Setting

X10029.doc Version 1.40 Page 1 FOSTERING SERVICE

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PR1 3EA

Lead Inspector Helen Humphreys Announced Inspection 7 th -24 th August 2006 09:30 Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 2 The Commission for Social Care Inspection aims to:

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PR1 3EA

• Put the people who use social care first • Improve services and stamp out bad practice • Be an expert voice on social care • Practise what we preach in our own organisation

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PR1 3EA

Reader Information Document Purpose Inspection Report Author CSCI Audience General Public Further copies from 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Copyright This report is copyright Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and may only be used in its entirety. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the express permission of CSCI Internet address www.csci.org.uk Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 3 This is a report of an inspection to assess whether services are meeting the needs of people who use them. The legal basis for conducting inspections is the Care Standards Act 2000 and the relevant National Minimum Standards for this establishment are those for Fostering Services. They can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or obtained from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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PR1 3EA

Every Child Matters, outlined the government’s vision for children’s services and formed the basis of the Children Act 2004. It provides a framework for inspection so that children’s services should be judged on their contribution to the outcomes considered essential to wellbeing in childhood and later life. Those outcomes are: • Being healthy • Staying safe • Enjoying and achieving • Making a contribution; and • Achieving economic wellbeing.

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PR1 3EA

In response, the Commission for Social Care Inspection has re-ordered the national minimum standards for children’s services under the five outcomes, for reporting purposes. A further section has been created under ‘Management’ to cover those issues that will potentially impact on all the outcomes above.

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PR1 3EA

Copies of Every Child Matters and The Children Act 2004 are available from The Stationery Office as above This report is a public document. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the prior permission of the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 4

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Name of service

Lancashire County Council Fostering Services

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Name of service

Address Room 308, Social Services Directorate PO Box 162, East Cliff County Offices Preston Lancashire PR1 3EA Telephone number 01772 264429

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manager (if applicable)

Type of registration Local Auth Fostering Service Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 5

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Conditions of registration:

Date of last inspection 20th February 2006

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Brief Description of the Service:

Lancashire County Council's fostering agency is part of the Directorate for Children and Young People.

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Brief Description of the Service:

There are currently five family placement teams across the covering the areas of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, Northwest Lancashire, Morecambe Bay and South Lancashire.

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Brief Description of the Service:

There has recently been a partial restructuring of the fostering, adoption and disability services with an aim that this will be completed by October 1 st . The fostering services have come under local area line management arrangements. Area managers are the decision-makers for fostering in addition to managing the children's fieldwork services. A major re-design of children’s services is planned for April 2007.

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Brief Description of the Service:

In addition to area management arrangements, fostering services across the County are led by Dave McHale who has the role of ‘Registered Manager’ and leads on quality assurance, review, performance and compliance and Paul Heggarty who has the lead on fostering development, through the County Strategic Family placement meeting which meets monthly. The Head of Fieldwork services chairs the County Fostering Strategic Group which has an over view on fostering activity across the County.

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Brief Description of the Service:

The service provides the following fostering resources: Fostering Focus (Specialist Fee Paid Fostering), which is not locally managed, Task Centred Fostering (undertaking work associated with short-term foster care), and the permanence team, undertaking work associated with long-term fostering and adoption.

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Brief Description of the Service:

The fostering service works in partnership with various voluntary and independent agencies, and has corporate membership of the British agencies for Fostering and Adoption and Fostering network.

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Brief Description of the Service:

As this is a local authority service there is no fee structure. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 6

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SUMMARY

This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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SUMMARY

This was an announced inspection and was carried out by two inspectors over a two-week period. The inspection focussed on activity in the Northwest Lancashire (NWL) office but also included other information from across the service as a whole. The inspection included, interviews with the Head of Children’s Social Care Services and Head of field work services, the registered manager for the service, the manager who holds the ‘portfolio’ for the service, the area manager for NWL and other managers within the service at NWL. A range of other professionals were interviewed including a manager within the health service, a member of staff from the Education team, the contracts manager, County Training Manager, Children’s Right’s Manager, an Independent Reviewing Officer and a Policy Officer.

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SUMMARY

A group of staff who work in the fostering teams in NWL were interviewed and various other discussions were held and meetings observed including attendance at a foster carer’s support group in Fleetwood. A meeting of the Panel held in NWL was observed and an interview was undertaken with the Panel Chair.

