No. 51

Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 1 No. 51 Purple Elephant in the Room Ltd 51 Midford Road, Taunton TA1 2JL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

No. 51 and its manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024. This family centre is privately owned. It can accommodate one family. The centre offers strengths-based parenting assessments that aim to support parents to identify what changes they need to make to keep their children safe. Assessments usually take place over 12 weeks.

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Information about this residential family centre

This is the centre’s first inspection since it was registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this residential family centre

Following a complaint received from the provider, an evidence-based review was completed on the initial inspection evidence. This review determined that the initial inspection evidence was incomplete. Ofsted revisited the centre to complete the full inspection on 8 January 2026.

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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 requires improvement

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The centre is maintained to a good standard. It is well furnished and cleaned for families when they move in. Standards of cleanliness can decline during assessment periods. However, it is appropriately expected that parents complete domestic tasks in line with the needs of their children. Staff monitor this and intervene if needed to promote children’s wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and parents are welcomed into the centre and provided with a detailed and easy-to-understand welcome pack. When possible, children and parents are encouraged to visit the centre before moving in. Communication between the registered manager and parents helps to reduce parents’ anxieties before they arrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Placement planning meetings provide effective forums to support parents to understand the assessment process shortly after they move in. Assessments do not start until the required information has been received and carefully considered planning is completed. Within 72 hours from the beginning of an assessment, a further meeting is held to review how the family have settled in and whether there are any concerns or issues to resolve. Placement reviews continue to take place consistently throughout the family’s time at the centre to ensure important clarity about progress and to consider any concerns or required actions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff strive to engage both parents and children in the assessment process well. They explore the capacity of all parents to process information and devise ways to promote this. For example, visual aids were used by staff to help one parent to increase their understanding of the worries about their parenting and what they needed to improve upon in the care of their children. Older children are supported to share their feelings and worries on a regular basis. They are also supported to access schooling and health services and to spend time with extended family away from the centre. Staff use their observational skills to monitor the wellbeing of younger infants and babies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Support for families to move on from the centre is of a good standard. Staff undertake ongoing outreach work with families when needed. This has included providing a 6-week support package to enable one family to move back to their home with their child positively. The level of support provided by centre staff was gradually reduced over a 6-week period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents have shared mixed experiences. However, overall, they have spoken positively about their time at the centre. There is a clear focus on learning and development which is supported by staff well. Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 3

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improvement

Staff intervene immediately if they are concerned about the safety of children. The centre staff work closely with local authorities to support strong multi-agency care planning. Practice examples of this include leaders and managers increasing staffing ratios to 2 to 1 in response to concerns, and on one occasion giving notice on an assessment, again due to concerns. On another occasion, CCTV use was reduced in line with a parent’s positive progress. However, this was swiftly reinstated when concerns were apparent and the reasons for this were explored fully with the parent.

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improvement

Any concerns about the care of children are recorded and shared between staff in several ways. Primarily, a log of concerns is kept from each shift which is then reviewed by the manager, and a summary is completed by the assessing social which is used to inform the overall assessment work. Information is stored in several places, which increases the risk of important information being missed. However, safety planning is clear, and any required actions are shared with the entire staff team effectively. Leaders and managers have taken action to streamline the recording of information and to ensure that management oversight is transparent. However, this is yet to be fully embedded.

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improvement

On one occasion, no medical advice was sought following a knock to a baby’s head. The decision-making regarding this is unclear. Staff have only recently received important clarity about when to seek medical advice following head injuries to babies. Training has been provided for the entire staff team, and the safeguarding policy has been updated with a clear, accessible guide for staff to use as a reference. The effectiveness of this could not be seen as no families have been resident at the centre since October 2025.

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improvement

Viability assessments are not always completed prior to families moving into the centre. However, pre-admission risk assessments are completed for each family and kept under review throughout the assessment process. These assessments consider the level and type of risks and actions required to reduce these. The registered manager considers the suitability of families in line with the capacity of the staff team prior to admission.

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improvement

CCTV is used to monitor children’s safe care in the centre. Parents understand its use in informing the assessment process. The use of surveillance and levels of supervision are reviewed regularly, and, when possible, these are reduced to help ensure proportionate use. There is a clear step-down process that supports exit planning well. Clarity for parents about the promotion of their privacy and dignity during the initial planning stages is lacking.

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improvement

The management of medication is individually assessed. This promotes parents’ independence to meet their own and their children’s health needs. When this is not Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 4 possible, safe arrangements are in place. Regular audits take place, and discrepancies are clearly accounted for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about her role and strives to provide good- quality support and fair assessments of vulnerable families. The registered manager reflected that recording systems required strengthening and has worked hard to address this. This includes the monitoring and tracking of any concerns to ensure important information is easy to access. The recording of management oversight has also been strengthened, although this is yet to be embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The centre is well staffed by a committed and positive staff team with good levels of relevant experience and knowledge among its members. Several of the team are qualified social workers. The staff team provides good-quality guidance to parents about how to meet their children’s needs. The assessing social worker completes good-quality assessments which highlight both strengths and areas for development well. They provide clear, evidence-based recommendations to support timely decision-making regarding children’s permanence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision of staff takes place on a regular basis; this includes both individual sessions and group reflections. Reflective practice is consistently promoted within the staff team. An external supervisor is also used to supervise senior staff members, which provides meaningful independent oversight. The recordings from these sessions are shared with the registered manager to promote her consistent oversight of practice at the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regulation 23 and 25 reports are not always purposefully used to help identify areas for development. They are also not always submitted in a timely way. The provider has identified an independent organisation to take on the completion of Regulation 25 reports and has clarified intended submission dates.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive feedback has been received from 2 social workers and a children’s guardian. These professionals commented on the good quality of support provided to families and the level of communication from centre staff. One social worker expressed that staff have been excellent in terms of understanding the needs of one parent and working based on undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They have gone above and beyond to ensure the parent has the resources and is given the understanding and support she needs to thrive in the placement and meet the children’s needs. They have adapted the parenting assessment when various parental needs have arisen. In terms of the children’s education, they have supported the children to access education, improving their attendance. They have also supported the mum to meet the children’s educational needs at home. Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 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 establish and maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided at the residential family centre.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (1) must provide for adequate consideration of matters raised under regulation 18 by persons working at the residential family centre.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall supply to the Chief Inspector a report in respect of any review conducted by him for the purposes of paragraph (1), and make a copy of the report available to residents.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide for consultation with residents.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that both Regulation 23 and 25 reports are purposeful tools for driving improvement in the standards of practice at the centre. These reports should be submitted at regular intervals as laid out in regulation. O5 March 2026

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Recommendations

 In respect of the use of surveillance methods (CCTV), the registered person should ensure that parents and children, of appropriate age, are encouraged to Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 6 communicate any concerns to staff about the impact on their privacy. Staff should take these views into account. (Residential family centres: NMS 10.6)  The registered person should ensure there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record-keeping and take action when needed. Important information must be easily accessible and management oversight of this should be clear. (Residential family centres: NMS 20.2)

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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: No. 51 7

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Purple Elephant in the Room Ltd

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 30 Commercial Road, Swindon SN1 5NS

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Residential family centre details

Email address: admin@purpleelephantintheroom.co.uk

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Inspectors

Stacey Pellow, Social Care Inspector Polly Soper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: No. 51 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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