Cove Foster Care

Cove Foster Care Inspection report for independent fostering agency

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Unique reference number SC434260 Inspection date 3/10/2016 Inspector Rachel Britten Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Setting address 16 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4BL

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Telephone number 01902 854258 Email rachel.oliver@cove-care.co.uk Registered person Lee Smith Beverly Cyrus Registered manager Rachel Oliver Responsible individual Beverly Cyrus Date of last inspection 11/07/2013 Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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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. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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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

The fostering service was registered in April 2012. It is part of a private organisation running four registered children's homes. 11 children have been cared for by the service since the last inspection in July 2013. 11 new carer households have been recruited by the service since July 2013, but five have resigned or transferred. At the time of the inspection, there are three children in placement and seven approved carer households. The fostering service provides long- and short-term placements for children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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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

Children and young people have their individual needs met well and they thrive with their carers. They develop good relationships with their carers and feel safe and secure. They also participate in entertaining and fun events, put on by the service. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Overall effectiveness

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. This helps them feel that they are part of the whole organisation. The service seeks children’s and young people’s views and wishes about the quality of events. However, their opinions and feelings about their placements are not obtained in an organised way or used enough to influence developments and strategic thinking. The recruitment of foster carers is careful and fair. The agency prepares carers thoroughly and insightfully. This yields a range of carers who have the skills and understanding to meet the diverse needs of children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Assessments of foster carers are often conducted in house by the service’s own social workers. This makes it comfortable

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Overall effectiveness

for approved carers as they go forward, because their training and support come from staff that they already know. All carer assessments are accurate, analytical and completed in a timely way. This means that potential carers are not lost through deficits in this process. Carers feel that they are an important and valued part of the team working with each child or young person. Carers benefit from professional, supportive and challenging relationships with the service’s supervising social worker, from matching to placement and beyond. The service works hard to create and sustain effective relationships with placing authorities, education and health partners. This is particularly so for children and young people who are placed away from their home authority. Children and young people get good help with their education and psychological health. This is because the service works creatively to overcome obstacles and facilitates the help and

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Overall effectiveness

support that children and young people need. As a result, children and young people make good progress. The current manager has been in post since November 2014. She is visible and effective, taking an active part in recruitment, consultation, support and training of carers. She leads a thoroughly therapeutic and child-centred approach to fostering. This underpins the good progress that children and young people make. The manager has seen an overall growth in the number of carers since the last inspection. This is despite some difficulties with carer retention, following unplanned endings of placements and/or delays in finding good matches. The service maintains a child-centred, professional approach and is financially viable. Breaches of regulations are minor and have not compromised the safety and well- being of children and young people. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Overall effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered persons meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. The registered persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that 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. This is with particular respect to notifying Ofsted. (Regulation 36 (1)) 11/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the fostering provider maintains and keeps up to date a register showing, in respect of each child placed, the name and address of the foster parent; the child's address prior to placement; and the child's address on leaving the placement. (Regulation 22 schedule 2 (1)(b)(d)(e)) 11/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose and the children's guide are provided to the Chief Inspector and that the statement of purpose is placed on the provider’s website. (Regulation 3(2)(4)) 11/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way that will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future. Children should be actively encouraged to read their files and to correct errors and add personal statements. This is with particular regard to making all risk assessments, contracts and plans about children clear, understandable and helpful to them. (National minimum standards 26.6)  Ensure that foster carers know and implement the fostering service’s and the responsible authority's policies in relation to children going missing. This is Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Recommendations

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. with particular regard to: having clear information about risks and children’s possible whereabouts ready to give the police; having prepared, useable risk assessments about action to take to minimise the likelihood of missing incidents and to minimise risks associated with being missing; and ensuring that the local authority and the service achieve return interviews for children who have been missing. (National minimum standards 5.2)  Ensure that the wishes, feelings and views of children and those significant to them are taken into account in monitoring foster carers and developing the fostering service. (National minimum standards 1.7) Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Recommendations

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and young people

Children and young people are well prepared for moving in to the service’s foster care placements. All carers have prepared welcoming information about their home that is shared with children and young people before they arrive. Whenever possible, children and young people gradually get to know their carers before moving in. One carer said, ‘Our young person got to know us before he moved. That made it easier for him to adapt.’ A young person said, ‘My carers are friendly and caring. I feel like part of the family.’ Equally, young people enjoy celebrations, gifts and memorabilia when they move on from foster care. Children and young people make good progress in their education, taking into account their needs and starting points. For example, one young person recently achieved a qualification in tree surgery. Another is on a catering and hospitality course. A third young person is progressing on a sports science course after leaving

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and young people

school. A fourth young person is expected to pass a good number of GSCEs and is aiming for an architecture course at college. All children and young people receive full support and help with their education. This is given just as good parents would. For example, carers give children and young people extra help with their reading, writing and spelling. Children and young people also receive good advice and help to use the internet sensibly and safely. Children and young people understand their plans and agree with them. They take part in their children looked after review meetings and have good relationships with their carers’ supervising social worker. One young person said, ‘They are always there for me. I probably take advantage, but I am staying with them until 18, which is what my brother did.’ Another young person plans to go to college and stay with his carers until adulthood. He said about this plan, ‘I am fine with it.’

