First Steps North West

Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 1 First Steps North West First Steps North West Limited

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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 on 27 May 2022 and is privately owned and operated. Its primary purpose is to support local authorities, courts, parents and children in the provision of fair and evidence-based parenting assessments. The centre provides accommodation for up to 5 families.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this inspection, 5 families were in residence. The inspectors spoke with all the families.

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Information about this residential family centre

The previous registered manager left their role in January 2026. A new manager registered with Ofsted in April 2026.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 17 July 2024

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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: First Steps North West 2

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Summary of findings

Parents speak positively about their experiences in the centre and are supported effectively by a nurturing staff team. Parenting assessments are evidence-based and provide a detailed rationale for recommendations. They place children’s welfare and safety at the centre of each assessment. Staff respond promptly to any incidents of concern to ensure children’s safety. The manager is a positive role model for staff and families; however, she needs to strengthen her oversight of systems and records. She must also ensure that staff are provided with the necessary support and guidance to stabilise the team and deliver consistent support to families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents share positive feedback about their experiences in the centre and the impact of their stay on their parenting capacity. Staff adopt a nurturing approach, and parents report that staff are fantastic in supporting them with their parenting skills. External professionals also report positively on the support and guidance provided to parents, as well as the effectiveness of the communication from the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families have positive experiences when moving into the centre. Staff provide parents with information about the service and, where possible, offer opportunities to visit before admission. Staff ensure that parents understand the expectations of the assessment process, including the use of CCTV to monitor and observe their parenting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Assessments are evidence-based and provide a detailed rationale for recommendations. Staff appropriately challenge external professionals to progress assessments and support decision-making. When the separation of families is recommended, endings are managed with care and sensitivity. Weekly summary reports are shared with parents in an accessible format. These reports include the child’s voice, reflect on what is working well for the family, highlight any concerns that have arisen and set out plans for development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Letters of instruction from the courts are not routinely held on families’ files, despite leaders and managers requesting these from placing authorities. As a result, the assessing social worker may not be able to fully determine the focus of the assessment to ensure that all identified risks and vulnerabilities are explored during the family’s stay. However, leaders and managers gather detailed information about families through pre-admission meetings to inform assessment planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff support parents’ emotional wellbeing through access to in-house counselling and external mental health services. The in-house counsellor provides support and guidance to parents during their stay and continues this through the outreach service once families leave the centre. Staff understand children’s complex health needs and how to respond appropriately in medical emergencies. However, one Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 3 child’s health plan is not up to date to reflect their current medical needs. This reflects a shortfall in recording and oversight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff seek families’ views using a range of methods, including at residents’ meetings. They also carry out direct work with parents using additional resources to develop their understanding of children’s needs. A virtual reality headset is used to help parents understand what their child may have experienced before birth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Children and their parents have access to a range of social, educational and recreational activities, including opportunities in the local community to meet the family’s needs. Education and training are also promoted for parents. They are supported to access college courses and achieve qualifications. Younger parents are supported to continue with their studies at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

The outdoor area of the centre requires tidying to ensure that it is suitable for children during the summer months, and a fireplace surround in the communal lounge is not securely attached to the wall. Despite these issues, the centre is comfortable and welcoming. Parents report that they have access to all the equipment and facilities they require.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Children are kept safe and secure during their stays at the centre. Parents report that they feel safe due to the staff team’s effective planning, monitoring and support to minimise risk both inside and outside the centre. Staff maintain a strong focus on children’s safety and wellbeing throughout the assessment process.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff respond to safeguarding incidents and medical emergencies promptly and appropriately. The manager oversees all incident records and provides a detailed evaluation of each incident. She uses this oversight of records to reflect on staff practice and identify any lessons learned.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Families are educated through direct work and training on how to keep their children safe and prevent incidents of concern. Parents have received infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation training and learn about kitchen safety and general day-to-day matters as they occur, such as safer sleeping and recognising childhood illnesses.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

The quality of risk management records is variable. Some plans are not always updated to reflect changes in circumstances for families, such as changes to the level of supervision. Despite this, there has been no negative impact on children’s safety, as staff understand the current levels of monitoring in place for individual families.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Medication storage is not safe or suitable. All children’s medication is currently stored together in one box. This makes it difficult for staff to identify each child’s specific medication and increases the risk of medication errors. Leaders and managers took prompt action to address this issue during the inspection by ordering Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 4 individual medication cabinets to be fixed to the wall. These arrived on the second day of the inspection.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents have raised no formal complaints. However, they understand how to make a complaint and feel confident in doing so. A ‘grumbles box’ is also available to parents, which allows them to raise concerns anonymously if they wish.

