Sunflower Fostering

Family Options Inspection report for independent fostering agency

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Unique reference number SC398387 Inspection date 08/11/2013 Inspector David Morgan Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Setting address Lamledge Lane, Shifnal, Shropshire, TF11 8SD

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Telephone number 01952468258 Email fleur.johnson@youngoptions.co.uk Registered person Young Options College Limited Registered manager Fleur Johnson Responsible individual Graham Baker Date of last inspection 27/09/2010 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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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Brief description of the service

Family Options is part of a private organisation that also provides residential services. An integrated programme of therapeutic care and education is offered to children and young people experiencing complex emotional difficulties. Family Options takes direct referrals from local authorities but also provides a specialist fostering service for young people who have successfully completed a residential placement within the organisation.

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Brief description of the service

Currently the service has 39 carers in 20 households who are looking after 19 children and young people; a small minority of households provide respite care only. Since the last inspection the service has almost doubled in size.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : An agency demonstrating and exceeding the characteristics of a good judgement where children and young people are making significantly better progress and achieving more than was expected in all areas of their lives. Good : An agency where children and young people, including those with the most complex needs, have their individual needs met and their welfare safeguarded and promoted. They make good progress and receive effective services so they achieve as well as they can in all areas of their lives. Requires improvement : An agency that may be compliant with regulations and observing the national minimum standards but is not yet demonstrating the characteristics of a good judgement. It therefore requires improvement to be good. There may be failures to meet all regulations or national minimum standards but these are not widespread or serious; all children’s and young people’s welfare is

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

safeguarded and promoted. Inadequate : An agency where there are widespread or serious failures which result in children and young people not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

At the last inspection in 2010 the overall judgement was outstanding. Since then a high standard of service has been maintained. However, the measurement of the impact of the service is less precise than possible, especially on the progress of children individually and as a group. The same shortfall applies to the progress that carers make although significant progress is evident in both cases. In other regards, the service that children experience is of a particularly high standard and they are involved in regular direct work with agency staff. They feel secure, rarely experience any safeguarding concerns, and benefit from very few placement disruptions. Occupancy levels are kept at a low level. This stability means that children can take advantage of the wide-ranging opportunities that are provided. They make progress in most areas but there is particular success in supporting young people into independence. In comparison to national statistics for all fostering services regarding

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Overall effectiveness

issues such as placement disruptions, carer turnover and speed of assessments, this agency is among the highest performing.

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Overall effectiveness

Strong leadership means that although the agency is relatively small, there are excellent partnerships with universities, there is on-going improvement based on research, and the service has a particularly positive reputation. Stakeholders such as social workers confirm that the therapeutic model works well for children. A high calibre of carers is recruited and they ensure that each child receives personalised care. Both children and carers are involved in carer recruitment and are routinely consulted about changes in the service. In addition, an independent advocacy organisation is commissioned to consult each child on a regular basis. Carers feel well supported and their assessments are conducted in a timely way; in other ways too, the organisation of the service is excellent.

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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):

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Recommendations

 ensure that the decision maker lists the material taken into account in reaching decisions and also addresses the other considerations identified in this part of the guidance (Volume 4, statutory guidance, paragraph 5.40)  ensure foster carers maintain an ongoing training and development portfolio which demonstrates how they are meeting the skills required of them by the fostering service. This is with regard to each foster carer in households (NMS 20.4)  ensure the manager monitors all records kept by the service to ensure compliance with the service’s policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. This is with regard to describing the patterns and trends in monthly audits and ensuring all the required matters are addressed. (NMS 25.2)

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Experiences and progress of, and outcomes for, children and young people

Most children benefit from long-term placements and almost all have clear permanency plans. They experience very few disruptions. These exceptional features provide a particularly secure environment in which children thrive and make substantial progress. Children enjoy positive relationships with their carers; they feel valued and a large majority of those responding said they feel like a full member of their foster families. One said, ‘My foster dad is awesome and my foster mum is amazing; she’s like a mum.’ Consequently, a significant percentage of young people choose to remain with their carers once they are 18.