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and young people

There are missed opportunities to help children and young people to understand their individual records better. For example, some children’s and young people’s plans for contact with friends and relatives are unclear and out of date. These contact plans do not specify what benefit the child or young person should get from the contact, or whether the relationship is something that everyone hopes will develop. Children’s and young people’s plans have not all been written simply and clearly, or shared properly with children and young people, to ensure that they understand them fully. Children and young people lead healthy and enjoyable lives that include therapeutic Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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and young people

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. help, as they require. This means that they feel happy and settled and are widening their horizons. One young person said, ‘It’s good here. I really love helping on the farm. I have been to London, Wembley and the James Bond experience, on holiday to the Canaries and on the biggest rides at Blackpool pleasure beach.

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Quality of service

Judgement outcome: Good The fostering service has recruited a range of foster carers who have the skills and willingness to give children and young people who have complex needs and challenging behaviour the family-based care and support that they need. A carer said that they chose to work with this service ‘because we realised that their ethics were different to what we’d found when we first looked into other fostering services.’ The manager and staff are diligent about matching children and young people with carers who can reasonably be expected to meet their needs. The service’s decision- maker told the inspector, ‘What I think is good about this service is that the matching is robust, and they do not set children up to fail.’ A carer who is waiting for a match said, ‘They have tried very hard to get me a placement. They told us everything about the possible placements that we might have had. I would recommend them

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Quality of service

and I have told a few friends.’ The approach to matching limits the likelihood of unplanned endings. The preparation and assessment of foster carers is good. The vice chair of the fostering panel told the inspector, ‘Assessments really focus on what carers can give unconditionally. You have to be very special to be able to do it.’ A member of the panel said, ‘I feel that the quality of the assessments is excellent and preparation for panel is well thought out and managed.’ The agency decision-maker and panel members themselves have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to make effective decisions that are clearly led by children’s and young people’s best interests. They bring particularly good-quality and long- standing relationships with many local authorities in the West Midlands region. They use these relationships to good effect, by promoting the service to high-calibre prospective carers and by helping the service identify suitable matches based on

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Quality of service

good information exchange. As a result, children and young people enjoy stable placements. The training of foster carers is good. The service’s manager and staff provide good training and they commission relevant additional training. A significant amount of training about therapeutic parenting and behaviour management is delivered to Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Quality of service

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. carers, alongside staff from the organisation’s children’s homes. This provides carers with extra opportunities to understand the needs and complexities of children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. Carers and their households feel well supported by the service. They experience good continuity of supervising social worker and manager. A recent change in supervising social worker has not caused any gap in the regularity and quality of support visits. A long-serving carer told the inspector, ‘They have always been there if I needed any advice.’ Where it adds value to the placement, and helps a child or young person learn more, the supervising social worker or the art therapist provide planned sessions. For

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Quality of service

example, one young person received seven planned sessions on social skills/personal space and boundaries, healthy lifestyles, making friends, setting goals, trust, using the internet safely and understanding and dealing with emotions. Another young person is going to rugby with the supervising social worker. All staff work well with the child’s or young person’s social worker and independent reviewing officer. A social worker said, ‘They report in good time for reviews and send reports of the supervising social worker’s visits. They contribute to care planning, although we could do with a bit more about our young person’s views and wishes. I’d like to praise them – the manager especially. She is always in touch, talking about how he is progressing. She has been able to support and see him and he felt able to talk to her about his feelings.’ All staff advocate well for children and young people. If there are frequent changes of worker from the placing authority,

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Quality of service

the service ensures that children’s and young people’s needs continue to be met. They take a lead in helping to arrange statutory reviews. The manager is willing to challenge local authorities if slow or poor information sharing and delegation of decisions disadvantage children and young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Judgement outcome: Good Children and young people are overcoming their emotional and behavioural difficulties because they feel safe and secure. Their carers talk to them about age- appropriate conduct that will keep them safe. Staff from the service provide specific work to support this when necessary. For example, a young person said that he received good help from the manager and the supervising social worker with safe social networking. He said, ‘I have a phone, but I do text messages not Facebook. I Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Safeguarding children and young people

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. have done some work with them about safe internet and Facebook. Yeah – that helped me understand it all.’ Foster carers are trained to understand that children’s and young people’s unsafe behaviour is a way of communicating. Staff also teach carers to make connections between children’s and young people’s behaviour and their past experiences of abuse, neglect and disorganised attachments to parents and other caregivers. One carer said that they ‘think more about the child’s concerns’ and ‘have more understanding of what the young person must be feeling’, thanks to the training and input of the service’s staff. This enables carers to take the right action to protect and support children and young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Carers are mostly successful in helping children and young people to behave more safely. This is because carers focus well on developing positive, helpful relationships with children and young people. Children and young people therefore understand why it is risky and wrong to share adult or personal material with strangers or to run away. Instead, they browse the internet responsibly, do not miss education and usually tell their carers whom they are with and where they are. The service reviews any incidents of unsafe behaviour of children and young people. Over the last few years, these incidents have included going missing, threats to harm others, damage to the home, overdosing and posting sexual images. Reviews have shown that staff, carers and placing social workers work together closely. The service also works with police, medical professionals and school staff as appropriate. They review the plans to protect children and young people from further harm. Revised

