Regional Foster Families – West Midlands

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 1 Regional Foster Placements Regional Foster Placements Limited Registered Office Address: Regional Foster Placements Ltd, Suites 13 & 14, Blackpole Business Centre, Blackpole Road, Worcester, Worcestershire WR3 8SQ, United Kingdom

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Regional Foster Placements is a national independent fostering agency with a number of branches covering England and Wales. This branch is based in Worcester and provides a range of fostering services such as short-term, long-term and emergency care. Currently, there are nine children and young people accessing the fostering service and 12 fostering households .

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Inspection dates: 29 January to 2 February 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The independent fostering agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2013

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This independent fostering agency is good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have good experiences with their foster families and make progress in all areas of their development.  Children build positive and stable relationships with their foster carers and are developing in self-confidence and self-esteem.  Foster carers feel well supported by the agency and are comprehensively prepared to care for children.  Foster carers receive a wide range of training to help them to care for children safely.  Foster carers and staff act swiftly when children go missing or when there are other safeguarding concerns.  Foster carers manage children‟s behaviour through clear and consistent boundaries.  There is a high degree of staff stability and continuity for children and foster carers.  The manager and staff listen to children and value their views and opinions.  The fostering panel provides good independent scrutiny of the quality of foster carer assessments and reviews.

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Key findings from this inspection

The independent fostering agency‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Administrative staff and panel members do not have access to training to develop their understanding of safeguarding and professional practice.  Staff recruitment files do not include a record of relevant qualifications for all staff working for the agency.  The manager does not send Ofsted a copy of the report written following their review of the agency. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 3

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide the chief inspector with a written report in respect of any review conducted regarding the monitoring of the agency. (Regulation 35(2)) 31/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the fostering service has a record of the recruitment and suitability checks which have been carried out for those working for the fostering service, which includes: checks to confirm qualifications which are a requirement and those that are considered by the fostering service to be relevant. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 38, paragraph 19.3(b))  Ensure that all fostering service staff understand what they must do if they receive an allegation or have suspicions that a person may have: a. behaved in a way that has, or may have, harmed a child; b. possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child; or c. behaved towards a child in a way that indicates he or she is unsuitable to work with children. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 44, paragraph 22.1) Specifically, that administrative staff undertake safeguarding training.  Ensure that each person on the central list has access to appropriate training

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Recommendations

and skills development and is kept abreast of relevant changes to legislation and guidance. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 48, paragraph 23.10) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The vast majority of children have good experiences with their foster families. Foster carers are committed to meeting children‟s individual needs. Children make good progress in different aspects of their development. Some children, including children who have special needs, have made enormous strides. For example, one child who has complex health needs has made tremendous progress in the short time that he has been with his current foster carer. He has lost a significant amount of weight and is now following a healthy diet. His skin condition has significantly improved and his language skills are progressing well. In the child‟s review meeting, participants attributed this progress to the good-quality care and high level of nurturing he is receiving from his foster carer. Children build positive and stable relationships with their foster carers. This is because foster carers ensure that children are part of their families and have high

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

aspirations for them. Foster carers work well with other professionals, such as teachers, to ensure that the children have the support that they need. As a result, children are doing well in their education. They are attending school regularly and progressing academically. Even those who historically have struggled in education are supported by their carers to attend and are engaging well in school. Older children and young people are supported well by their carers to develop independence skills. As a result, they are increasing in confidence and self-esteem. The agency has developed a life skills booklet for foster carers to use with young people to help develop their independence skills. This agency helps foster carers prepare children and young people for their next steps. There is one young person who will be remaining with their foster family under a Staying Put arrangement supported by the agency. Consequently, the agency assists young people to remain

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with their foster carers into adulthood, when this is appropriate. Foster carers help and encourage children to see their families, including those who live a considerable distance away. They transport children to pre-arranged contact with families and support contact in their own homes, where this is safe and appropriate. Foster carers feel well supported and prepared by the agency to care for children. They feel the agency is welcoming and the response to their initial enquiry is prompt. One foster carer stated, „I am extremely happy. The support has been phenomenal… I have a psychologist who sees us on a monthly basis… I also have a backup carer who sees (my child) on a weekly basis... My social worker comes out to me and has even offered to do my shopping… I have never had this amount of support before.‟ Foster carer assessments are of a good quality. They are thorough and explore all relevant issues. Foster carers receive a wide range of training to help them to care

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

for children. This includes courses on therapeutic parenting and promoting positive behaviour. New carers are welcomed and prepared well for the fostering task, so that they provide positive outcomes for children from the outset. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 5 Foster carers receive regular visits and telephone calls from supervising social workers and know that they can contact them for help and support when needed. Good support promotes placement stability for the majority of children placed with the agency and contributes to children‟s emotional well-being and sense of belonging. Matching is well considered by the agency. Where placements are planned, introductions include visits and information-sharing prior to placement. This helps to allay children‟s anxieties and enables them to settle in. The voice of the child is well supported by the agency. The agency has developed