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good

Leaders, managers and assessing social workers know families well. They recognise the progress that parents make and can identify when they require additional professional support. The manager is committed to achieving the right outcomes for children and their parents. However, as a new manager, she requires time to embed her vision for the centre and would benefit from protected time to undertake management oversight and fulfil her duties effectively.

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good

Leaders and managers do not always follow safer recruitment processes. A Disclosure and Barring Service check undertaken for one member of staff did not include checks for them working with vulnerable adults. As a result, appropriate action has not been taken to ensure that only suitable individuals work in the centre.

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good

Leaders and managers have failed to notify Ofsted of some serious incidents involving the safety of children. In addition, allegations made about staff have not always been notified to Ofsted and the local authority designated officer. As a result, external safeguarding professionals have not been able to provide independent scrutiny of the management of incidents and allegations to keep children safe.

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good

There have been several changes to the staff team due to staff leaving their roles and new staff joining the team. Staff and parents report that this has negatively impacted the continuity of support provided to families. The manager recognises that stabilising the staff team is a priority.

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good

Staff are supported through wellbeing sessions provided by the in-house counsellor. They also attend regular team meetings to share and reflect on practice. However, staff are not provided with regular practice-related supervision to review their work and support their development. This is particularly important during challenging periods in the centre, when staff most need support, guidance, reflection and management oversight.

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good

The manager’s training matrix is not up to date and therefore does not provide a clear overview of the team’s training needs. Some training courses specific to families’ needs have not been undertaken by staff. This limits their ability to consistently demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to provide effective support.

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good

Leaders and managers have carefully considered the suitability of child parents being assessed in the centre in exceptional circumstances. They have taken into Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 5 account parents’ own care needs as children and the potential risks associated with them living alongside adults in the centre. In addition, where parents have remained at the centre following their assessment, this has been due to extenuating circumstances. Leaders and managers have appropriately challenged placing authorities to ensure that families do not remain at the centre for longer than necessary. Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 6

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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

employ a person to work at the residential family centre unless that person is fit to work at a residential family centre; or

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Requirement Due date

allow a person to whom paragraph (2) applies, to work at the residential family centre unless that person is fit to work at a residential family centre.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work at a residential family centre unless—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to him in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 2. (Regulation 16 (1)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 24 July 2026

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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. (Regulation 26 (1)) 24 July 2026

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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

is kept up to date. (Regulation 19 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, children’s health plans must be kept up to date to accurately reflect their current medical needs. 24 July 2026 Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 7 Letters of instruction from the courts must be obtained from the placing authority to ensure that the assessing social worker can clearly determine the focus of the assessment.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall make arrangements for the recording, handling, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the residential family centre. (Regulation 11 (2)) 24 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall ensure that all persons employed by him—

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Requirement Due date

receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. (Regulation 17 (5)(a)) 24 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that every effort is made to achieve continuity of staffing. (Residential Family Centres National Minimum Standards; standard 15.4; page 24)  The registered person should ensure that the centre provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and appropriately decorated. Avoidable hazards should be removed in a manner consistent with a domestic setting. (Residential Family Centres National Minimum Standards; standard 11.2; page 19)  The registered person should ensure that a written family placement plan is in place, developed in consultation with the placing authority and agreed, so far as practicable, with the parent(s) and, where age appropriate, the child. The plan should specify the objectives and intended outcomes of the placement, as well as details of the training, assistance, assessment, supervision and protection to be provided at the centre, and how the child’s welfare will be promoted. In particular,

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Recommendations

risk management plans should be kept up to date to reflect any changes in circumstances for families, such as variations in the level of supervision required. (Residential Family Centres National Minimum Standards; standard 9.2; page 17)

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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: First Steps North West 8

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: First Steps North West Limited

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Residential family centre details

Email address: firststepsnwltd@gmail.com

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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector (lead) Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: First Steps North West 9 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 who are 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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