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SUMMARY

A case tracking exercise was undertaken of four young people from NWL and their homes were visited and interviews were held with them and their carers. The files of these young people and their carers were read.

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SUMMARY

A range of other records were inspected including an examination of files of carers where allegations have been made in the previous 6 months from across the County.

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SUMMARY

Questionnaires were sent to all carers and young people in the NWL area and the fostering staff and social workers involved in their care. 17 young people, 20 foster carers, 7 parents of children in foster care and 21 social work staff responded, which is a good response and their contributions are included in this report and have helped the inspectors form their judgements.

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SUMMARY

Issues in relation to practice which were raised through the questionnaires with managers, received a pro-active response.

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What the service does well:

This service is generally providing a good service to carers managed locally by keen and committed managers with an experienced work force, including skilled and enthusiastic workers.

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What the service does well:

Most carers were satisfied with the support they received from the staff on the fostering teams and their comments included, ‘…Very supportive when I have a Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 7 problem with any of the children, very approachable, I feel I could ask them anything’ and ‘telephone calls are responded to immediately, manager available to speak to if necessary’.

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What the service does well:

Carers who were met during this inspection were generally providing a good service to the young people they were caring for.

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What the service does well:

Young people who were met or completed questionnaires were satisfied with their care arrangements and most appeared to be doing well and making progress in their placements. Their comments in response to the question ‘Do you feel well cared for included, ‘yes because I get fed, have a bed and toys, have clothes and get to do lots of activities’ and I feel more free here and I love them to both to pieces and they are always there if I am feeling down’

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What the service does well:

The Fostering Focus team has a good reputation for providing placements for the ‘harder to place’ young people and a good number are now placed in permanent placements who previously might have been placed outside Lancashire or in residential units. However at the time of the inspection it was reported that 35 children were waiting to be placed within the Fostering Focus Service.

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What the service does well:

The Contract officer was working with other local authorities in the region to develop a policy on the use of independent agencies and create a ‘preferred list’. It was reported that the use of agency placements are monitored by the Head of Service.

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What the service does well:

There are a number of plans in the early stage of development which will contribute to the improvement of the overall service but managers agreed that the impact of this was limited, however many were promising. The drive and dedication of the managers to make overall improvements was impressive. Most managers could recognise that there was a lot of work required to drive improvements forward within the service and one said, ‘We know where we want to go, we know what we need to do to achieve it and we know what are the blocks to getting there’.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the service has made progress on the action plan created following receipt of the report. A thorough review of the personnel files has been undertaken and an audit system has been put in place.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection there has been a partial restructuring of the fostering service and service to children with disabilities and it was anticipated that this would be complete by October 1 st 2006. This has brought the fieldwork staff in the ‘permanency’ teams and the family support teams together under one management structure so that there are closer links. Staff identified this as the most important improvement since the last inspection. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 8 There has been a drive to ensure that more information is made available to carers and family placement staff at the point of placement. In particular this relates to general information about the young people and health care information and there are now protocols in place to ensure that this happens. From the files inspected there was some evidence of improvement.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Systems have also been put in place to ensure that children in placement receive regular visits from their social workers and from the files inspected and from questionnaires more young people are seeing their social workers on a regular basis.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The Youth Participation Officer, who recently left the authority and is in the process of being replaced, in conjunction with staff from the independent Children’s rights service and a group of young people have created new questionnaires for young people to complete prior to their reviews. This has raised the profile of the reviews in general to ensure that there is greater participation by young people. Although this work is not complete the work so far was encouraging.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The work of the Looked After Children’s Nurses means that more young people have had health care assessments and their overall service to children in placement is developing.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The County has a service level agreement with The Children’s Society to provide a Children’s Rights Service who provide a good service and have over the last 12 months improved their service to fostered children and have led on a number of the youth participation projects.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The County Strategic Family placement meeting has identified 8 areas of development of the service, including work on recruitment, use of physical restraint by carers, and training. These pieces of work were in various stages of completion and were being monitored by the team to further develop the service to young people and carers. However the business plan in relation to this was still being developed.

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What they could do better:

As has been reported in the last section there are a number of developments taking place within the service. However some of these pieces of work could be developed further and there are additional areas, which require further work.

