Richmond House

Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Richmond House Family Assessment and Support Services Limited Lillesden Lane, North Curry, Taunton, Somerset TA3 6BY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is registered to undertake parenting assessments for up to 6 families. The centre has a mix of bedrooms with shared facilities and self- contained accommodation. Families are referred for assessment by the courts or local authority children’s services.

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of previous inspection: 26 April 2022

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and parents are welcomed into the centre sensitively. From the outset, they are enabled to build positive relationships with staff. Parents said that they felt ‘welcomed’ into the centre. This was reiterated by a children’s placing authority social worker who said, ‘From the moment we got there, staff were approachable, kind, and nothing was too much trouble.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children’s and parents’ plans are detailed and are reviewed regularly by the centre’s assessing social workers to ensure that assessments progress in a timely manner. Children’s and parents’ specific needs are responded to, to ensure that cultural, religious and linguistic needs are met as needed. Information is adapted to ensure that it is understood by parents in line with any learning needs identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents receive interventions to help them to learn how to respond to their children’s development needs, to care for them safely, and to promote their life chances. Parents describe picture cards and quizzes used over the assessment process to support their learning. Additionally, leaders and managers have extended the emotional well-being support offered to parents to help them to develop healthy coping strategies when they feel overwhelmed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and parents have access to a range of activities. Staff organise activities at the centre and in the community. Activities, such as Santa’s grotto, painting and afternoon tea events are well attended. These activities promote positive relationships between families living at the centre. In the community, one child attends a local nursery provision, and another child has attended a gymnastics club. Parents said that they attend parent and baby groups, including sing and rhyme, and story time groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and parents have access to health services, including midwifery and health visitor services. There are effective relationships forged between staff and health professionals. This ensures that consistent advice and guidance is provided to parents. Staff use relevant guidelines, for example about safe sleep, to ensure that appropriate advice is given to parents to care for their children safely. Storage for medication is safe and arrangements for managing medication promote parents’ independence wherever possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Final assessment reports are completed by trained and qualified social workers. They engage parents into the assessment process well. As a result, parents have a clear understanding about what is being assessed and what is expected of them. Reports demonstrate parental strengths and vulnerabilities and focus on the impact of these factors on the child’s safety. Feedback received from a child’s placing authority social worker describes the assessment reports they have received as clear and detailed. Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Prior to families moving into the centre, detailed information about risks is gathered to consider the viability of them being safely assessed at the centre. Risks that have the potential to impact other children and parents living at the centre are considered, but the safety measures recorded do not fully address the risks identified. However, when assessments are ended earlier than planned, effective safeguarding measures are implemented to protect the child and others living at the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Specialist help, including mental health services and drug and alcohol services are accessed for parents, when necessary. External professionals inform the safety plans created. Additionally, the centre’s assessing social workers use a range of assessment tools and resources to help parents to develop their understanding of the risks identified.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff are informed about their safeguarding responsibilities, and they prompt and intervene as needed to ensure that children’s needs are met and to keep them safe. When staff do not intervene at the earliest opportunity, the registered manager’s oversight is robust to ensure that safeguarding practice at the centre is improved. As a result, there are few significant incidents that occur.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

When parents have been missing from the centre, staff responses are appropriate. Staff build positive relationships with parents and children, and they help parents to manage their feelings when they feel overwhelmed in order to reduce the risk of missing incidents. Individualised plans are created with parents to help them to use coping strategies when they feel overwhelmed, and to reduce the risk of conflict in their relationships with others.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers and staff use body maps to record marks seen on children. Information was shared with the relevant agencies to inform next steps when a mark was deemed as a cause for concern. However, all other body maps used by staff to record marks that are considered to be minor do not provide sufficient detail and there is not managerial oversight to consider any additional actions that may be needed.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Surveillance and monitoring are used at the centre. Parents are informed about its use. The centre’s assessing social workers review the levels of surveillance and monitoring regularly with parents, and any change is agreed with the child’s placing authority social worker. However, the centre does not ensure that its use of surveillance, including CCTV, is no more intrusive than necessary. Recommendations made at all previous inspections relating to this have not been addressed effectively.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Recruitment procedures are effective. They reduce the risk of unsuitable persons working at the centre, including those who are contracted and commissioned to work at the centre. Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, there is strong leadership and management of the centre. Leaders and managers identify strengths and areas for improvement to inform development plans that continually improve the experiences of children and parents. They have developed practice to ensure that staff regularly collate photos and write to the child sensitively to help them to understand their life story and the recommendations made about their future care arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed a culture that is characterised by aspirations for all children and parents. This underpins staff interactions and interventions to ensure that each parent has the opportunity to learn how to care for their children safely. The registered manager addresses any issues of concern effectively, including complaints from parents. The outcome is communicated to the parent, and learning is used to improve the experiences of children and parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records completed by assessing social workers reflect children’s and parents’ lived experiences and the work that is carried out with them. They are detailed, evidence- based, and clearly demonstrate children’s and parents’ progress and areas for development throughout the assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When significant incidents occur, the registered manager’s oversight is thorough and learning is used to strengthen safeguarding practice at the centre, including updating protocols to promote consistent responses. In other areas, such as decision-making to inform changes to surveillance and monitoring levels, changes to medication arrangements and the use of body maps, management oversight is not always evident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feedback about working at the centre is overwhelmingly positive. They describe the centre’s managers as approachable and supportive. During the inspection, staff demonstrated the effective impact of training on practice. Children’s placing authority social workers speak highly of the centre’s assessing social workers, including their understanding of risk and their ability to communicate with parents. Assessing social worker supervision sessions records demonstrate discussions focused on children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have evaluated a staff qualification course. They have concluded that in their opinion this course does not lead to effective practice. In response, they have invested time to create their own extensive training programme. Staff value the training offered to them, which enhances their knowledge and skills effectively. However, this has led to most staff not working towards the minimum level qualification specified by the regulations within the designated time frame. There is an action plan in place for the registered manager to complete their management qualification that is overdue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that the physical environment is maintained to a high standard and meets the needs of the families. The centre provides a welcoming and warm environment, and there are toys and activities for children to use, including Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

outdoors. The centre’s fire risk assessment is up to date, and managers said that all recommended actions have been completed. Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 prepare and implement a written child protection policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the residential family centre from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 12 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person much ensure that when body maps are used, management oversight is recorded about whether any additional actions are necessary to safeguard the child. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that electronic or mechanical monitoring devices for the surveillance of residents are not used in a residential family centre, except for the purpose of—

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Requirement Due date

safeguarding their welfare, or that of other residents accommodated in the centre; or

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Requirement Due date

assessment or monitoring carried out under regulation 13A.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any use of such devices is subject to the following conditions:

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Requirement Due date

its use is no more intrusive than necessary. (Regulation 21A (1)(a)(b) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the use of CCTV is no more intrusive than necessary. 10 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that there is, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

the statement of purpose of the residential family centre, its size and the numbers and needs of its residents; and 31 July 2026 Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

the need to safeguard and promote the health and welfare of residents,

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Requirement Due date

a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working for the residential family centre. (Regulation 15 (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have a minimum level 3 children and young people’s workforce diploma, which must include mandatory social care units, or be working towards the relevant qualifications within six months of confirmation of employment.

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should have a qualification in management at least at level 4. (NMS 12.2)

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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: Richmond House 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Family Assessment and Support Services Limited

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Old Mill Accountancy LLP, Maltravers House, Petters Way, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1SH

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Residential family centre details

Email address: dtucker@fusionfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Richmond House 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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