SWAN Fostering

SWAN Fostering Inspection report for independent fostering agency

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Unique reference number SC063404 Inspection date 21/03/2016 Inspectors Kristen Judd and Natalie Burton Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Setting address 29 Bridge Street, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 2DP

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Telephone number 01462 433808 Email Carly@swanfostering.co.uk Registered person Swan Fostering Ltd Registered manager Vacant Responsible individual Mr John Keane Date of last inspection 28/02/2012

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Brief description of the service

Swan Fostering is an independent agency providing foster placements to children and young people aged from birth to 18 years. Placements are commissioned by a number of local authorities. The agency provides placements of various types: emergency; short term; parent and child; sibling groups bridging and long term. At the time of inspection the agency had 38 households with 40 children and young people.

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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.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

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.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

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 safeguarded and promoted.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

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

The agency has been acquired by Fostering Solutions and is currently in the process of transition. As a result, Fostering Solutions are completing some of the agency’s tasks, in regard to recruitment of staff, foster carer recruitment, assessment and approval, and staff training. As such, these areas have not been reviewed as part of this inspection. This period of transition has resulted in shortfalls in meeting some regulations and standards and so the agency requires improvement to be good.

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Overall effectiveness

Not all safeguarding concerns have been referred to the Local Authority designated Officer. (LADO) There are inconsistent recordings of safeguarding concerns in relation to the constitution of panel and the minutes maintained. The service has been without a registered manager for over a year. There has been a delay in securing relevant documentation in relation to young people from the placing authorities. Due to the transition, not all key documents have been updated, such as the statement of purpose and the children’s guide.

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Overall effectiveness

The placing authorities report that the children and young people make good progress and benefit from secure and settled placements. Foster carers confirm that they receive good support from a professional and competent team of supervising social workers. The experienced and committed staff team provide effective supervision to foster carers.

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Overall effectiveness

The transition to another agency is due to be completed in the coming months; this will mean the current manager will be formally registered with Ofsted. The current team have been able to demonstrate the capacity to secure the necessary improvements under the new registration.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must keep under review, and where appropriate revise, the statement of purpose, and children’s guide and notify the chief inspector of any such revision within 28 days. (Regulation 4 (a) (b)) 31/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a written record is made of any complaint or representation, the action taken in response to it, and the outcome of the investigation. (Regulation 18 (4)) 30/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided by the fostering agency. (Regulation 35 (1) (b)) 31/05/2016

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Requirement Due date

A fostering panel must make a written record of its proceedings and the reasons for its recommendations (Regulation 24 (2)) 30/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

If any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 7 takes place in relation to a fostering agency, the registered person must, without delay, notify the persons or bodies indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 36 (1)) 30/04/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure the panel chair confirms written minutes of panel meetings are accurate and clearly cover the key issues and views expressed by panel members and record the reasons for its recommendations. (NMS 14.7)  Ensure the fostering panel appoints either one or two vice chairs, being members of the fostering panel, who can act as chair if the regular chair is unable to chair a meeting or the office is vacant. (The children act 1989, volume 4, page 41, paragraph 5.12)  Ensure where a child requires it, the guide is available, where appropriate, through suitable alternative methods of communication, such as, Makaton, pictures, tape recording, translation into another language. (NMS 16.6)  Ensure allegations against people that work with children or members of the fostering household are reported by the fostering service to the LADO. This includes allegations that on the face of it may appear relatively insignificant or

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Recommendations

that have also been reported directly to the police or the children and family services. (NMS 22.6)  Ensure a clear and comprehensive summary of any allegations made against a particular member of the fostering household or staff member, including details of how the allegation was followed up and resolved, a record of any action taken and the decision reached, is kept on the person's confidential file. A copy is provided to the person as soon as the investigation is concluded the information is retained on the confidential file, even after someone leaves the organisation, until the person reaches normal retirement age, or for ten years if this is longer. (NMS 22.7)  Ensure as soon as this is possible after an investigation into a foster carer is concluded, their approval as suitable to foster is reviewed. There is a clear policy framework which outlines the circumstances in which a foster carer should be removed as one of the fostering service providers approved foster

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Recommendations

carers, in the interests of the safety or welfare of children. This is available to foster carers. (NMS 22.8)  Ensure that the foster carer is given a copy of the child's placement plan as soon as this is provided by the responsible authority. If provision of the care plan by the responsible authority is delayed, the fostering service follows this up with the responsible authority. (NMS 31.2)

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and young people

Children and young people make good progress in their foster homes. They benefit from stable placements and say that they get on well with their foster carers. Children and young people become part of the foster family. One young person said: ‘ My foster carers look after me well, they take me on holidays and other places. They take me on lots of activities and we have lots of fun.’ There are good attachments and children and young people report that they feel safe and secure. They make good progress from their starting points.