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Experiences and progress of, and outcomes for, children and young people

All children, including those with communication difficulties, are consulted regularly. They know that their views make a difference to both their individual placements and the service as a whole, for example, regarding the recent establishment of a children’s forum and to carer recruitment. A large majority are the sole foster child in their household, which personalises their care further. They also have automatic and regular contact with specially commissioned independent advocates as well as the supervising social workers, from whom they feel able to obtain advice. Children contribute to discussions about their progress in achieving specific targets and have not raised any complaints.

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Experiences and progress of, and outcomes for, children and young people

Children experience gradual admissions in many cases and always learn about their new foster families in advance. Wherever possible they undertake detailed introductions over several weeks that carefully reflect their individual needs. This is a substantial contribution to the longevity of placements. A social worker said, 'The transition to supported lodgings couldn’t have been any better; it was excellent.' All the children are in educational or training placements; attendance rates are excellent and no children are persistently absent. Support packages are used where necessary. As a result, the proportion of children who are achieving below their targets is falling year on year and is now a very small minority. A large majority are achieving their targets and the percentage that exceeded their targets last year rose to approximately 16%. One young person reflected the overall picture by saying, ‘My

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Experiences and progress of, and outcomes for, children and young people

carers help me with everything to do with college.’

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Experiences and progress of, and outcomes for, children and young people

All children benefit from up-to-date health checks and close attention to their emotional and mental health. Children are unanimous in their agreement that their carers make them feel good about themselves, including their backgrounds. They learn to reflect on their family circumstances and they all maintain important contacts, wherever appropriate. External professionals feel that the therapeutic service provided to children (either directly or indirectly) is invaluable to the maintenance and progress of their placements. Demonstrable progress is shown in most cases, including, for example, achieving the same levels of social integration as their peers, having appropriate levels of concentration, and ceasing to take psychotropic medication. As a result they benefit from a wide range of experiences, including foreign holidays, paid employment, joining sports clubs and achieving success in a variety of other ways. One child said, 'I’ve tried food I haven’t tried

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Quality of service

Stakeholders such as independent reviewing officers, social workers and commissioning officers unanimously confirm that the quality of service is extremely good; they express no reservations. The carers are of a high calibre and have been recruited gradually, which reflects the child-centred philosophy of the service. Effectiveness in this area is reflected in the fact that no carers have been de- registered compared to a national average of 12%. Recruitment campaigns have benefited from the agency’s own research into the interests of potential carers. Such campaigns have also successfully addressed shortfalls in social diversity, with regard to increasing the number of carers from different cultural backgrounds and who have a disability. Carers focus on meeting the individual needs of their foster children and often only have one at a time unless it is in the interests of sibling groups to be together.

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Quality of service

Carers receive an excellent service from their supervising social workers. This is facilitated by modest caseloads that allow close attention to detail and frequent contact. In order to communicate more effectively with one carer, a supervising social worker went to the lengths of qualifying in sign language. One carer said, ‘I researched other agencies but immediately felt at home here’; another had been a foster carer elsewhere and said, ‘There’s much better support here than in other agencies.’ Consequently, there is very little turnover of carers and the rate has been falling since the manager was appointed in 2010. Carers also appreciate the fact that almost all their available places are occupied, which is substantially better than most other agencies nationally. Communication is given a high priority and all carers receive a regular newsletter.

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Quality of service

The high level of personalisation in the service is demonstrated by the fact that the supervising social workers undertake and attend all recruitment, assessments and initial training. This means that carers already know any member of staff who might contact them. It also means that carers integrate confidently into the service provided to each child by other professionals.

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Quality of service

Carers receive high quality training that addresses the therapeutic focus of the agency. Their initial (Skills to Foster) training is challenging and thought provoking. It appropriately tests their resourcefulness and capacity to nurture emotionally damaged children. Children and existing carers are also actively involved in the process, which adds to its rigour and their engagement with the agency. After their approval, all carers attend a minimum number of events a year and everyone achieves their induction qualification within the prescribed 12 months; this shows year-on-year improvement and is substantially better than the national average. Subsequently, carers attend courses depending on their development needs. Although attention is given to each carer in each household, the development plans themselves are not personalised. This raises the slight risk of the needs of individual carers (particularly those who are not the main carer) not being fully addressed.

