Brookwood

Brookwood Children's Residential Services
Northern Area Health Board

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Executive Summary

• Despite Brookwood's quite traumatic and turbulent history we found that the young people were generally speaking content and well looked after. Our main areas of concern for them would be around issues of over-protectiveness, a theme that will be developed throughout the detail of this report. The staff group too appeared to be more settled and cohesive than might have been expected, given the circumstances. In spite of the numerous disruptions, Brookwood has coped remarkably well and much of the credit for that must go to those individuals who have so obviously made exceptional efforts to promote the young people's welfare.
   
• Brookwood's history to date has been punctuated by unacceptable levels of staff turnover, management changes and the need too often to relocate premises.
   
• Inspectors consistently found absences of clear written policies, particularly around issues of child protection and safeguarding, use of sanctions and children's rights. This finding was reinforced by significant gaps in record-keeping.
   
• Inspectors considered that further attention needed to be paid to children's rights in the areas of information for young people, access to files, privacy matters, complaints and taking young people's views into account.
   
• There was a lack of consistency amongst the staff group around control issues and the appropriate use of sanctions. Inspectors felt that further work was required around age-appropriate care.
   
• We found evidence of a positive investment in the resources available to Brookwood as manifested within staff ratios, the upgrading of accommodation, the household budget and the appointment of a permanent centre manager.
   
• Inspectors saw that the general well-being of the young people was good, as reflected in the healthy food, activities, education, friendships which the young people formed outside of the centre, quality of clothing and the overall impression of the young people being relaxed, very resilient and confident in expressing themselves.
   
• Staff impressed us as being very committed to the job and working at Brookwood. As a group they care about the welfare of the young people and are especially good at recognising their own needs for professional and team development.
   
• Our conclusions were that the fundamentals for the proper care of young people are gradually being put into place. However, some of these are still very much at a stage of good intentions and aspiration. The quality of care experienced by young people at Brookwood requires further investment, especially in people.