Telephone Manchester   0161 460 8266 -- 0161 900 4616

Our centre in Manchester has three self contained flats for families from the ages 14+ to live in semi independence, but with the support of 24 hour staffing and CCTV. The CCTV in the bedrooms will only cover where the child/ren sleep, and there is no CCTV in the bathrooms, to maintain privacy. 

Each flat is designed to take one family and we can accommodate either mothers, fathers or couples and will provide a 12 week assessment, utilising the highly regarded PAMS 4.0 parenting assessment tool or Parent Assess.

Should you wish to speak to other providers whom have used our service, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to provide their contact details.

All flats contain their own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and lounge. All furniture and furnishings are provided in each flat and residents are welcome to bring their own belongings to make their stay feel more homely. The centre also consists of a meeting/ communal room which serves as a meeting venue and/or to facilitate supervised contact sessions. We have a large garden with a smoking area for residents who smoke.

Safety and Support

The centre exists to provide a safe environment for parents to bond with their baby and/or children whilst being supported by our experienced and team of trained staff. The staff team consists of health and social care professionals who provide a 24 hour service inclusive of a waking night and sleep in staff to ensure support is available throughout the day and night.

A comprehensive and evidence based parenting assessment, PAMS 4.0, is available to identify the parents’s parenting skills. The typical length of parenting assessment is 12 weeks however, this can be tailored to meet the requirements of the individual families.

 We also deliver direct work to the families as a 12 week program covering;

• Childhood health and well being
• Adult health and well being
• Child Development
• Safety in and outside of the home
• Finances and budgeting
• Practical and theoretical cooking skills
• Parenting skills
• Direct work specifically aimed at the identified
  safeguarding concerns; such as domestic violence
• Child Protection

Facilities

The parenting assessment package covers the full range of parenting skills inclusive of the parents own independence skills, relationships and lifestyle.  Chester Road operates a CCTV facility to ensure safety and provide evidence of parenting ability.

By utilising a range of services both in-house and in the community, parents and their children will be supported through the parenting assessment and further into independence. The range of services available will be tailored to individual need and whilst not an exhaustive list the support available includes health, education, parenting programmes independence skills. Packages of care for each resident will be discussed at a pre placement meeting between the referring professional, the parent(s), and the Registered Manager and Social Worker from Chester Road. We also accommodate pregnant people and can provide a full pre birth assessment.  All referrals are welcome at Chester Road and we will respond to all referrals made within 24 hours.

Assessment

The assessment at centre is set out in three stages, the first
being full observations, whereby the family would be directly observed for all
care tasks of the baby. This is the highly supportive stage of the assessment,
where role modeling and learning is implemented. From the direct observation
made, the family are given immediate feedback and their views on the
observation are recorded, as such they are kept aware of all assessments
undertaken of them and contribute fully to the assessment process. This initial
stage is undertaken for the first 3-4 weeks and we then hold an initial placement
meeting where a core assessment is provided and the initial PAMs Assessment.

The second stage, when felt appropriate and agreed by all professionals, area’s
where the family have demonstarted consistency and safe care in their
observations will be withdrawn, as such the family will become more independent
in their parenting and the direct observations withdrawn and this is monitored
via CCTV.





The second stage of the assessment is what we call "Partial Standback" which gives the
family opportunity to demonstrate their ongoing care of the baby without
intensive supervision. Around week 8 a further mid placement review is held where progress is discussed and feedback is provided, Then, if in agreement by all parties the family
progress to what we call "Full Standback" whereby if agreed with the local authority, the family can go out into the community with their baby independently to community groups and other agreed outings. At week 11, The final assessment report and updated PAMs Capacity Assessment including our recommendation is filed. In addition, the parties are provided with a weekly placement chronology update and the weekly appraisal which is delivered to the family detailing their strengths that week and area’s we are asking them to work on and an agreed

action plan. Once it has been delivered to the family and their feedback obtained it is sent out to all parties.

PAMs 4.0





We also conduct PAMS 4.0. Assessments, which is undertaken

by qualified PAMS assessors, these are conducted alongside our extensive
assessments.

The PAMS assessment (Parent Assessment Manual developed by Dr Sue McGaw,
a nationally renowned Clinical Psychologist in the field of working with
parents with learning disabilities) covers: child care and development,
behavior management, independent living skills, safety and hygiene, parents’
health, relationships and support, and the impact of the environment and
community on parenting. Each parenting skill area within a domain is assessed
for ‘parental knowledge’, ‘quality of parenting skills’ and the frequency of
parenting practice. By breaking elements of parenting down into testable
components PAMS starts to make an assessment of quality that is evidence-based.
After completion, the assessor has a clear visual family profile of functioning
that target parenting support needs, as well as child protection issues.



Should you wish to make a referral please use the referral page where you can download the referral form, or simply telephone using either of the numbers. When pursuing a placement with us we would respectfully request the Local Authority forward to us any pertinent information pertaining to the case so that we are able to complete a risk and viability assessment prior to the families admission. I can

also confirm that the risk and viability assessment is undertaken at no cost to
any of the parties and would be forwarded back to you within 24-48 hours from
receipt of the information. This would detail how we would work with the family
to address the child protection concerns and highlights mitigating factors and
area of priority to work with a family.

Freedom Project