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Quality of service

The matching of children with carers is undertaken carefully and is a key part of the success of the service. A small minority of new children are already known from the organisation’s residential services but all are subject to a matching process that is based on a clear theoretical model. An up-to-date, nationally recognised model is also used for each child’s placement plan, which all local authorities are asked to use. This ensures that there is a particularly high degree of consistency applied to issues that are vital to children, such as delegated authority. Supervising social workers take responsibility for knowing each child well and for tracking the progress that is made with each placement plan. This additional work complements that of the placing social worker and is appreciated by them. A project is nearly complete that will enable the service to clinically assess each child at the point of admission. This

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Quality of service

valuable improvement is already focusing more attention on children's progress and causing more timely adjustment of their placement plans.

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Quality of service

The fostering panel is extremely well organised and panel members bring a wealth of relevant experience to the service. The panel challenges the service and applies a high level of rigour to its work, for example, in terms of limiting applicants’ or carers’ terms of approval or deferring recommendations. As a result, panel members have been pleased to note a significant improvement in the quality of reports. Assessments in particular are thorough and address, for example, the applicants’ approach to issues of equality and diversity. One panel member said, 'It feels like a very robust service. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.' Panel has the benefit of an independent panel advisor, which is additional to legal requirements but adds a further degree of quality to the service. Members have regular training opportunities too and have a suitable level of communication with staff and managers. Decisions are made promptly and communicated to carers in a timely way, which serves to

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Quality of service

keep carers engaged with the agency. However, the reasons for decisions are not stated, which reduces the quality assurance purpose of the process.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager applies clear and effective leadership to the safeguarding of children. Strong links are maintained with local authorities; carers and staff receive regular training updates. Written policies are altered in light of national debates and professional developments, such as the risks posed by dangerous dogs and child sexual exploitation. New initiatives are implemented regularly, including giving safety information at young people’s meetings, distributing an improved safer care handbook to carers, and implementing an improved risk assessment format. The latter has led to improved attention to young people’s needs. It facilitates a more proportionate approach to risk-taking for those with disabilities, for example, which has led some young people to gain greater independence and social opportunities. Similarly, children are not prevented by over-protectiveness from accepting challenging sporting opportunities or greater responsibilities based on their actual

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Safeguarding children and young people

abilities. This contributes to their self-confidence.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The actual incidence of risk-taking behaviours and safeguarding incidents is almost nil, which is an extremely important achievement. No children go missing and none are at risk of sexual exploitation. Any issues are reported promptly to the relevant agencies. Children say they feel safe in their placements; almost none experience placement changes. In addition there are thorough processes in place to ensure that only appropriate adults are employed to work with children or attend panel and all such processes are counter-checked by the manager. Carers are fully aware of the safeguarding procedures and are alert to the potential risks, for example, of allegations.

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Leadership and management

The service has very good leadership. The Registered Manager embraces change and ensures that she knows the carers and children thoroughly. Lessons are learnt from research and from working relationships with universities. Social work students are supported too, which ensures that the service is up-to-date with professional developments and prevents it becoming professionally isolated. Projects are undertaken by staff and students to improve outcomes for children. In addition, the manager ensures that the service is financially sound, that it is exceeding its performance targets, and is gradually growing in line with its aims and objectives and the Foster Carers’ Charter. In particular, the Charter states that carers will be treated as part of the professional team for each child, which is what happens in practice.

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Leadership and management

Staff feel extremely positive about the service. They consider that there is an open and supportive philosophy that creates a challenging and enjoyable workplace; their ideas are acted upon. Their supervision and appraisals lead them to accept new projects and undertake continual professional development, including, for example, supervising other staff, deputising for the manager, arranging events and coordinating training. Significant improvements have been made since the manager was appointed, as described in this report. The two recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed so that children's case files are complete and are regularly audited. This helps to ensure that the information is complete if any child wants to see their records. Written agreements are now in place for all respite placements too so that misunderstandings are avoided and legal requirements are met.

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Leadership and management

A range of monitoring exercises is in place that routinely includes the views of children and carers. There is also a development process reflecting the continual improvements to the service. However, it is not sufficiently clear what overall patterns and trends emerge from either the monthly monitoring of the service overall, of the monitoring of carers’ development, or of children's progress. Also, some areas of monitoring are not addressed sufficiently clearly. This means that the evidence of children's progress in all areas is less robust than possible.

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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 to assess the effectiveness of the service, to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards and to support services to improve.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the inspection framework and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of independent fostering agencies.

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