their experiences. Staff say that they enjoy their work and feel very well supported by the registered manager and the organisation’s wider management team. The registered manager is supported effectively within the organisation by her peers and the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers comprehensively and regularly monitor and review the quality of care they are providing, to identify any areas where services could be even better. Parents are given many opportunities to share their views and experiences, which helps to challenge, change and develop practice in the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is creative and consistently develops new ideas to ensure assessments are of a high quality, as well as delivering effective targeted tailored help and support for families. One recent initiative, where the centre is working closely with local adult mental health partners, has helped ensure that parents with mental health needs are fully supported to begin their assessment journey safely. Working closely with mental health services also provides staff with further insight into parental capacity to change and improves their understanding of parents’ ability to meet their children’s needs. Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 5 The recommendation made at the last inspection has been met. No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection.

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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: Care 2 Share 6

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 46 The Ridgeway, North Harrow, Harrow HA2 7QN

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Mehnaaz Chaudhary

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Care 2 Share 7 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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