Aspirations Fostering Limited

Aspirations Fostering Limited Inspection report for independent fostering agency

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Unique reference number 1227778 Inspection date 13/03/2017 Inspector Rosie Davie Type of inspection Full Provision subtype

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Setting address Long Acre Farm, Hockley, Essex, SS5 5LR

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Telephone number 07912 618 298 Email angie.kirby@aspirationsfostering.co.uk Registered person Angela Kirby Registered manager Angela Kirby Responsible individual Kenneth Johnson Date of last inspection N/A

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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 safeguarded

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

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

Registered in 2016, this new agency has particular strengths. The registered manager is highly visible, ambitious and efficient. From the inception of the service, she and the like-minded responsible individual have worked together to create the agency‟s ethos. Working collaboratively with placing authorities and shoulder-to- shoulder with foster carers, they are motivated to deliver a service that changes the lives of children.

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Overall effectiveness

The current children are making good, steady progress. All of the current foster carers are very experienced, having transferred from other agencies. The children in placement who have transferred with their foster carers are settled, established and an integral part of their foster family. These children have been sensitively included in the process of their carers‟ reassessment and the transition process. The children who have been placed since the agency‟s registration with Ofsted make outstanding progress. One placing local authority social worker said, „Our children‟s needs are being fully met by these carers. They are one of the best foster families that I have come across.‟

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Overall effectiveness

The matching for the new children is approached carefully and in partnership with the carers. Where there is a lack of detailed information forthcoming from the placing authorities, the registered manager is quick to act. She advocates for the child, to ensure that the carers have what they require to meet the individual child‟s needs. This sets the scene for placement stability and effective working partnerships.

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Overall effectiveness

In its infancy, the agency is keen to develop systems and processes, which means that the views of the children and the foster carers are at the heart of practice. This means that their input will shape this evolving service.

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 The panel chair must ensure that the written minutes of panel meetings clearly record the reasons for the recommendations. This is with particular reference to recording the specific reasons for recommending the age range, gender and number of children. (national minimum standards, paragraph 14.7)

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and young people

All of the children receive information about the agency to help them to understand what it means to be part of Aspirations Fostering. The children‟s guide says, „Foster carers are special people who have been carefully chosen to look after children.‟ The information helps to reassure the children that their welfare and well-being is central. One child said, „When the manager came to see me, she spent time talking to me on my own about what Aspirations Fostering will be doing to help me, and she also gave me a children‟s guide.‟

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and young people

In a short time, children coming into foster care for the first time make remarkable progress across all areas of development and well-being. Each of the foster carers promotes and encourages education and learning for their child. Some of the children are preparing to sit GCSEs. One carer said, „My child is not so keen on studying so I set up the computer and sit with him to help him.‟ Another carer said, „One of the children has not been educated in a school environment. While we talk to the placing authority about the education plan we are helping him to learn about some of the things that most children of his age would know about.‟ One social worker said, „The change in our children in a short time is striking. They are different children from a few months ago.‟

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and young people

Children from all age ranges benefit from the opportunity to take part in a diverse range of sporting and recreational activities as well as holidays and cultural visits. Reflecting on the children‟s plans, the foster carers support family contact. This ranges from providing emotional support and transport for local-authority-supervised arrangements, to ensuring that children with siblings have the opportunity to meet regularly. This approach is respectful of each child‟s family of origin and helps individual children to maintain their identity.

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and young people

Through the assessment process, those children transferring with their carers have the opportunity to have their say about their placement plan. Where appropriate, „staying put‟ arrangements are available for some of the children. One carer said, „We often laugh together and say, “you will be here until you are 30”.‟ This opportunity provides the children with the option of extended stability and security.

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and young people

There is an electronic system to ensure that the written information produced by the foster carers reaches the placing local authority. The system also enables the supervising social workers to be dynamically aware of any behaviours of concern which would require a more proactive response from the system surrounding the child. This approach helps the carers to know that the agency is actively involved in working with them to identify strategies to reduce risk and increase support. One carer said, „We have been asking for some therapeutic support for one of our children for some time, and in moving to this agency we are confident that he will receive what he needs.‟

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Quality of service

To date, the carers moving to this agency live within Essex, which means that they are within easy reach of the office base. This makes attendance at training, and the up-and-coming support groups for carers, geographically practical. The agency is in a good position to offer services for children who have complex social histories and more challenging behaviours. This is because the current cohort of carers are experienced, and some plan to be available to support carers coming through who are new to fostering. One carer said, „The registered manager wants us all to get to know one another.‟

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Quality of service

The carers are aware of their respective delegated responsibilities. The current carers bring with them the learning achieved from the other agencies they have been with, and this includes the training, support and development standards in foster care. In this agency, all of the carers can access and have completed a number of online training courses. The registered manager has commissioned face-to-face training including preparing young people for independence, equality and diversity and safer caring, which is also one of the core training courses. One carer said, „The registered manager has made it very clear to us that she expects all of us to keep up with our training and I think that is very good.‟ This means that the agency is setting the scene for professional working relationships with each carer household.

