Blossom Lodge
Family Assessment Centre
Our qualified social workers and experienced family workers offer 24/7 supervision and support. We evaluate parents' ability to create a secure environment for their child and provide interventions to enhance parenting capacity.
Furthermore, at Blossom Lodge, we are dedicated to providing a comprehensive range of parenting services, including:
- CUBAS Assessments
- Viability Assessments
- Pre-Placement Risk Assessments
- Pre-Birth (antenatal) Parenting Assessments
- Community Assessments
Additional Services
Services We Provide
Parenting Family Assessment: Cubas
Our residential assessments typically last for 12 weeks and can be extended if necessary. Our centres offer a family environment for observing each parent's ability to provide appropriate care for their child. The Family Assessment Center in Essex provides comprehensive guidance to parents on crucial life and parenting skills. This includes establishing routines, preparing nutritious meals, understanding child development, implementing strategies to foster child development, and effectively managing finances and debt. Additionally, we offer support in building self-esteem, managing challenging behaviours, coping with stress and emotions, nurturing relationships, and identifying potential risks to ensure secure parenting practices. Furthermore, we conduct training programs led by our skilled health visitor, relationship mentor, and experienced counsellor to further assist parents in their parenting journey.
Viability Assessment
A Viability Assessment is conducted to determine if any identified risks can be appropriately managed within our residential setting. There are two methods to complete the viability assessment: 1. A full viability assessment involves meeting with the referrers and the parents, in addition to reviewing relevant documents. 2. A free paper review, which includes reading no more than 12 key documents outlining the background history and the presenting risks and concerns.
Risk Assessment
At Blossom Lodge Family Residential Assessment Centre, our service conducts in-depth risk assessments both prior to placement and throughout the assessment process. These assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure the most accurate information. Additionally, we offer independent risk assessments as part of our services, providing an in-depth comprehensive evaluation.
Pre-Birth Assessment
We offer pre-parenting assessments for pregnant individuals and families with children who may be struggling, involved with social services, or preparing for a new baby. These assessments are conducted in the community and are aimed at evaluating the readiness and suitability of the parents or couples to become parents. The assessments help us to identify their strengths, areas for improvement, as well as any potential risks or concerns that could affect their ability to care for their child or children. Our antenatal assessments are carried out by our social workers, and additional community support can be provided by our family practitioners and family support workers to complement the assessment process. These assessments can also indicate whether a residential parenting assessment would be beneficial for the parent or family, especially if there are concerns about the parent's ability to ensure the safety of their child/ren or to care for themselves. The pre-parenting assessment is tailored to each expectant parent and includes various elements to gather relevant information.
Community Assessment
The timeframes for these activities vary depending on the specific instructions. Our community assessments cover locations throughout the UK and also overseas when necessary. Community Assessments typically involve observing contacts, making home visits, conducting focused sessions, and providing regular reviews as well as final or prognosis reports.
Community Support
These assessments are carefully crafted to offer aid to families within the community, with the aim of facilitating their reintegration or providing vital support and intervention to keep families united. We frequently tailor these assessments to address complex and demanding family circumstances. They are sought after when a residential assessment is deemed unsuitable, yet the risks and needs remain substantial. We provide a variety of professional services and resources to support families in the local community, including parenting support, community involvement, advocacy and outreach, and specialised assistance.
Parenting Assessments: Referral Process
Residential Family Assessments
Court order Assessment or referrals from professionals
Gathering Essential Information to provide the best Care and Support
A discussion will be held with the relevant professional network, to address the following: schedule, background context, specific concerns, and essential requirements.
Referral form
Our referral form will be sent to the referring team for completion. A letter of instruction will be requested, and the assessment requirements will need to be completed as an integral part of the application form.
Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment A pre-admission risk assessment will be completed and submitted to local authorities for accuracy verification. The terms of placement and supervision levels will be agreed upon. The placing authorities will complete and return the financial agreement for the placement fees.
Placement Arrangements
A meeting will be scheduled to discuss the move-in date and placement. We will initiate a phone call to the family to introduce ourselves and address any inquiries they may have. A pre-admission visit can be arranged.
After patients are discharged from the hospital, we understand the importance of keeping mothers and their new-borns together while they await court hearings. Our "Safe Haven Viability Assessment" placement is designed to prevent the distress of separation and to support the vital bonding process. It allows us to provide a nurturing environment for both mother and baby for up to ten days, promoting a secure space for the baby and fostering a healthy attachment with the mother. Additionally, this arrangement enables us to conduct a viability assessment, helping us make further recommendations for subsequent assessments, if necessary..
Blossom Lodge
Referral Process: Viability Assessments
Concerns
A comprehensive review of the present concerns will be required.
Viability Assessment Criteria
The family has been officially confirmed to meet all the requirements necessary to complete a viability assessment.
Court Paperwork
The complete court bundle has been received.