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

ways to obtain children‟s views and seek their involvement in the development of the service. The results of these consultations have been used to develop and influence the service. For example, one consultation event led to the children‟s guide being improved. In addition, the agency introduced a “words of advice” column written by a young person as part of an information pack received by all young people. One young person commented, „They are really good, they help whenever you need it. They support you well. They visit and spend time talking to me.‟

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Foster carers have all the information that they need to care for children safely. Safer care policies and risk assessments are conducted at the start of each placement and are reviewed and updated regularly. This ensures that risks are identified and understood by all concerned. There is a good focus on safeguarding which is embedded in foster carers‟ training. Foster carers receive a variety of safeguarding and safer caring training, including radicalisation, internet safety and child sexual abuse. This helps to ensure that foster carers have the skills and knowledge to keep children safe from harm. Arrangements for safeguarding and child protection are good. Foster carers and staff act swiftly when children go missing or when there are other safeguarding concerns. They contact the appropriate safeguarding professionals and work well with them to develop strategies to reduce the level of risk. Foster carers manage children‟s behaviour through clear and consistent boundaries.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

They have access to a clinical psychologist to help them consider alternative strategies for managing behaviour. This helps them to understand the reasons for children‟s behaviour and how to respond in a therapeutic way. Recruitment processes of staff and foster carers ensure that they are all safe to work with children. However, personnel files do not show that some people contracted to work for the agency have the required qualifications to work with children. Procedures are in place to ensure that health and safety checks and unannounced visits are taking place regularly. These checks confirm that foster homes are safe places for children to live.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The service is a small, family based agency that has grown over the years and which Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 6 now has several separately registered offices throughout the country. Since the last inspection, the agency has moved offices within the local area and now occupies two rooms in shared office premises. This has led to difficulties regarding the security of confidential information arriving through the postal service. The manager has taken steps to rectify this so that all information regarding children and foster carers is kept confidential. The foster carers and children continue to enjoy a high degree of staff stability and continuity. The manager and staff team, including independent social workers, have all worked for the agency for many years. The registered manager is highly qualified and experienced. There is a small staff team in the local office consisting of one supervising social worker and one

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

administrator. In addition, the agency uses two independent social workers to conduct foster carer assessments. At the time of the inspection, due to staff sickness, one of the independent social workers was also contracted to provide support and supervision to foster carers. It is testament to the manager that recent unexpected changes to the responsible individual and current staff sickness have had a minimal effect on foster carers and children. The registered manager currently supervises the manager in the North West branch. There are plans for this manager and this branch to register separately with Ofsted. The agency is child focused. The manager and staff listen to children and their foster carers and value their views and opinions. Children and their foster carers have opportunities to enjoy social events and activities and meet with others to share their experiences. The manager is keen to keep learning and developing in line with

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

feedback from children. For example, she has developed a welcome box for children for when they first come into foster care. These boxes include important information for children, along with pens, note pads and a homemade quilt. Following feedback from a child in foster care, the manager has further developed the welcome boxes to include stress balls. The manager maintains good oversight of the functions of the agency. As a result, she is aware of children‟s progress and has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service provided. However, reports written following quality of care reviews are not sent to Ofsted as required. The fostering panel is insightful and challenging. It provides a good level of independent scrutiny to ensure that assessments are conducted to a high standard. The panel chair is experienced and knowledgeable. Members of the fostering panel are diverse and understand the needs of the children who are placed with the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

agency. One independent social worker commented, „Panel is excellent. Panel members are a very welcoming range of people with a broad sweep of knowledge.‟ The manager and staff work in partnership with other professionals. They actively challenge other professionals to make sure that children receive the care and services that they need to grow and develop. For example, the manager has ensured that children‟s life story work and multi-disciplinary meetings are conducted in a timely way. Staff are well supervised and all those working for the agency feel supported in their roles. One member of staff said it was the best organisation he had ever worked for. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 7 The manager receives support and formal supervision from a suitably qualified external professional. Staff, including independent social workers, are committed to their ongoing personal development. However, administrative staff and members of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the fostering panel have not had the same opportunity to undergo training to help them fulfil their roles and responsibilities. This is important, as it would enable all those who work for the agency to have a good knowledge of safeguarding issues. Furthermore, the training would give them opportunities to enable them to develop their knowledge and practice.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the independent fostering agency knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Regional Foster Placements Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Regional Foster Placements, 3 Moorside Court, Yelverton Business Park, Yelverton PL20 7PE

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: wmadmin@regionalfosterplacements.co.uk

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Inspector

Sue Young, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Foster Placements 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children‟s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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