Clairmont

Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 1 Clairmont Keys Family assessment Centre Limited 54 Haygate Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 1QN 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 to five families. Families usually stay at the centre for between 14 and 18 weeks for their assessment.

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre was registered on 29 September 2021. There is a qualified and experienced manager in post.

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Information about this residential family centre

There were four families living in the centre at the time of the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 October 2022

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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: Clairmont 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre provides families with a safe and supportive environment. Indoor and outdoor space is well maintained, creating a clean, welcoming atmosphere. The decor and layout evoke a homely, cosy feel that immediately puts parents at ease when they arrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre has a wide range of resources. This includes age-appropriate play equipment and essential parenting materials. This equips parents with what they need to meet their children’s developmental needs. This thoughtful provision empowers parents to focus on their growth and well-being and helps them to work towards their full potential in a nurturing setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre uses a structured model of assessment built around the cycle of change. This evaluates parents’ capacity for sustainable, meaningful progress. The framework ensures that any interventions align with each parent’s readiness to change. Assessments combine observations, one-to-one work and tailored group sessions, which are all designed to meet the placing authority assessment requirements. Specific assessment tools are also used to support parents who have learning disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Assessment reports are excellent and provide a detailed overview of a family’s journey. They provide information about assessment methods. This includes how they will oversee children’s safety through monitoring and supervision. Skilled social workers prioritise this and risk assess in line with progress. Reports also outline how staff support parents’ understanding of their progress, which promotes an open and transparent process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families receive extensive support during their assessments. Social workers and senior key workers complete valuable work. This helps parents to develop their understanding of domestic abuse and mental health, particularly how this may impact on their parenting capacity. The centre has excellent relationships with external agencies, who also support parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre supports parents who do not speak English. It has recruited interpreters to support one family throughout their assessment. This helped the parent to engage and learn. One parent attended English language lessons. When the family left together, the parent was able to converse in the English language despite not being able to when they first moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents who have experienced loss and bereavement receive valuable support. Staff provide them with poignant opportunities to remember their loved ones. This includes the loss of children who are unable to live with them. Staff support parents to create a memorial space in the centre’s garden. This is particularly important for those parents who live at a distance from home. Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 3 One family lived at the centre for a period without an assessment commencing and then left. This is not in line with the centre’s statement of purpose. There are also discrepancies in relation to who the centre will assess, such as parents with complex mental health.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding practice is good, and the frequency of incidents is low. Managers and staff have good oversight of children’s safety. They liaise well with external professionals, if necessary, such as the police. The registered manager has formed good relationships with community health professionals. They provide valuable up- to-date guidance in relation to health issues for families.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers and staff have an excellent understanding of risk. Risk assessments outline the needs and risks pertinent to each family member. They also provide guidance to staff about the measures in place to keep children safe. However, one family’s placement plan did not consider relevant information about a family member. This was not risk assessed either. This had potential to compromise the quality of the assessment.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers and staff respond to allegations and complaints appropriately. However, the quality of records varies. The centre’s recording system is under review as it is not easy for staff to navigate. Records are not easily located either. This could compromise the manager’s oversight of safeguarding concerns, such as allegations.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff support parents to understand how to keep themselves and their children safe. They encourage parents to reflect on the reasons for their assessment, including historical concerns and parents’ own childhood experiences. Staff are non- judgemental and compassionate in their approach to this work. Some of this work is excellent, creative, detailed and analysed well. However, some records are not dated or detailed enough. This does not help to provide an accurate account of a parent’s insight and understanding.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Placement planning requires improvement for assessments of young parents who are still children, in particular, children who have recently left local authority care. The rationale for these types of placements is unclear. Risk assessments do not consider the potential risks and vulnerabilities for these parents, such as living alongside adults who are also under assessment. Incidents have arisen when one young parent felt ‘groomed and intimidated’ by another parent. Managers responded appropriately to safeguard the parent and other parents and their children. However, it is not clear how quickly staff responded to emerging friction. The provider plans to review its policies and procedures. This is to ensure that the centre will be best placed to meet the needs of young parents. Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate and committed. An equally committed and dedicated staff team supports them. There have been recent changes in the senior management team. The centre has a new responsible individual who is a very experienced and qualified social worker. The responsible individual is implementing new monitoring systems. There is a development plan in place to ensure continuous improvement of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have various monitoring systems in place to oversee the quality of assessments. This includes the quality of individual work, recording and assessment outcomes. The registered manager has undertaken a review of assessment outcomes, particularly in relation to parental mental health. The review identifies the importance of specialist intervention to help parents succeed. This is a strength of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about their experience working at the centre. They receive regular supervision, which supports reflective practice. Supervision also helps them process challenging emotions that can arise from their work. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the families they support. They recognise the complexity of their needs and experiences. Managers and staff take pride in each parent’s individual progress and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have spoken about an open culture, where all views and opinions are welcome and valid. Staff welcome the opportunity to challenge and receive challenge. They recognise this as good social work practice. This builds trust, empowering staff to raise any worries or concerns they may have, leading to improved safety for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always carry out learning reviews after incidents occur. This is a missed opportunity to learn, improve and inform future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not always act when they have concerns about other professionals. One parent moved in with support from their previous carer. However, the carer did not conduct themselves in a professional manner. This could have caused unnecessary anxiety for the parent. The manager did not escalate this any further. Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 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 compile in relation to the residential family centre a written statement (in these Regulations referred to as “the statement of purpose”) which shall consist of a statement as to the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6) the registered person shall ensure that the residential family centre is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (regulation 4 (1) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they admit families for the purpose of assessing parenting capacity as outlined in the centre’s statement of purpose. In addition, they must ensure that the registered manager and staff are trained and skilled to complete the assessments of parents with complex mental health, substance misuse and other health issues, before families move in. 17 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall, before providing a family with accommodation in the residential family centre, or if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as possible thereafter, draw up in consultation with the placing authority a written plan (in these Regulations referred to as “the placement plan”) setting out, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

the facilities and services to be provided during the course of the placement;

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Requirement Due date

the objectives and intended outcome of the placement;

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Requirement Due date

an assessment of the risks, if any, which a resident at the residential family centre may present to their own health, safety and welfare or that of other residents or staff at the centre. 17 November Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 6 The registered person shall keep under review and revise the placement plan as necessary.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall supply a copy of the placement plan and any revision of it to the placing authority and to the parent within the family to which it relates. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2) (4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must consider the needs and vulnerabilities of young parents who are children, particularly children leaving local authority care. The registered person must be clear about the rationale for these types of assessments and ensure that risk assessments thoroughly consider risk posed to parents who are children living alongside adults under assessment.

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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 in-formation 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 that all records are detailed, accurate and legible. In particular, records that evidence the work and support with parents, and which contribute to decision-making and the outcome of assessments.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should also ensure that the centre’s electronic recording system is fit for purpose. 17 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should act quickly when responding to behaviour that indicates concern about the nature and dynamics of relationships between parents. (Residential family centres: NMS 4.5) Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 7  The registered person should ensure that they review the quality of assessments and parents’ experiences periodically, particularly when families leave as a result of incidents. This is to ensure there are no missed opportunities to learn and improve the quality of assessments. (Residential family centres: NMS 19.2)

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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: Clairmont 8

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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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Responsible individual:

Email address: manager.clairmont@keys-group.co.uk

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Inspectors

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Clairmont 9 and inspects 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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