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What they could do better:

The service from The Community Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) by some staff and carers is described as variable with some reporting a good service and others having to wait a long time for an initial appointment. Some staff said that at times this was threatening the stability of a placement.

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What they could do better:

The LAC nurses undertake a range of activities and see some young people on a regular basis identified that their service would improved if they could attend Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 9 carer’s support groups to talk directly to carers and give advice or training, on subjects as developing healthy life styles for themselves and young people.

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What they could do better:

The Fostering service does not have access to a Medical Advisor to provide advice to panels and staff undertaking assessments of carers. This is important to ensure that when decisions are made regarding whether a carer is suitable they have appropriate and timely advice.

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What they could do better:

On some files inspected there were health care plans in place, however not all had them. It was reported that these should be checked at statutory reviews, but that this does not always happen. It is important that there are mechanisms in place to ensure that all young people have health care plans and that these are regularly monitored.

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What they could do better:

Records are kept of the allegations made against carers which are overseen by the Safeguarding manager. From the files inspected appropriate procedures have been followed in recent months, however this information was not examined to look for emerging patterns and trends so that concerns could be identified or learning opportunities recognised. On files it was not clear if some carers had been kept informed of the outcomes of allegations in a timely way. Inspectors from CSCI are not always notified of the outcome of allegations.

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What they could do better:

Managers confirmed that there is no anti-bullying policy in place for foster carers and fostered children. This should be developed and communicated to carers and social work professionals to ensure that young people receive a pro- active response.

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What they could do better:

The Foster Carer’s Handbook contains information and advice to carers on what to do if a child is missing from the carer’s home. In parts this is not clear and decisions regarding the timing of the involvement of the police should be agreed by the carer and social worker based on a risk assessment and be included in the family safe caring policy.

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What they could do better:

A working group is looking at the question as to whether carers should use physical restraint, this debate has been ongoing for some time. A decision should made quickly and an appropriate policy be developed so that carers and staff are aware of this. Individual behaviour strategies should be developed for young people whose behaviour is difficult to manage.

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What they could do better:

There are no written matching decisions made for young people placed with task centred carers or fostering focus carers. This is important so that gaps in the placement can be identified and filled and so that in later years young people can know why they were placed with particular carers.

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What they could do better:

Lancashire as a whole has an insufficient numbers of carers to meet their needs and there is no robust recruitment strategy to address this issue. This weakens the matching process and means that rarely is there a choice of placements. In the NWL there were a high number of exemptions and this is partially based on an insufficient number of carers. There was no monitoring of Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 10 the use of exemptions or looking to reassess carers who frequently had exemptions. At least one carer in NWL was looking after a child outside her approval range.

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What they could do better:

Carers are informed in the Foster Carer’s Handbook that they can choose their own babysitters. This is not currently monitored by staff who should be aware of the list of people carers use as babysitters.

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What they could do better:

There was general agreement amongst managers that the written assessments of carers could be better, on the overall quality, use of language and better use of analysis and routine interviewing of ex partners. There is no system to re- assess carers who were originally assessed a long time ago or when carers move house or had a change in martial status etc.

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What they could do better:

There is work in hand to further develop the Fostering Panels with the appointment of an independent Panel Manager and 2 independent reviewing officers for carers. However this work could also go further to include a review of panel membership including greater use of independent members, the role of elected members within the wider council services, the development of policies and procedures including the use of an appeal process and decision making where the panel members cannot agree, and a quality assurance role. At present the Area managers are the decision makers and continuing work is required to ensure that there is consistency with decision making across the County.

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What they could do better:

The strategy for the development of education of Looked After children is in hand, although some further work is required prior to implementation. Once in place this should be communicated to carers so that they are aware of their responsibilities.

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What they could do better:

It was reported that work is in hand to develop a Personal Education Plan (PEP) for young people, which will be more user friendly and helpful to young people. There was uncertainty amongst staff as to whether carers should have copies of the plans, this should be resolved and these should be checked at statutory reviews and regularly reviewed.

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What they could do better:

Some carers complained that decision making about and obtaining permission for young people so that they can go on school trips, camps and join clubs was overly bureaucratic and that social work staff were not always helpful, particularly when a decision was required quickly. This had prevented at least two young people from joining an appropriate activity.

