Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales

Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales Barnardo’s Barnardo’s Cymru, Trident Court, East Moors Road, Cardiff CF24 5TD Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

Barnardo’s is a well-established national children’s charity that is also registered as a voluntary adoption agency. It is registered to provide services for domestic adoption and adoption support, including birth records counselling and intermediary services. The agency operates in England, Scotland and Wales. There are six branches in England, one of which provides adoption support services only. There is one branch in Wales, based in Cardiff, which is the subject of this inspection. At the time of the inspection, there were seven approved adoptive families, none of whom had children placed with them. Five adoptive families were approved between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 and 11 children were placed with its adoptive families during that period. Since 1 April 2017, five adoptive families have been approved and two children have been placed for adoption and subsequently adopted.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

Inspection dates: 26 February to 2 March 2018

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good

How well children, young people and adults are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The voluntary adoption agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 27 February 2015

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales

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Key findings from this inspection

This voluntary adoption agency is good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Prospective adopters receive a prompt, informative welcome when they first contact the agency. They have a realistic understanding of the task of being an adoptive parent and they feel valued and supported.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The preparation and assessment of adopters are of a high quality and result in adoptive parents who have the capacity to provide a loving, stable family for children, some of whom have complex needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children thrive in their adoptive families. Their health and education needs are well met and they develop positive attachments to their adoptive parents.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are helped and protected because of the strong focus on safeguarding that is enhanced through training and support.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The agency is child-focused and it works hard to ensure that children receive the best service possible.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is good collaboration with partner agencies to improve outcomes for children. This includes the development of a targeted, child-focused recruitment strategy as a result of working with other voluntary adoption agencies in Wales.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff are well supported through regular supervision and good-quality training.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is robust governance and good monitoring at all managerial levels. This ensures that shortfalls are highlighted at an early stage and action is taken to minimise and rectify these at the earliest opportunity.

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Key findings from this inspection

The voluntary adoption agency’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 No formal requirements or recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection. However, the agency is continuing to develop and formalise feedback mechanisms for adopters, children and other stakeholders.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children’s participation is another area that the agency has recognised as needing further development. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Enquirers receive a warm welcome when they first contact this agency. One adopter described the first contact as ‘very responsive’. Clear verbal and written information is provided promptly and this enables enquirers to make an informed decision about whether adoption is right for them, and if so, whether Barnardo’s is the right agency for them with which to pursue their adoption journey. One adopter said: ‘We found everyone we have met from the agency so far to be very welcoming, kind, considerate and helpful.’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Prospective adopters are well prepared for the task of adoptive parenting. An experienced trainer delivers the preparation training and she ensures that the course includes findings from new research so that it is relevant and up to date. Adopters describe the preparation training as ‘eye-opening’. It challenges their assumptions but in a way that is enabling and supportive. Assessments are thorough and analytical. They are completed within relevant timescales to prevent any delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Adopters express satisfaction with their experiences of adopting through Barnardo’s Cymru. They like the fact that it is a small agency that has a ‘family feel’ to it. One adopter commented: ‘Barnardo’s is an excellent agency that I would highly recommend to anybody thinking of adopting. They are very supportive and answer questions/queries promptly. We always felt very supported and cared about.’ As a result, adopters are able to provide a stable and secure family where children thrive and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Placement matching is well thought out. A designated family finder enhances this process because she is more readily available to exchange information quickly to prevent delay. She also has a good understanding of the capacities of the adopters without placements so that she can suggest the most suitable matches. One adopter described the family finder as ‘excellent’. Adoption social workers support adopters to give full consideration to the information that they have about children. They attend meetings with the adopters, for example, with the medical adviser and children’s social workers. They try hard to obtain any missing information and they support adopters through the matching and introduction process. This ensures that adopters are realistic about the task ahead of them and are confident that they can meet the needs of the children. This gives the placement the best chance of success and therefore promotes placement stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The children placed by this agency are usually older, have complex needs and may be part of a sibling group. Placement stability is usually good, although two children had a placement disruption in the last year. The agency is keen to reflect on the reasons for this and learn any lessons to promote placement stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children are thriving in their adoptive families. They start to form positive attachments and enjoy the experiences that family life can bring. One child’s social worker said: ‘The child is doing fantastically well and the attachment is really good. The child is happy, bright, bubbly and independent.’ An adopter said of her children: ‘They are doing well in school. They have made friends, they are speaking Welsh and they have fitted in.’ Another adopter said: ‘They have made amazing progress. They have come such a long way and Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales are thriving.’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Adopters ensure that children’s health needs are met by registering them with the universal services and arranging specialist appointments if required. Children’s educational needs are met because adopters ensure that they attend the most appropriate school for their needs. Adopters also work well in partnership with the schools to resolve any difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Adoptive parents appreciate the importance of facilitating any contact arrangements with the children’s birth families. They demonstrate empathy and engage in one-off meetings with birth family members when this is deemed appropriate. This engagement and understanding ensure that children can maintain a positive sense of their identity and heritage.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The agency responds promptly to requests for adoption support. For example, one adopter received an email, phone call and visit within a week of contacting the service. This shows that requests for help are taken seriously, and as a result, adoptive families feel valued. The agency was proactive in offering a young person a number of sessions to enable her to voice her opinions about her situation. This was well received and she felt listened to. There are examples of therapeutic and focused work with children, and the agency has a number of therapists it can commission to provide a variety of support if required. The manager has devised a referral form so that adopters can say what they think they need, rather than the agency expecting them to accept what it can provide. This demonstrates a responsive approach to supporting families.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Two areas that the manager has highlighted for development are children’s participation and service user feedback. The agency currently holds two social events a year. Children’s and adopters’ views are gathered informally at these events, but the manager recognises that a more formal approach would strengthen these areas.

