Granary Families Assessment Centre

Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 1 Granary Families Assessment Centre 60 Vaughan Road, Harrow HA1 4EE

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre registered with Ofsted in July 2016 and is privately owned. It offers accommodation for up to 7 families and provides residential and community-based parenting assessments.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this visit, 7 families were residing at the centre.

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2016.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out to address specific concerns received by Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this visit, one requirement and two recommendations have been raised.

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This monitoring visit

During this visit, we interviewed the registered manager, several staff members, and some parents residing at the centre.

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This monitoring visit

Families are supported in a safe and nurturing setting. The centre provides a comfortable and homely environment.

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This monitoring visit

Staff demonstrate a caring and respectful approach when working with parents and children, focusing on helping families develop their parenting capacity. During the Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 2 visit, the staff positively interacted with families, offering guidance and reassurance in a calm and supportive manner.

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This monitoring visit

Parents are consistently encouraged to share their views on the assessment process and contribute to discussions about their progress. Regular residents’ meetings provide parents with an opportunity to raise concerns, discuss any issues at the centre and share feedback about their experiences. The traffic light tool integrated in the assessment process helps parents understand their progress and is used during weekly feedback meetings and following key-work sessions. This helps ensure that parents feel heard and involved.

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This monitoring visit

Centre records demonstrate that staff regularly observe documents and evaluate parenting practice to inform the assessment process. Written records observed during the visit are generally child focused and demonstrate an awareness of the importance of the child’s experience and welfare. The language used in records is respectful towards parents and avoids judgement, demonstrating a fair and balanced approach that acknowledges strengths and areas of concern regarding parental capacity through objective observations and analysis.

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This monitoring visit

Family plans and assessments consider expert advice from professionals involved with families, using effective strategies to support parents in understanding expectations of the assessment process and of the centre’s procedures.

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This monitoring visit

Staff provide practical guidance and support to parents as they develop their parenting skills, including support with daily routines and building confidence in parenting abilities. Management and staff show awareness of those parents who may have additional learning needs. In response, staff adapt their approach to ensure that information is accessible and understood. For example, key information and parenting guidance can be delivered in smaller ‘bite sized’ key-work sessions. Staff will use simple language and write shorter sentence structures to support those parents’ understanding. This approach helps parents process information at a pace that suits their needs. Parents are encouraged to access advocacy services to ensure that they are supported in expressing their views and understanding the assessment process.

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This monitoring visit

Safeguarding arrangements are generally effective. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures. Records reviewed during the visit show that staff are attentive to the safety and wellbeing of children living at the centre. Risk assessments are in place for families and are updated in response to any emerging risks. Weekly ‘huddles’ take place, which enable opportunities to update management on each family’s progress and raise any concerns and agree actions to support parents further.

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This monitoring visit

The centre has a clear complaints procedure, which families are aware of. Complaints are responded to appropriately. An external practice consultant supports the oversight of formal complaints by reviewing concerns and responses to ensure Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 3 that they are fairly addressed. This helps ensure that families’ views are taken seriously and that concerns are resolved in a timely manner.

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This monitoring visit

Incident reports are detailed and include appropriate management analysis and evaluation. Appropriate actions are taken in response to incidents, and the local authority is promptly notified of any increased safeguarding risks. Although serious incidents are rare, the registered manager must consistently and promptly notify Ofsted when they occur. While there is no evidence that this has adversely impacted children’s safety, the manager must carefully consider whether incidents meet the threshold for notification and ensure that Ofsted is informed when required in line with regulatory expectations.

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This monitoring visit

An experienced registered manager oversees the centre, with support from the responsible individual and service manager, who are committed to maintaining positive outcomes for families.

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This monitoring visit

Managers demonstrate an understanding of their role in advocating for families. Particularly where additional support is required, managers challenge the placing local authorities to ensure that families receive appropriate services and resources. This ensures that families’ needs receive consideration and attention during their placement.

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This monitoring visit

The management team values the external oversight of the independent visitor, who carries out regular unannounced visits to the centre and provides written reports. The reports offer additional scrutiny and oversight of practice, which the management team reflects on, and identify ongoing areas for development.

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This monitoring visit

Staff describe the management team as ‘supportive’ and ‘helpful’. They say they can seek management advice when needed.

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This monitoring visit

Staff demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skills and experience. Interactions observed between management and staff during the visit reflected a calm and respectful approach.

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This monitoring visit

Staff supervision takes place. However, formal supervision sessions are not always carried out as frequently as required. Regular supervision is important to support staff reflection, maintain professional standards and identify any learning needs. The registered manager acknowledges that improvements are required to ensure that supervision takes place consistently.

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This monitoring visit

Staff training is up to date. The management team recognises that further training on mental health issues, particularly personality disorders, would enhance the staff's knowledge and skills in supporting parents with complex mental health needs. Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 4

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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

If, in relation to a residential family centre, any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall without delay notify the parent accommodated in the residential family centre with a child of any significant incident affecting the child’s welfare unless to do so is not reasonably practicable or would place the child’s welfare at risk. (Regulation 26 (1) (2) (3) (4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the registered manager carefully considers whether incidents meet the threshold for notification (Schedule 5) and that all notifiable events are reported to Ofsted in a timely manner. 30 March 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive appropriate training to develop further skills required to support families effectively. This specifically relates to the identified additional training for staff on supporting parents with mental health difficulties. (Residential family centres: NMS 16.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive regular and recorded supervision in line with the centre’s supervision policy to support professional development and reflective practice. (Residential family centres: NMS 17.1,17.2,17.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the residential family centre since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 5

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Granary Care Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 60 Vaughan Road, Harrow HA1 4EE

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Ralph Jean-Jacques

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Residential family centre details

Registered manager: Paullette Jean-Jacques

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre - monitoring visit: Granary Families Assessment Centre 6 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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