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What they could do better:

From questionnaires and meeting with carers it was clear there is a need to provide further training and understanding on meeting the needs of children who are black or from an ethnic minority heritage. Although training is offered the take up is often low and staff need to find different ways to encourage greater understanding and knowledge. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 11 The questionnaires from parents, carers, young people and visits showed evidence that there were some communication issues about contact which need resolving and ongoing dialogue is required between parents, young people and carers.

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What they could do better:

As reported previously new materials for use at statutory reviews have been created which were good, these should now be circulated for use. However the overall review system could be improved if more young people could be encouraged to attend their reviews and if the minutes could be written in such a way that they are easier to read and do not contain information from previous meetings.

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What they could do better:

The Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) have been upgraded in line with the new legislation. Staff within the County are beginning to get used to their new powers e.g. ‘Starred recommendations’ and managers should continue to provide briefings or trainings to the IROs and fieldwork staff in understanding how this improves outcomes for young people. There was some evidence that although the care plans, PEPs and health care plans were to be reviewed at the statutory review, this was not always possible.

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What they could do better:

The County has recently separated the children’s complaints procedure from adult services and there was general agreement that this had improved the way young people could make complaints. However no one within the county monitors the complaints made to identify patterns and trends or learning opportunities for staff or carers.

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What they could do better:

It was identified at the last inspection that there were some concerns about payments of allowances and this was raised again by carers and staff and clearly leads to dissatisfaction and resentment amongst carers when matters are not dealt with quickly.

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What they could do better:

There is no robust monitoring system in place, which meets the Regulations and NMS, which in particular monitors the carers and various other matters, so that patterns and trends can be identified. Some managers indicated a lack of knowledge that this was their responsibility.

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What they could do better:

Some managers and staff within the fostering service did not seem to have a thorough knowledge of the relevant Regulations and NMS in order to ensure that they were implementing them and following these and that they had a responsibility to children placed and the carers.

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What they could do better:

The training brochure for carers covers a range of training issues and is presented in an attractive format, which indicates that carers are valued. However many carers do not attend training for a range of reasons, even some of the Fostering Focus carers and in order that the more carers can access this more creative ways should be offered to encourage carers to attend and greater use of support groups should be explored. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 12 Following the restructuring there are a number of first and second line managers in family placement and the management training should be developed to include service specific training in order to support and deliver the developments of the service. This should help the teams to become more target driven, within appropriate timescales, which are well known to staff so that finite resources can be used

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What they could do better:

more effectively and the overall service continues to improve.

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What they could do better:

Please contact the provider for advice of actions taken in response to this inspection. The report of this inspection is available from enquiries@csci.gsi.gov.uk or by contacting your local CSCI office. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 13

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CONTENTS

Statutory Requirements Identified During the Inspection Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 14

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The intended outcome for this Standard is:

• The fostering service promotes the health and development of children.(NMS 12)

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The Commission considers Standard 12 the key standard to be

inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at the outcome for Standard:

The quality in this outcome area is adequate. The carers and staff are promoting the good health and welfare of the young people placed but access to some services, information and training are inconsistent

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at the outcome for Standard:

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in North West Lancashire.

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EVIDENCE:

There has been an overall increase in the number of the young people who are receiving a health care assessment and the LAC nurses are pro-active in providing a good service to look after children. They have increased their activity with fostered children over the last 12 months. There was evidence of good joint working in NWL between the PCT and the local social work office. The LAC nurses were involved in delivering multi agency training on health care matters.

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EVIDENCE:

Some young people had health care plans and the carers were aware of these and were using the information. Most carers said that they had sufficient health care information in order to care for the young people placed.

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EVIDENCE:

Young people said that carers helped to keep them healthy by giving them healthy food to eat and encouraging them in active exercise.

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EVIDENCE:

All young people seen were registered with the local GP and other medical practitioners and said that carers look after them when they were ill.

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EVIDENCE:

Arrangements have been made locally for young people to be able to access dentists and avoid having to join long waiting lists. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 15 The service offered by CAMHS varied across the County and in particular in NWL it was considered to be inconsistent. Some staff reported a good service whereas others were not as positive. Carers where they were aware gave a similar response. At least one young person has to wait over 12 months for an appointment even though this has been raised at his reviews. Some staff said that this long wait does affect the stability of placements.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers are offered training in first aid, health and hygiene, drugs and sex and relationships. However take up of places is inconsistent across the county. Carers who had attended the training had found this helpful and the quality of the training good.