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

Safeguarding children is at the heart of the service. There is a strong focus on keeping children safe from harm and ensuring that their welfare is promoted. This begins with making sure that prospective adopters are safe and suitable people to care for children and that they have a realistic understanding of what that entails. The agency undertakes all the required checks and references prior to the commencement of the assessment. Preparation training has a strong focus on all aspects of safeguarding, including safe care, internet safety and how the impact of children’s early experiences manifests itself in behaviour and attachment issues.

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

The agency keeps adopters updated about other aspects of safeguarding that may be more relevant as children become older such as sexual exploitation, radicalisation and extremism. Adopters are able to access training, including training that is available to foster carers, as well as bespoke training and eLearning.

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

Staff have mandatory safeguarding training to ensure that they are aware of their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe from harm. Practice discussions based on Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales research and child practice reviews contribute to enhancing staff’s knowledge and safeguarding practice. Staff are about to have training regarding radicalisation and extremism, although staff have already had briefings about these issues. The agency also has a policy about radicalisation and extremism that relates to foster carers and adopters. This provides advice and guidance to staff, foster carers and adopters to help them identify and respond to concerns appropriately.

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

Staff and panel members are recruited in line with safe recruitment practices to ensure that they are suitable and safe to work with children and vulnerable adults.

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

The manager demonstrates a good understanding of her role in managing allegations. The management of a recent allegation showed prompt, open and honest communication with the local authority as well as openness and honesty in the communication with the people concerned. The manager challenged other agencies about fulfilling their responsibilities in order to protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency is managed by an experienced, qualified manager who also has responsibility for the fostering service. However, she has specific designated hours for the adoption service and there is now a clearer division between the fostering and adoption service. This has developed since the previous inspection and it has enabled her to focus on improving the adoption service. She has addressed all the requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection and, as a result, the service has clearer systems and processes to guide its work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are child-focused and want the very best for children who need an adoptive family. They express a strong commitment to maintaining the adoption service in Wales because they know they have the expertise to recruit and assess families for the Welsh children who are waiting. The number of adopters recruited in the last two years has been limited and the number of placements has been affected by wider adoption issues, but this appears to be changing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have worked hard to raise the profile of Barnardo’s as one of the active partners in the Welsh adoption agenda. There has been lengthy, collaborative working with the other voluntary adoption agencies in Wales to establish ‘Adopting Together’, a child- centred, targeted recruitment strategy that focuses on the hardest-to-place children who have been waiting a long time for an adoptive family. This has also involved working with the regional collaboratives. This strategy is now ready to be implemented. Staff have had training in the strategy, which uses a multidisciplinary team approach to support the child and family before and after the placement is made. The manager has active links with the National Adoption Service and the Welsh adoption register so she is fully apprised of the children waiting for placements. This enables the agency to target adopter recruitment to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported through regular supervision and good communication, both of which have improved over the last year. There have been a number of changes since the last inspection. Specific social workers specialise in adoption, whereas they used to Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales undertake fostering as well. This has improved the focus. The small size of the agency means that independent social workers (ISWs) are used to undertake adopter assessments at times. The manager supervises and supports ISWs well and they speak highly of her input.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training has improved. Staff say that it is now more meaningful to their work and they can use what they learn. Some staff have undertaken dyadic developmental psychotherapy training to enhance their skills in supporting adoptive families. Barnardo’s has invested in staff training and has developed a number of different pathways to training, including an online portal, face-to-face training, both in-house and external, and discussions about practice issues. It has used information from the personal development plans to inform the training schedule so that it meets the expressed needs of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and governance are strong. The responsible individual is fully aware of all aspects of the agency’s functioning. She supervises the head of service, who in turn supervises the manager. There is a systematic approach to regular reporting so that the trustees and senior managers are informed about all aspects of the service on a regular basis. This includes the financial viability. As a result, any shortfalls in service provision or financial concerns can be addressed promptly to minimise the disruption to services and improve practices. The manager has a good knowledge of the service, including how children are progressing in their placements. An outcomes tracker is used to provide a pictorial representation of progress. Adopters know the manager well and she is available to them. One adopter said: ‘Caroline (the manager) is excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The adoption panel is properly constituted and provides robust oversight of the work of the agency. It is not afraid to challenge the agency if it thinks that further information is required to enable it to make a secure and safe recommendation about an adopter’s suitability. Panel members bring a range of different professional and personal experiences of adoption that enable them to contribute a variety of viewpoints when considering adopter assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is good and effective in both the making of and support to placements. Local authority social workers are satisfied with the level of communication and the support that the agency’s social workers provide to the adopters. However, the manager is not afraid to challenge when she feels the responses from partner agencies are not as good as they should be. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, young people and adults. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children, young people and adults. They watched how professional staff work with children, young people, adults and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families, and adult service users. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the voluntary adoption agency knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children, young people and adults 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 Voluntary Adoption Agencies and the Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005, any other relevant legislation, and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider address: Barnardo’s, Unit 31A Silver Fox Road, Cobalt Business Park, Newcastle NE2 0QJ

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Email address: brenda.farrell@barnardos.org.uk

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Inspector

Ros Chapman, social care inspector Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Barnardo’s - Cymru Adoption Service South Wales 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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