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and young people

Children and young people’s health needs are well met. The foster carers support them to maintain good health through routine medicals, regular health checks and a healthy lifestyle. Children and young people are referred for specialist health services when needed. The foster carers support the children and young people to access a range of activities and the agency offers annual events, to enable younger children and carers to join together. Some children, with severe disabilities, have made excellent progress and are now able to undertake activities such as, riding a bike and horse-riding.

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and young people

There are two children’s guides in place, which are age related. However, the service has not developed guides for children and young people with disabilities or communication difficulties. This does not ensure that all children and young people using the service are fully aware of what the service provides or how to raise concerns. The agency are aware that they need to review their inclusion of children and young people with disabilities. All children and young people spoken to named people that they felt they could talk to if they had any concerns.

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and young people

Children and young people’s achievements are valued by the foster carers. Most children and young people are in education and attendance is good. The few who are not in education have plans in place to address barriers, and there is liaison with relevant professionals. No young people are persistently absent. There is good communication with schools, comments include: ‘I can see a marked improvement in her well-being. It is clear from her behaviour that they (foster carers) spend quality time with her, as her speech sounds have increased and she is now linking sounds together. I believe this is an excellent placement for her and hope she continues to be with the carers for a long time.’ Young people talk of high aspirations for themselves, one young person spoke of hopes to complete a law degree and become a lawyer.

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and young people

Foster carers ensure that young people who put themselves at risk have the information they need to make safer choices. Foster carers are supported to manage challenging behaviour and are provided with additional support if needed, through a family support worker. One young person confirmed that they see the family support worker weekly, to support the placement. Placing authorities confirm that the agency takes teenagers who present with challenging behaviours, using single placements. Young people are supported to develop independence skills in line with their age and ability. One local authority social worker said: ‘The carer does really good reports that show weekly the work she is doing with him. He is getting consistency and making progress, such as supervised cooking.’ The agency endeavours to ensure smooth transitions.

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and young people

Children and young people report that they have the support that they need. They feel safe and are developing meaningful relationships with carers. One young person said: ‘I have my friends to sleep over, which is nice. My carers always respect my privacy’. Another said: ‘I am happy’.

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Quality of service

The agency staff provide good support to foster carers, children and young people. Placing authorities are extremely positive about matching: ‘They are brilliant. They have a lot of difficult teenagers to place, using single placements. They are very good at matching. They will always respond, and if they cannot place they will explain why. They are brilliant.’ The placing authorities also feel that communication is good, one worker said: ‘ Information flow is good, and communication is good. Where they can help, they will always respond to need. Matching is right, they consider placements carefully. They are not an organisation that will place when they do not think it will work, hence a low number of placement breakdowns.’ Careful matching means that placements made are stable and provide consistency for children and young people.

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Quality of service

Highly committed foster carers are skilled at meeting the needs of children and young people in their care. Foster carers demonstrate a good level of understanding of complex families and history. Placement stability is good and unplanned endings are few.

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Quality of service

Foster Carers feel that their training needs are met. The agency offers placements to some children and young people with complex needs, including children with disabilities. Where they require specialist training the agency sources courses and supports them to attend. A carer said: ‘In my 4 years I have fostered a deaf child with mental health issues and Swan were very supportive. I have learnt new skills including, British sign language and counselling skills. All these have been sourced by myself but I have been supported to attend by my supervision social worker.’ Overall, foster carers are well trained in order to provide good levels of care to children and young people.

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Quality of service

The foster panel has an experienced chair and panel members have a good range of knowledge and skills and have diverse experience. The panel has access to medical and legal advisors, however, there is no vice chair. The panel is not currently approving new assessments while it is going through transition, however, the reviews are being assessed at panel. There is good communication between the panel chair and manager of the agency. The chair feeds back to the manager regarding the quality of reports presented to panel. Where foster carers decide paperwork is lacking in information, or where carers have not had the required time to review paperwork, the panel chair ensures that cases are not presented and panel dates rescheduled. Where changes are made to the foster carer’s approval status they are accurately reflected in the notification to foster carers.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Generally safeguarding concerns are referred appropriately. However, on one occasion safeguarding concerns had not been referred to the Local Authority Designated Officer. (LADO) The agency completed an investigation and presented the case to panel. However, records do not show clearly how that the concerns raised were brought together to provide a clear overview of the allegations, how it was followed up, the action taken and decisions made. In addition, where investigations have been completed, there has been significant delay in presenting the cases to panel to review the foster carer’s approval status.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are policies in place to support foster carers who have placements that are at risk of child sexual exploitation and from going missing. Incidents of missing are low. Where this is of concern, there is good liaison with the local authority. Foster carers understand children’s and young people’s backgrounds and are perceptive of their unsafe behaviours. Keeping children and young people safe is at the forefront of their practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Swan Fostering is not recruiting to the agency during the transition period. The current staff team will transfer to the new registration in the coming months. Existing recruitment records meet regulatory requirements.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Supervising social workers check the foster homes to ensure that they are safe environments. They regularly see children and young people when they visit the home. Unannounced visits are undertaken and safe care plans are in place.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Supervising social workers undertake visits to each other’s foster carers to ensure that they do not become complacent. Records of the unannounced visits show that the health and safety aspects are checked on this visits. The staff confirm that they are a team that works well together and this promotes good outcomes for the children and young people.