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EVIDENCE:

The LAC nurses do not visit carer support groups and if they did this would mean that carers would have direct access to additional sources of health care information and advice. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 16

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The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• Any persons carrying on or managing the service are suitable. (NMS 3) • The fostering service provides suitable foster carers.(NMS 6) • The service matches children to carers appropriately.(NMS 8) • The fostering service protects each child or young person from abuse and neglect.(NMS 9) • The people who work in or for the fostering service are suitable to work with children and young people.(NMS 15) • Fostering panels are organised efficiently and effectively.(NMS 30)

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The Commission considers Standards 3, 6, 8, 9, 15 and 30 the key

standards to be inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following Standard(s):

The quality in this outcome area is adequate The overall safety of children placed has improved, but further improvement in matching and quality assurance by the fostering panel is needed to complete the quality assurance function.

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JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following Standard(s):

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in Northwest Lancashire.

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EVIDENCE:

Three personnel files selected at random from a number provided were examined. All appropriate documents were in place and there was evidence of an appropriate recruitment process being undertaken. Changes as result of the last inspection had been implemented and were known to senior managers.

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EVIDENCE:

Generally the carers seen at this inspection and the previous one undertaken in East Lancashire were found to be suitable and their homes could comfortably provide for the young people placed. All young people seen on this inspection had their own bedrooms. Appropriate facilities for a child with disabilities had been provided.

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EVIDENCE:

Figures provided by Lancashire indicated that disruption rates particularly within the Fostering Focus Service are low. There was evidence of introductions Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 17 of young people to planned placements recorded on file and one young person said that he valued this.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers have been offered training in health and safety, safe caring and child protection. However training on safe caring had been cancelled due to low numbers wanting to attend the training.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers had developed safe caring policies and health and safety check lists were in use and were updated as required.

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EVIDENCE:

Unannounced visits were undertaken and recorded and carers were aware of the need for them. There was evidence on file that most young people receive regular visits from social workers and that they were being seen alone.

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EVIDENCE:

There are insufficient numbers of carers within the task centred team to ensure that every child is appropriately matched. Staff at all levels recognised that there is a shortage of carers to meet the needs of all the children requiring a placement. On occasions carers reported that they feel under pressure to take placements and the inspectors were advised of this. Staff said that they often have to rely on the good will of carers to take placements, which are not always suitable. Social workers reported that there is rarely a choice of carers and that some young people have many moves prior to being established in a permanent placement. Information was also received that placement movement was also affecting educational achievement particularly in year 11 as some children had to move schools or the disruption on placement affected stability in other parts of their lives.

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EVIDENCE:

The records indicated that there were a high number of exemptions in order to place children. The process for obtaining exemptions at the point of placement was known and decision-making was at an appropriate level. There were instances of where exemptions were taken to panel, ‘after the event’. Inspectors could find no evidence of a system to monitor the number of exemptions and whether more appropriate planning could have avoided the need for this. There also did not seem to be a system to reassess carers who regularly had exemptions so that there could be a formal review of their capacity to provide additional placements or within a different age range.

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EVIDENCE:

Inspectors observed a positive and productive meeting where all task centred and permanency placements were reviewed and decisions were made regarding potential new placements. There was evidence of good joint working between fieldwork staff and family placement staff to plan carefully and reduce the need for too many emergency placements and unnecessary moves.

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EVIDENCE:

It was recognised within the service that staff were not always able to provide carers who could meet the needs of the young people with disabilities and specific religious and cultural needs. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 18 Matching decisions are not recorded formally on the file and this should be done so that gaps in provision can be identified, and so that in the future children have a record of why they were placed with particular carers.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers seen on this occasion said that they had received enough information at the point of placement. Changes had been made following the last inspection and a protocol had been written in the NWL office to ensure that information was made available.

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EVIDENCE:

The Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) is undertaking an audit of training needs of all staff regarding child protection training and this includes foster carers. The outcome of this will influence the future training needs and programmes.

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EVIDENCE:

There has been a debate ongoing for over 12 months on whether carers should be allowed to use physical intervention and be trained in the use of this. A ‘task and finish’ group formed from within membership of the County Strategic Family placement team have been charged with developing a policy. This long- standing matter should now be resolved and an appropriate policy be determined. This should also include guidance for carers to use in an emergency situation with young people whose behaviour can be challenging or difficult. Individual behaviour strategies should be developed as required as part of the safe care policy and using risk assessments.