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Safeguarding children and young people

plans include strategies, such as closer supervision, sessions with trained professionals and sensitive guidance and advice. The service has not yet used the recording tools that it has devised to support best practice for young people who are at risk of going missing. Some carers are, therefore, not as well prepared to respond to this as they should be. In addition, staff and carers have not written all risk assessments in a simple, straightforward way or discussed them helpfully with young people. As a result, young people do not always understand what is not allowed and why. For example, young people are unsure why they are not yet trusted on the internet and they do not really know how they can achieve that trust. The recruitment of staff, panel members and carers is extremely thorough. All carers are clear about how to provide safe daily care that minimises the likelihood of allegations, while providing warmth and nurture. The supervising social worker and

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Safeguarding children and young people

manager ensure that annual unannounced visits are made to all carers. They provide annual refresher training on safe care and child protection. They maintain professional relationships with the designated officer for safeguarding in each local Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Safeguarding children and young people

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. authority in which carers live. This ensures that there is prompt referral of any allegation.

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Leadership and management

Judgement outcome: Good The registered manager develops highly effective working relationships with placing authorities and social workers in particular. In 2016, the manager secured the service a place on the region’s contracting consortium. This means that the service has access to a large number of referrals from the local authorities in which carers live. The manager also networks well with fostering providers and local authorities in other regions. This activity informs the service’s recruitment and development strategy. The manager pursues possible matches diligently, particularly by gaining detailed first-hand information from placing social workers. The manager is highly visible to carers and staff in the service. She is highly valued by the organisation and has recently completed her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for care of children and young people. The registered individual said,

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Leadership and management

‘The manager is good at keeping in touch with new carers, ensuring a robust training programme and keeping them all involved.’ The manager plays an active part in developing carers’ skills by providing training in therapeutic parenting. The manager has shifted the service onto a more robust footing during her two years in post. Her agency decision-maker told the inspector, ‘I think immense progress has been made, not in the number of placements and carers, but in the approach. It is much more robust. For example, there is a much more robust central list of panel members [and] good training to panel. More analytical carer assessments are being put forward.’ This work leads to better carers who are confident, ready and able to provide good-quality placements where children and young people make good progress. The development of the service includes some good succession planning. A new manager has recently agreed to join the service. His experience and background in

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Leadership and management

the West Midlands region mean that he can continue the therapeutic ethos described in the service’s statement of purpose. When the manager resigns her registration, she is changing her role. She will focus more on upskilling and supporting carers, particularly in the areas of therapeutic parenting and understanding children’s and young people’s mental health needs. The manager intends that her role will develop a seamless link with the children’s homes that the organisation also runs. Consequently, children and young people benefit from a child-centred approach that Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Leadership and management

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. recognises the complexity of their needs. The manager monitors the quality of the service regularly. She completes annual quality and data forms. She promoted the annual Ofsted survey to staff, carers, children and young people. She looks for trends and patterns in children’s and young people’s outcomes. She is satisfied that children and young people are progressing well in all areas of their development. She scrutinises placement endings and carer resignations and concludes that these were unforeseen and could not have been prevented by better service. The manager is not so methodical about obtaining the views of all children and young people or using their views to improve their outcomes. Nevertheless, she or

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Leadership and management

the supervising social worker sees all children and young people regularly. The manager ensures that action is taken if a child or young person is not making progress or if they are unhappy or unsafe. Although she was not in post at the time, the manager took seriously the results of the Ofsted inspection in 2013. The service was graded satisfactory. She periodically checks that the six requirements and seven recommendations made at that inspection are being met. For example, requirements and recommendations relating to more robust working of the fostering panel and decision-making process are now consistently met. Foster carer agreements are also improved, and young people receive better information sooner about their placements. Allegations about carers are few, but these have been dealt with robustly, in line with good child protection practice and in accordance with fostering regulations and minimum standards.

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Leadership and management

However, the manager has not been sending notifications to Ofsted when serious incidents happen. This makes it difficult for Ofsted to review the quality of the service at times of crisis for children and young people. Nevertheless, the manager has ensured that the right action has been taken to protect and help children and young people. There are also gaps in the information recorded in the register of children and young people in placement. This makes it harder to help children and young people to keep in touch with past and subsequent carers and to achieve better continuity for them. The service’s statement of purpose and children’s guide are not on the company’s website and have not been sent to Ofsted. The absence of up–to-date information in the public domain may adversely affect recruitment to the service. In addition, local authorities cannot easily browse for the ethos and profile of the service. None of

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Leadership and management

these three breaches of regulations has had an adverse impact on the safety and well-being of children and young people. Website: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Leadership and management

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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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