About the assessment
The aim of our residential assessments is to provide families with a safe space where parents can receive support to address the practical, emotional and behavioural barriers that prevent families from remaining together. Residential assessments are led jointly by a social worker and psychologist.
Length of assessment
The suggested length of an assessment is around 12 weeks. However, in some situations we will consider a shorter or longer assessment depending on the individual needs of the family.
It is important that parents have sufficient time to absorb and understand the concerns of professionals and to begin to make the changes necessary for good enough care. Particularly with young parents, parents with learning difficulties and/or parents that require an extensive therapeutic programme of support this may take a little longer. We are committed to providing options within children's timescales in order to provide children with the best opportunity to remain within their family.
Our assessments are mostly informed by a Letter of Instruction from the Court. An individual assessment and support plan is devised for each family from the Letter of Instruction, in addition to our own baseline assessment and the information shared at the Placement Planning meeting.
Follow-on support Some families may need short term residential support beyond their residential assessment. No. 51 provides outreach parenting assessments, programmes and support to families who may require support when they return to their own homes (subject to location). The level of staff input is totally flexible, and each parenting support programme is customised to suit each family's needs. This prevents the need for families to re-tell their stories and enables precise and collaborative assessments to take place after leaving No. 51.
Our outreach team covers Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Plymouth, Swindon, Somerset and Wiltshire.