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Leadership and management

The agency needs to make some improvements to be consistently good. Due to the transition there has been no registered manager in post since March 2015. The manager in post has submitted an application as part of the new registration.

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Leadership and management

Action has been taken to improve since the last inspection. Both of the regulatory shortfalls have been met. All relevant checks are in place in relation to fostering households. The decision maker no longer sits on panel. This ensures that the process is independent, in order to make a considered decision. Of the eight recommendations raised at the previous inspection, two are not met. The children’s guide has been updated with contact details of Ofsted and the children’s rights director, however, while the guides are in place they are not in suitable formats for all children and young people with disabilities. There are procedures in place for notifying the appropriate authorities of significant events. However, on occasion events have not been appropriately notified. This does not allow Ofsted, as the regulator to monitor significant events relating to children and young people. There is a designated person in place for managing allegations. Policies have been clarified

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Leadership and management

to identify how allegations and complaints should be managed. Foster carers are all supervised by a qualified supervising social worker and records are clear in regard to the approval categories, and recommendations made by panel following reviews. The agency does not have any children over the age of three sharing bedrooms.

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Leadership and management

Some areas for improvement relate to the agency’s record keeping. Panel minutes are maintained, however, they are lacking in information to demonstrate the views of panel. The reasons for recommendations do not reflect the detail of discussion and deliberation. As such, they do not provide detailed information to the decision maker on which to base their decision. The chair can give a clear account of the discussions conducted for the recent panels, but a failure to keep accurate records does not show a consistent and robust audit trail of the discussions. There is a new statement of purpose in place, however, it provides a broad overview and is not personalised in relation to the agency. The statement of purpose on the organisation’s website is the previous document. The updated document has not been sent to Ofsted.

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Leadership and management

Foster carers provide monthly reports on the children and young people they care for and supervising social workers attend professional meetings. Commissioners say that the agency provides a good service and they have positive working relationships. One social worker said: ‘I do not have a negative comment about the supervising social worker, she is child focused and ensures that I am updated of all relevant information. She also attends meetings and ensures that the young person is cared for and provided with a safe environment.’

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Leadership and management

Not all young people have all the required documentation in place from the placing authorities, for example, care and placement plans and personal education plans. The manager has made some attempt to chase this, however, this has not been in a timely manner or effective. The manager now completes monthly monitoring of the service. However, records lack evaluation in order to make further improvements in the quality of care provided. There is a clear complaint procedure in place, and where issues are raised as complaints, the procedure is followed. However, not all concerns are seen as a complaint and have not been dealt with in line with procedure. While some action was taken following the concerns raised by a foster carer, there is no record of the complaint, the action taken or the outcome of the investigation.

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Leadership and management

The agency has high expectations for children and young people and is child- focused. These clear expectations and the focus on the children and young people help to ensure that their needs are well met. Staffing levels are good and foster carers receive regular supervision. Foster carer’s meetings and support groups are bi- monthly.

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Leadership and management

Most foster carers feel well supported. The agency are aware that the transition process has affected morale. Some foster carers have concerns about how the service will operate once the transfer is complete. There are detailed records of supervision of the foster carers by agency staff, which helps them to look at different ways of working with the children and young people. All but two foster carers have completed their training and development standards. There are a wide range of courses available to carers and staff comment that they engage well with training. Foster carers confirm that they receive good support from the agency staff and from the out of hours teams when there are concerns.

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Leadership and management

The transition has taken some time and this has caused some shortfalls in the way the service is managed. However, children and young people continue to be at the centre of the agency’s practice. They confirm that they are involved in decision making about their lives and are very well supported by foster carers. The agency focus is to provide good stable placements in which children and young people can thrive.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to inform 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 and 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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