Kaleidoscope Assessment Services has been operating residential services for children and young people for over ten years, and Dumbell House is a private residential family centre which was recently opened by Kaleidoscope Assessment Services (Kaleidoscope from henceforth) in 2023.

The main purpose of the centre is to provide families with accommodation together with other services and facilities, in an environment where children can be safeguarded, whilst their parents’ capacity to respond to and meet children’s needs and safeguard their welfare are developed and assessed. Each parent’s capabilities and capacities are monitored and assessed throughout their placement, and form the basis of the comprehensive evidence-based assessments which are completed throughout the placement.

With a focus on Child Protection and the needs of children, our aim is to provide evidence-based assessments of parents and caregivers, through direct observations, and direct work and monitoring, whilst also supporting the family.

Kaleidoscope provides support for parents and their children 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The support afforded to the family is with the aim of empowering parents to recognise areas for development, and improve their parenting skills in order that they can care for their children safely and without detriment to their child’s welfare.

Dumbell House is located in a peaceful residential area of Salford, Greater Manchester. The property is situated within walking distance of many services inclusive of shops, schools, doctors, hospital and children centres. Dumbell House is situated close to Manchester town centre, which hosts services such as a college, university, train station, bus station and large shopping centre close by. There are also swimming baths, with a gym.

Dumbell House is a terraced house, which is tastefully decorated.

Dumbell House is able to provide accommodation to two families, with a family in this context consisting of one or two parents, and one or two children aged up to 5 years old. Facilities allow each family to have an en-suite room, access to a communal tv room and shared kitchen facilities, and an area for training, meetings, and downtime for families. 

We are able to provide residential parenting assessments for families, parents aged 14 years and upwards, of any gender, families with learning disabilities, families with a history of abuse, neglect, drug or alcohol addiction/behaviour, families with who have experienced domestic violence, and / or where there are protection concerns as a result of a history of mental health. For families with a physical impairment, we are able to offer a placement if the person is able to climb stairs unaided.

Each bedroom consists of a bedroom and en-suite bathroom, and is equipped with a medication cabinet. Residents are encouraged to bring small items of personal possessions, such as pictures and ornaments, to personalise their room. Unfortunately, due to the size of the rooms, residents will be unable to bring large items of furniture. We are also unable to accommodate pets at Dumbell House.

At the rear of the property there is a smoking area for parents only. Whilst smoking cessation will be promoted to all parents who smoke, we recognise that some parents may continue to do so, and this allocated area is the only part of the property where residents are permitted to smoke.

Dumbell House operates a service with staff available 24-hours of the day, to ensure parents are supported throughout the day and night.

Dumbell House also has the facility of portable CCTV footage through the use of an iPad, to enable staff to continuously monitor families. This is to ensure that when situations occur when staff are away from the office, CCTV monitoring can continue to be upheld at all times. All staff are trained during their induction, and understand the requirements and restrictions imposed around the use of electronic monitoring.

The CCTV cameras are in constant use externally at the entrance, exit and to the side of the building, in order to protect the safety of all residents, staff and visitors. Appropriate signs are displayed where CCTV footage is used in communal areas. All CCTV footage, including monitors, are held in a private area in the staff office.

CCTV footage can be requested by the local authority, guardians and the court for viewing. The CCTV system holds footage for a month before the system reboots. If there is a concern, and / or should footage be required, a request should be made within this timescale, prior to the system rebooting. All footage requested would need to be funded by the local authority. This would include any devices and transportation of the footage required.

Directors & Management Team:

Noor Ali - Director

Noor is a qualified Social Worker, with a BSc in Mathematics, NVQ L5 in leadership and management and MA in Social Work. He has over 9 years of experience working in fostering and children’s residential homes within the management teams and as a Director, where he has had the opportunity to make a significant difference to vulnerable people’s lives.

Deborah Aremu - Service Manager

Deborah is a qualified Social Worker, with a BSc in Law, and a MA in Social Work. She has over 14 years of experience supporting children in care in various positions including Service Manager, Registered Manager, SSW and Senior Practitioner. She enjoys building relationships with families and supporting them within their role to provide safe, caring and nurturing homes for children and young people, which meet their holistic needs. Deborah also enjoys supporting Social Workers and staffing teams with their professional growth and development, to empower and equip them to best meet the needs of families.

Lauren Brogan – Responsible Individual 

Lauren has Level 3 BTEC national award in business studies, Safeguarding Children and Young People level 4, PAMS Assessment manual, level 3 diploma in children and young people, a level 5 in Leadership and Management in a Health and Social Care setting, and BA Hons in early years’. She has also undertaken the freedom programme facilitator course, which enables her to deliver the freedom programme in group sessions, or alternatively on a 1 – 1 basis. She has been working within residential settings since February 2012, supporting children and young people with challenging behaviours and needs, and supporting families in various roles and capacities, including support worker, and Registered Manager, and more recently Responsible Individual.