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EVIDENCE:

Notice of allegations made about carers are notified to CSCI and received on a regular basis. However notification of outcomes is not always made known and this would be helpful for monitoring purposes. Inspectors are routinely invited to strategy meetings and receive minutes. The files of carers who had been subject to an allegation over the last 6 months from across the county were reviewed and appropriate procedures had been followed. However the carers were not always notified in a timely way of the outcome and practice was inconsistent. This information is held centrally by the LSCB manager, however there is no system in place to analyse and report any themes and patterns to fostering managers, the LSCB or fostering strategic group. During an investigation carers are provided with support by an external organisation and a number of carers appear to have taken up this service.

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EVIDENCE:

There is no anti-bullying policy and procedures for children in foster care. Two young people said, via their questionnaires, that they were being bullied and this was passed on to managers to follow up.

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EVIDENCE:

Inspectors were advised that there is a new protocol in place for dealing with young people who are ‘missing from home’ (MFH) but this has not as yet been launched to carers. Some of the information and guidance in the foster carers’ handbook does not make it clear when carers should report young people missing and this should be amended and individual strategies should be Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 19 developed when young people are regularly missing from home, based on individual risk, age and ability etc. Information was given to inspectors by some carers that when they had tried to report young people MFH to the Emergency Duty team via the carers’ helpline that they had not had a helpful response and were uncertain as to what they should do in the future.

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EVIDENCE:

The majority of staff seen presented as experienced, committed and skilled in their work. However it is recognised that developmental opportunities are required to bring all staff up to the same standards. There was general agreement that the system for Panels, Panel chairs and decision makers need further development and some of this work was in hand via the County Family Placement Team. It is planned that a Panel manager will be appointed who will chair all the Panels in the county and manage 2 reviewing officers who will undertake the foster carer’s reviews. These appointments are due to be made by the end of September.

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EVIDENCE:

Further work is required on the development of appropriate policies and procedures and Inspectors were advised that those in place were not adequate. The development of the procedures should include information on quality assurance so that the Panel can continue to contribute the overall improvement of the service and decision-making.

p.19

EVIDENCE:

The Panel observed did not meet the NMS in that there was no one appointed who had previously been in care, or had a child in care. The number of independent members was sufficient to meet the Regulations, but the Panel would be strengthened with the appointment of more independent members who are prepared to challenge the matters brought to the Panel and have no prior or ‘other’ information about the cases. More independent members would also ease the difficulty in gaining quoracy for the panel meetings. Although the Panel had not been inquorate, in recent months, Inspectors were advised that it could be difficult with only 2 independent members appointed.

p.19

EVIDENCE:

Inspectors were advised that Elected members do attend the Panel, although not present on the day of the inspection and that work is in hand to advise them of their role. However this work should include how Elected members can support or advise the fostering service within wider aspects of the county council, for example with housing or education and ‘corporate parent’ matters.

p.19

EVIDENCE:

The Area managers are the decision makers for the Panels, and it was reported that training is planned for them and that their role is discussed at the Fostering Strategic Group. However this work should also include focus on consistency so that carers and young people receive the same level of service irrespective of where they are located within the county.

p.19

EVIDENCE:

There is no medical advisor appointed to the Panel or someone named whom social workers can access for advice about any health issues arising out of Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 20 assessments. One manager advised that she will try and obtain information from GPs but this is time consuming and not always effective. A health care matter was raised at the Panel and the Panel chair had no route to obtain further information about a medical condition of a potential carer and this was not formally discussed as a matter of concern by the Panel chair, members of the Panel or the social worker bringing the case.

p.19

EVIDENCE:

A number of matters were raised at the Panel by the Inspectors, which were not raised by the Panel Chair or other members. This included a potential child protection matter and that a carer was looking after a young person outside her approval range. The inspectors did receive a response to these matters, when they were discussed with the Area Manager. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 21

p.20

The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• The fostering service values diversity.(NMS 7) • The fostering service promotes educational achievement.(NMS 13) • When foster care is provided as a short-term break for a child, the arrangements recognise that the parents remain the main carers for the child.(NMS 31)

p.21

The Commission considers Standards 7, 13, and 31 the key standards

to be inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

p.21

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

The quality in this outcome area is adequate. Valuing diversity and promoting the educational achievements of young people needs development to improve the life chances of fostered children

p.21

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in Northwest Lancashire.