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Quality of service

The agency would like to recruit carers from a range of social and cultural backgrounds to meet the diverse needs of the numbers of children already referred by surrounding local authorities. Leaflet drops and internet exposure are used to raise the profile of the agency, but to date, word of mouth has been the most powerful advert. More than one carer said, „I have had the opportunity to work with the registered manager previously and I have confidence in her.‟

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Quality of service

All of the foster carers receive at least monthly formal supervision, and a copy of their supervision notes is made available to them. This ensures that carers are receiving good quality support. The registered manager delivers the out-of-office- hours service. More than one carer spoke about the belief that they have in the registered manager to be available. One said, „I did need to call at all times of the day and night, and she was always available.‟

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Quality of service

The agency employs the services of a very small number of independent social workers to undertake some assessments. The workers are very experienced in fostering. The result is that they produce thorough and comprehensive assessments of the carers and their families‟ circumstances. The quality of the assessment process is not compromised because some of the families have been foster carers previously. The required background checks and references are sought from the previous fostering agency, and a detailed, evaluative assessment is presented to the fostering panel. While newly constituted, and operational for a few months, the membership of the foster panel reflects a body of significant knowledge and experience in social care, education and fostering. The current chairperson is a very experienced foster carer registered with another agency. The written reports from the medical adviser add a clear and concise perspective outlining the possible impact on the individual‟s ability

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Quality of service

to foster from the health assessment. Minutes show that professional curiosity is carefully applied to gather additional information to scrutinise potential carers‟ suitability. The reasons for recommending approval to the agency decision-maker for an individual or couple to become foster carers are clearly set out at the end of the minutes. However, of the minutes sampled, the reasons do not go far enough to explain the rationale for recommending approval in relation to recommending the age range, gender and number of children. This is a minor shortfall, which has minimal impact on the current carers and no impact for any of the current children in placement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The children living with their foster families are safe. They can confidently identify individuals from their network to approach, should difficulties or concerns arise. The two colourful and informative children‟s guides provide clear information for those children who can read, should they wish to make a complaint. One child said, „When the supervising social worker comes to see my foster parents, she makes time to speak to me and will talk to me on my own and ask me how I am getting on.‟ This practice helps to minimise complacency in relation to those children who have been in placement for a number of years. This also helps those children who are new to foster care to see that there is a range of adults who want to know that they are well placed and have concern for their well-being.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safeguarding is a mandatory post-approval training for all households. Unannounced visits have begun. There have been no allegations made in relation to foster carers‟ practice or suspicions of harm raised. The agency‟s policies set out the action that will be taken in the event of a matter of concern being brought to the manager‟s attention. The registered manager is clear about the role of the designated officer and other agencies‟ responsibilities to take action to safeguard children.

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Safeguarding children and young people

On a case-by-case basis, the registered manager is developing effective and professional working relationships with the network of services involved with all children, particularly with those services who engage in more concerning behaviours, such as missing or child sexual exploitation. This approach helps those children to understand that their risk-taking behaviour has an impact and that the adults are working together to prioritise their safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The foster carers complete safer caring policies, which set out the household‟s approach to day-to-day approaches to privacy and personal space. Individualised plans are completed for each child. The combined approach helps each member of the household to know what the rules are, towards safe and respectful behaviours. This helps children to know what to expect and to feel safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Pre-employment checks are rigorous. The recruitment and vetting processes, for the staff completing assessments and providing support to the carers and for the panel members, are thorough and robust. The systems and processes are designed to preclude unsuitable individuals from having access to any children.

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Leadership and management

The registered manager, who is also one of the founder-owners, has significant, relevant experience. This is because she has worked in social care for many years. She has been involved in fostering, including having previously successfully held the role of registered manager. This means that she has a good network of local, professional support and advice to draw from. She and the responsible individual have a good understanding of the emotional needs of the children that the agency seeks to provide for. Combined, they have good knowledge and understanding of the functions and responsibilities of other services, such as health and education. The result is that they are well placed to support the foster carers to deliver positive outcomes for the children in their care.

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Leadership and management

The registered manager currently provides the vast majority of the day-to-day supervision and support for the approved foster carers. This means that she has up- to-date and accurate knowledge about the detail of the children‟s plans. This helps her to advocate for the children and to dynamically drive progression for each individual. One carer said, „My experience of the registered manager over a number of years is that when she says that she is going to do something to help a child, it happens.‟

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Leadership and management

The systems in place for quality assurance of the service are developing. As the agency moves into its second year, the registered manager is preparing to take on a small number of staff. She has various plans to develop the children‟s and carers‟ participation in the running of the service. For example, she is keen to include children‟s questions during staff interview panels. This means that there is an inclusive approach. Above all, she and the responsible individual are motivated to maintain a small agency, and she said, „We never want to get so big that we do not know the needs of the individual children.‟

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Leadership and management

The statement of purpose accurately reflects this agency intention. It states, „Foster carers recruited to the company will share the vision and ethos of the manager and staff, which is to have high aspirations for all children and to strive to ensure the best possible outcomes for them are achieved.‟

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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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