James Broadfield – Registered Manager

James holds the following qualifications: Level 3 children and young people, Level 5 in leadership and management, Level 7 in strategic management, PGCE TLAN teaching learners with additional needs (M) level 7, Safeguarding 3 and 5, Emergency First Aid Child Protection level 3, PAMs 3. He was previously employed within Kaleidoscope between 2012 - 2016 and has recently returned as Dumbell’s Manager, after working in various sized children’s residential homes.

Joanne Kelly – Deputy Manager

Joanne has completed a level 3 in children and young people workforce, BA Hons early childhood studies, HLTA and QTS. She has experience working with children and young people in senior positions within residential provisions for children with EBD, and progressed on to teaching children.  

Social Workers

Social Workers

We have employed qualified Social Workers to complete and undertake assessments at Kaleidoscope, one of whom has a wealth of experience working in local authorities in child protection teams and with children in care, and has vast experience developing care packages and support plans for young people with care experience. She has also supported young people and their families, completed pathway plans and children and family assessments for families with a range of different needs, including mental health, complex safeguarding, county lines and has worked alongside children with disabilities social workers, supporting children with additional learning needs.

Our other Social Worker has experience working with adults with mental health needs, learning disabilities, and drug and alcohol misuse issues. She was also a mental health advocate, and has supported victims of domestic abuse and care leavers in her advocacy role.

Our Social Workers have completed the following training since joining Kaleidoscope:

• Recognising common mental health problems
• Equality and diversity
• Data Security
• Parent Assess
• Assessment Process and Delivery

• Freedom programme and Domestic violence in house training
• Paediatric First Aid

Consultant Psychotherapist

Kaleidoscope has commissioned the services of a qualified, independent Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist. She is care-experienced, and has 25 years of experience supporting vulnerable individuals in various roles, including care leavers, foster carers, children in SEN schools, and individuals in the community, where she has assessed their needs, and provided counselling and therapeutic support. She is currently working towards her Doctorate in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and has a wealth of experience using a range of strategies, theories and therapeutic models to provide support to parents, carers, children and young people, and undertake assessments of needs. She also provides support and guidance to the staffing team, to aide them in their relationship building, communication and direct work with families.

Support Workers / Key Workers

Play Worker

Our Play Worker has extensive experience working in nurseries with children aged 0-5 years and has been involved in the development of child development plans and implementation of children’s EYFS learning journey. She has attained a plethora of qualifications and completed a number of training courses, including: NNEB; Diploma in post qualification studies level 4 in childcare; A1/A2 NVQ Assessor’s award; Managing Anger and Challenging Behavior; COSSH; Assessment Process and Care proceedings; and National Minimum Standards & Regulations Awareness. She has 5 years’ experience working in a family assessment center at a senior level, co-coordinating the delivery of teaching to families in line with their placement plans, and has also facilitated story time sessions and arts and crafts with child sessions, to support parents to play, bond, and engage with their children. She has contributed to comprehensive family assessments in line with the Department of Health Framework of Assessment. She continues to provide support and engage in activities with the families at the center on a part time basis, offering arts and crafts, sensory sessions and in-house baby massage.

Support Workers

We have employed a number of skilled and experienced support workers, who undertake direct work and key work sessions with families, as well as observations, and complete daily records based on their direct and indirect interactions.

Our support worker has experience caring for clients of all ages and abilities, and has years of previous experience working as a support worker, where she has managed and supported individuals with challenging behaviours. She demonstrates compassion, organisation, communication, collaboration, and good administrative skills, which makes her well-suited within a family residential assessment centre.

Another support worker has experience as a care worker, where he has supported and cared for individuals with disabilities and additional needs. He takes on a person-centred approach, which along with his relationship-building skills, compassion, and the good quality of care and support he provides, makes him well suited within a family residential setting.

We have employed a support worker with over 20 years experience in care roles, and during this time she has gained qualifications in health, social care and mental health. She has excellent communication skills, is observant and calm under pressure.

Another support worker has over 3 years of experience as a healthcare support worker. This has given her the skills needed to work empathetically with families, observe family dynamics, provide support, and document behavioural observations during direct work and sessions with families. Her trust-building abilities and commitment to professional care has equipped her with the skills needed to safeguard families wellbeing.

One of our support workers has experience as an auxiliary nurse, which provided him with valuable training in areas including safe administration of medication. His caregiving background has enabled him to develop the skills to show compassion whilst assisting vulnerable individuals, and to remain calm and patient-focused whilst working with families.

Training – Play Workers & Support Workers

We encourage and support all of our support workers to regularly attend training, to increase their knowledge and skillset, and ensure their practice remains up to date. Training consists of statutory and mandatory training, and any training that we believe will be of benefit to our families and their needs identified pre and post placement.