p.21

EVIDENCE:

Training on equality and diversity is available to carers but there is a low uptake and staff should look to integrate this into other forums for example supervision and support groups. Some comments from carers in questionnaires indicated that there is a wide variation in the understanding of equality and diversity issues.

p.21

EVIDENCE:

Good practice in meeting religious and cultural needs was observed via the case tracking and in particular one young person was receiving a good service from a carer and her extended family. There was evidence of interpreters being provided for carers and young people in reviews and other meetings.

p.21

EVIDENCE:

There is a county wide equality and diversity policy which is gradually being implemented and it was reported that the knowledge and understanding within the staff teams as a whole is growing but there is general recognition that further work is required so that this is thoroughly embedded into practice. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 22 One area to develop is to create a strategy based on formal analysis to ensure that there are enough carers who can meet specific needs of young people from diverse communities.

p.21

EVIDENCE:

There was recognition that transition to adult services for young people with a disability can be difficult and a specific team has been created to deal with these matters, which Inspectors were informed was easing the difficulties. However inspectors were informed that there are difficulties in relation to parity of payments when carers continue to care for children with disabilities after the age of 18.

p.22

EVIDENCE:

The County has a team with responsibility for dealing with educational issues for Looked After Children. (E-LAC), which has been in place for a number of years and has developed a range of services. Following the creation of children’s services the E.LAC service is now managed by the quality assurance, review, performance and compliance manager. This service has been subject to review and re-development and will take on a more strategic role making use of other staff involved in the education of Looked after children, including schools advisors, educational psychologists and health partners. It was anticipated that this renewed service will be in place by the end of 2006 and should take a closer over view of each looked after child where there are difficulties in education. Once in place this service should be communicated to carers, so that they know who to contact and how they can continue to support

p.22

EVIDENCE:

young people in education and what to do and who to contact in the event of young people encountering difficulties.

p.22

EVIDENCE:

The county has a number of projects relating to education including the ‘Care 2 read’ project, ‘Club 200, you choose’ and ‘LACES’, which is a service run by The Children’s Rights Service to help young people into work. These services were clearly valued by staff and carers who were aware of them and in particular the Care 2 read and LACES scheme were led by committed and enthusiastic staff.

p.22

EVIDENCE:

There was general agreement that the format for the Personal Education Plans (PEP) was unhelpful and this was under review. There was general misunderstanding amongst fostering staff as to whether carers should have copies of PEPs, so practice was inconsistent with some good practice observed. The standard of PEPs varies as this is the responsibility of the social worker to initiate and prepare and social workers have to rely on support from the school. PEPS were not on all the young people’s files seen. The PEP should be reviewed at the young person’s review but is not always brought to the meeting and there is no other system in place at present to review this.

p.22

EVIDENCE:

Inspectors were advised that all schools have a designated teacher for looked after children and that training is offered but that this is not always taken up and that there is varying levels of interest and support. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 23 Carers who were met were taking an active role in school contact and young people reported that carers supported them. Training is provided but again take up can be low and staff should seek to use other forums to relay the messages. Some carers reported delay in providing resources including computers and inspectors were advised that this is because the funding for this year has been exhausted.

p.22

EVIDENCE:

A further review of the service to children with disabilities is due to take place and this will include the short break service. Inspectors were advised that in NWL the short break service is under resourced and some carers complained about the lack of provision for respite care for children with disabilities. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 24

p.23

The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• The fostering service promotes contact arrangements for the child or young person. (NMS 10) • The fostering service promotes consultation.(NMS 11)

p.24

The Commission considers Standards 10 and 11 the key standards to

be inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

p.24

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

The quality in this outcome area is good. Contact arrangements were satisfactory and considerable efforts have been made to improve the opportunities for young people to take an active part in consultation and their reviews.

p.24

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in Northwest Lancashire.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

Most young people who were seen or answered questionnaires were satisfied with their contact arrangements. Some issues were raised via visits and questionnaires and from this information there appeared to be some communication problems, which were passed to the Area Manager to deal with.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

Carers were aware of the need for contact, to positively promote this and were satisfied with expenses they received when they were involved in transporting young people to contact.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

Training is offered to carers but, as reported previously, take up is low.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

