Wellcare Fostering Services

Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd Inspection report for independent fostering agency

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SC061984 Unique reference number 17 February 2009 Inspection date Karen Malcolm / Jill Marriott Inspector Random Type of Inspection

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Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd Address 115 Trafalgar House Grenville Place LONDON NW7 3SA 020 8906 7823 Telephone number

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Email

Wellcare Fostering Services Limited Registered person John William Dillyston Registered manager

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Responsible individual

15 August 2008 Date of last inspection .

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Responsible individual

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Responsible individual

You can obtain copies of The Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and The National Minimum Standards for Children's Services from: The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Cripins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcome for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and relevant National Minimum Standards for the establishment.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is strong Good: this aspect of the provision is sound Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is not good enough Inadequate: 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009

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Brief description of the service

Wellcare Fostering Services was registered as an independent fostering agency in October 2004. The company has a number of directors. The agency's aim is to recruit, supervise and support foster carers in meeting the needs of looked after children by local authorities. The office recently moved to Mill Hill, North London in December 2007.

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Brief description of the service

The agency has eight approved foster carers and four children and young people placed in two families. The London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham and Haringey have children and young people with the agency.

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Summary

This interim inspection looked at the progress the setting has made with the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection which took place in September 2008. There has been a marked improvement with regards to how the fostering service addresses notifications, allegations and complaints. Therefore the previous overall judgment of inadequate - notice to improve, has improved to satisfactory.

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Summary

The service demonstrates satisfactory practice throughout each outcome area. Children and young people spoken to said that they now feel much more comfortable to share any issues or concerns arising from their placement.

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Summary

The shortfalls identified relate to the recruitment procedures not being followed consistently, children and young people's care plans not being updated when changes occur to the placement and risk assessments and Personal Education Plan (PEP) information not present on files examined. Additional to this the financial arrangements and guidance for when foster children and young people are taken on holidays were not in place. Five recommendations were also made. These relate to at least one of the supervisory visits conducted being unannounced and the fostering service's quality assurance process being monitored and reviewed consistently. Added to this, at least once every three months a panel meeting should be held and minutes of panel meetings should reflect what was actually discussed. The overall quality rating is satisfactory. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the fostering service was required to address eight actions. The findings are that all requirements but none of the recommendations have been fully addressed. The requirements addressed relate to foster carers' health and safety assessments now being undertaken when any changes occur. Appropriate training and support is provided to foster carers when trans-racial placement are made. Appropriate measures are in place to safeguard children and young people when they become a victim of bullying or are the bully. All social workers employed are appropriately qualified and all reviews of foster carers are appropriately made within a specified time. Additional to this the staffing levels of the service and daily logs kept by foster carers have been reviewed.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The recommendations not met relating to unannounced supervisory visits and the fostering service providing diaries have been restated in this report. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Health care sheets are completed for each child and young person placed. This information once completed by foster carers is maintained on individual's files at the company's Head Office. The healthcare sheets are a summary of each individual's healthcare appointments, reviews, treatments or incidents that occur within the current month. The fostering service helps each child or young person placed to receive appropriate healthcare which meets their physical, emotional and social development. Foster carers are training to meet the appropriate ages of the children and young people placed with them. The Foster Carer's Handbook has clear guidance on what should be recorded in diaries and foster carers when asked understood their roles and responsibilities with regards to this. The fostering service also has access to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and other professional services if requested or

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Helping children to be healthy