Time scale
Upon receipt of valid paperwork from the court, a viability assessment can be completed within seven working days.
Placement
We will furnish a comprehensive response letter delineating any suggestions for further assessment. Upon obtaining a positive viability assessment, the local authority must complete a referral form. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to the prescribed steps for a residential family assessment before a placement can be offered.
What We Cover
Parenting Skills
The following topics are covered in our parenting key worker sessions: - Importance of Routines - Child Development - Baby Massage - Play and Learn - Coping with Behaviours - Stress and Emotional Management in Relationships - Defining Parenthood - Identifying Risks and Safe Parenting
Independent Living Skills
Routines Cooking Household Maintenance Money/Debt Management Vision and Aspirations Dealing with Benefits Feeling Good About Yourself Building Confidence Employment Workshops communication Stress/Emotional Management Relationship Support with Employability
Personal Care & Health Care
Exploring Healthy Eating Learning About Personal Hygiene Fitness Sexual Health Emotional Health and Wellbeing Physical Health Drugs and Alcohol Heath Checks My baby health You can edit all of this text and replace it with what you want to write.
All about Me
Time for me Enjoyments Staying safe Body Image Bullying Goals\Achievements Socialising
Baby and Me
My first year: Parent and Child journal
Residential Family Assessment Centre
Our Home
Our Home
We offer high-quality accommodations in Essex that can house up to five families. Each family has their own furnished bedroom equipped with a cot or cot bed, a single or double bed, a wardrobe, a dressing table, a rocking chair, a TV, and a laundry basket. Our staff is available on-site 24/7, and we can arrange one-on-one support if needed. Each family is assigned a Social Worker to conduct the Cubas assessment as directed by the Placing Authority/Court. Additionally, they are allocated a Key Worker, an independent health visitor, an in-house therapist, and a relationship coach. We provide customized support packages and offer five hours per week of free childcare services. For more information, please contact our team.
Monitoring and Surveillance
We understand that each family's needs are unique, so surveillance and supervision levels upon admission are tailored to their individual circumstances. We provide a variety of surveillance and monitoring options, ensuring that families receive the level of support that best suits them. This may include, but is not limited to: Full CCTV and Audio Monitoring, Intermittent CCTV and Audio Monitoring, Physical welfare checks, Full childcare and Random childcare observation checks The extent of supervision is determined by mutual agreement between Blossom Lodge and the Placing Authority/Court.
Blossom Lodge Assessment Centre
Ofsted Registered Family Assessment Centre
Blossom Lodge is an Ofsted-registered family Assessment Centre for parents and babies, which has been established by two experienced and knowledgeable senior health and social care professionals.
Vision
We believe that every child deserves a safe and nurturing environment to thrive. With this in mind, we are fully committed to empowering parents with the necessary tools to provide responsive care and establish strong connections with their children. By doing so, we can help ensure that children grow up to be happy and successful adults. We remain dedicated to our mission of promoting the overall well-being of children, and we are inspired by the positive outcomes that we have seen as a result of this.
"As parents, we can discover our hidden strengths when confronting fears and traumas we never knew existed. At Blossom Lodge, we aim to foster and recognise each parent's strengths and fears, understanding them as essential to personal growth and healing."
Referrals
Blossom Lodge Family Assessment Centre accepts referrals nationwide from the court, local authorities, parents’ legal representatives, solicitors, and children’s guardians. Parents with children of different ages will be considered for our services, and thorough discussions will be conducted with the referring agent and other pertinent professionals to assess the suitability of Blossom Lodge Family Services for each family. All parents referred to Blossom Lodge will require an in-depth assessment of their parenting capacity.
In situations where a parent is perceived to pose a degree of risk to the environment or their child, additional information may be necessary prior to determining their suitability for placement at Blossom Lodge. Referrals must initially be deliberated upon with our management team, and admissions are typically pre-planned, although we will consider emergency referrals. Each referral undergoes comprehensive consideration, and impact risk assessments are executed to evaluate potential compatibilities between current and proposed families. While we are amenable to initiating preliminary discussions via telephone or reviewing the local authority’s referral form/family profile form, formal acceptance of placement is contingent upon the submission of the necessary information.
The placing authority is required to return a completed referral form along with all pertinent documentation to the manager. Essential supporting documentation encompasses the referring social worker’s assessment report outlining the referral objectives or a copy of the care plan, medical history, social history, psychological/psychiatric reports, court proceedings (both prior and outstanding), previous convictions, as well as any other applicable or requisite reports.
Further Information
At Blossom Lodge, we understand the challenges of selecting appropriate care and accommodation for vulnerable families. Our admissions coordinator is available to address any inquiries you may have. Should you require further details, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Contact
- Head Office 4553 321-323 High Road Chadwell Heath Essex Rm6 6AX UK
- Our Home is based in Basildon Essex
Ofsted Registered