Children and young people when spoken to said that they have a choice in what they want to eat and this is discussed with them daily. Those children and young people with additional cultural, religious and special dietary needs have these met appropriately by the foster carers they are placed with.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The Registered Manager and the Registered Individual are suitable people to run the fostering service as they promote the welfare of the children and young people. However, some of the recruitment checks for the manager have not been consistently followed up where gaps were identified.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children and young people are placed with foster carers who have been assessed as being able to keep the children and young people safe for the duration of the placement. Foster carers’ preparation and training covers health and safety issues. The fostering service now ensures that health and safety checks are carried out annually or when any changes occur within a household.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Where trans-racial placements are made, the fostering service has now ensured that children and young people's overall diverse cultural needs are assessed and any additional support is sought. Children and young people spoken to said that many of their needs have been supported by the foster carers, which they are now happy with. All foster carers have recently undertaken training in 'Cultural Diversity'.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering service has not undertaken proper safeguards when foster children and young people go on family holidays with their foster carers. For example, no risk assessments or addresses of the holiday destinations were recorded, as well as no proper financial account of how the holidays were to be paid for and by whom and no contingency plans were in place, if an emergency situation occurred. Therefore, children and young people were not properly safeguarded when going on holidays with carers.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering service has improved on how notifications are risk assessed and what action is to be taken by the service. Children and young people spoken to are now more confident that the fostering service protects them from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and deprivation. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009 Foster carers are aware of the particular vulnerability of looked after children and young people and their susceptibility to bullying. There are now clear procedures in place, to address any instances of bullying and to help foster carers cope with this.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering service's recruitment process has not been consistently managed. Gaps were identified with individuals' references and ID checks. Other parts of the recruitment procedures had been followed.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering panel now provides a quality assurance function in relation to the assessment process, in particular to monitor and review the work of the assessors. However, minutes of meetings held do not actually reflect the contents of each meeting, this is because there is no dedicated administrator assigned for this role. The fostering panels are not held consistently, only when a foster carer needs approving or reviewing or when any changes occur such as a child protection allegation. Therefore, the panel members may only meet once in a three to four month period.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Issues of diversity and equality are explored through training and discussion with foster carers, children and young people placed. Foster carers ensure that if the culture needs of the child or young person can not be fully met within the household, additional support is sought.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The priority is to meet the educational needs of each child or young person in foster care and ensure that they are encouraged to attain their full potential. There is also clear evidence that children and young people attend school and are supported to do so. However, Personal Educational Plans (PEP) and additional support with transportation to school are not clearly recorded to show how these needs are being met by the foster carer and the fostering service.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The fostering service makes sure that each child or young person in foster care is encouraged to maintain and develop family contacts and friendships. However, how this is established, maintained, monitored and reviewed was not clearly evidenced on care plans viewed.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children and young people are consulted prior to their reviews. However, some children and young people spoken to said that they did not feel able in the past to fully express their views and concerns, but due to the action taken by the fostering service on their behalf, they now feel much more comfortable sharing any concerns they may have.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is satisfactory. There is no clear financial procedure in place to show how additional holidays or additional transport expenses are accounted for and how this is funded by the fostering service. Foster carers spoken to said that they did receive their personal allowances for each child or young person placed. Foster carers also kept clear records of all children and young people's personal allowances and pocket money. 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. There is a clear statement of the aims and objectives of the fostering service. However, the Statement of Purpose does not cover all aspects of the fostering service that are addressed in the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services.

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Organisation

Since the last inspection the organisation's management structure has changed. A full time supervising social worker has been appointed to work alongside the Registered Manager. The other new appointments were not in post at the time of the inspection. Where a shortfall in staffing levels occurs, there is now a contingency plan to resolve the situation. The Registered Manager is now supported and supervised by a external consultant. However, supervision and annual appraisals are not regularly undertaken, although this is an improvement from the last inspection when no supervision or appraisals had taken place.

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Organisation

Relevant information from the case records are not consistently updated when any changes occur, such as a change of placement. All appropriate records are kept and are accessible in relation to the fostering services.

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Organisation

The fostering service ensures that foster carers are trained in the skills required to provide quality care and meet the needs of each child and young person placed with them. Where two adults in one household are approved, both complete training put on by the service, when appropriate. Most of the training organised is carried out on the weekends to meet the needs of the families' day to day routines.

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Organisation

The overall judgement of this service is satisfactory which is an improvement from the last inspection. However, the quality assurance processes for monitoring recruitment, contact, financial accounts when foster carers take children on holidays and records of educational needs are not recorded. Additional to this records of panel meetings and appraisal have not been consistently managed, monitored or reviewed.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person meets the Care Standards Act 2000, The Fostering Services Regulations 2005 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider must comply with the given timescales.

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Due date Action Standard

30 April 2009 ensure full information is kept on staff recruitment files and all recruitment information must be reviewed and updated accordingly. (Regulation 20 Schedule 1 (1)(3)(4)(6) 30 April 2009 ensure appropriate information is kept about children and young people and their whereabouts, and ensure appropriate risk assessments are in place. (Regulation 11(a) 30 April 2009 ensure that all children's care plans are updated when any changes occur. This must include details of Personal Educational 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009 Plan (PEP) information also. (Regulation 16 & 42(1) schedule 7) 30 April 2009 include details of National Minimum Standard 1.4 in the fostering service's Statement of Purpose. (Regulation 3)

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • have at least one of the supervisory visits as unannounced (NMS22) • establish and operate a system for monitoring the quality of records and take remedial action, where appropriate this includes providing diaries to foster carers (NMS25) • have a clear system in place to ensure supervision and appraisal are carried out regularly (NMS20) • hold panel meetings at least once every three months and improve the overall quality of panel minutes (NMS30) 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Wellcare Fostering Services Ltd, 17 February 2009

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