The staff said that they try to take contact issues into account when making placements but due to the shortage of placements this was not always possible and can lead to difficulties.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

Contact details should be included in the foster care agreements. As the county uses a version of the previous LAC documents as the foster care agreement, this information was not always included on those seen. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 25 Until recently the county had employed an active Youth Participation Officer whose work had clearly been valued by many staff and managers. This person had recently left the service and her post was to be filled shortly. However there was anticipation that the work she had started was to continue and the Area manager in NWL was active in continuing with this work.

p.24

EVIDENCE:

There was lots of evidence of the range of projects young people could be involved in including the children’s panel and the Children’s Rights Service. There was recognition that it is some times difficult to engage fostered children in this type of work and efforts had been made to include them with good results. There was evidence that youth participation is valued within the county.

p.25

EVIDENCE:

The Children’s Right’s Service produces a magazine for looked after children called The Vibe which young people help to edit and a new web site has been created although not ‘live’ at the time of the inspection.

p.25

EVIDENCE:

It has been recognised by the county that contribution to and attendance at LAC reviews by looked after children could be better. A piece of research had been undertaken in NWL and a pilot project was in hand. This work had created a Children’s champions group with a diverse representation including care leavers and a foster carer. It was anticipated that this work would change the culture of reviews and raise the profile.

p.25

EVIDENCE:

New materials for completion by young people prior to their reviews and guidance for carers and social workers had been created and were to be implemented soon.

p.25

EVIDENCE:

The Reviewing Officers had recently been upgraded so that they had more status within the service and were beginning to make use of additional powers contained within the Children Act 2005. Inspectors were advised that staff had been briefed on this and reviewing officers were to receive further training.

p.25

EVIDENCE:

There was some evidence that the reviewing officers large workloads prevented them from reviewing all relevant documents e.g. PEPs, care plans and health care plans and this meant that quality assurance systems which were in place were not always being used. The minutes of the reviews were not ‘reader friendly’ and did not always capture the progress made by young people and it was reported that because ‘old’ information is held on the minutes and just updated that young people do not always find the minutes helpful or easy to read. It was not always possible for statutory reviews to be held at times more appropriate for young people, e.g. after school and this should be considered within the other developments, particularly for older young people. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 26 All young people who were seen or answered questionnaires knew what to do

p.25

EVIDENCE:

if they wished to make a complaint. They did not always know about the work of CSCI although this is stated in the children’s guide and foster carers’ handbook.

p.26

EVIDENCE:

It was reported that the complaint’s service has improved recently and that young people are receiving a better service and the manager in NWL was praised by the Children’s Rights Service as being pro-active in managing complaints.

p.26

EVIDENCE:

However at present whilst there is a system to collate the information about complaints there is no system to evaluate this information and look for patterns and trends for learning or developmental opportunities. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 27

p.26

The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• The fostering service prepares young people for adulthood.(NMS 14) • The fostering service pays carers an allowance and agreed expenses as specified.(NMS 29)

p.27

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

The quality in this outcome area is adequate. Carers receive consistent payments from the service, but payments made by other local authorities and arrangements for allowances are inconsistent.

p.27

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in Northwest Lancashire.

p.27

EVIDENCE:

The carers who were employed through the Fostering focus fee paid service and very happy with their payments and the additional services they received.

p.27

EVIDENCE:

Carers and staff reported problems around the payment of allowances and expenses and in particular the problems they encounter when payments are delayed. This was identified as a difficulty at the last inspection. Fostering staff said that this did not always happen and if the child’s social worker is aware of the impact of delay and is pro-active this situation is managed more swiftly.

p.27

EVIDENCE:

Staff and some carers said that remittance slips are hard to understand and a revision of these would be helpful to carers.

p.27

EVIDENCE:

Some carers had received equipment, which they had found useful and helpful. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 28

p.27

The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• There is a clear statement of the aims and objectives of the fostering service and the fostering service ensures that they meet those aims and objectives.(NMS 1) • The fostering service is managed by those with the appropriate skills and experience. (NMS 2) • The fostering service is monitored and controlled as specified. (NMS 4) • The fostering service is managed effectively and efficiently.(NMS 5) • Staff are organised and managed effectively.(NMS 16) • The fostering service has an adequate number of sufficiently experienced and qualified staff.(NMS 17) • The fostering service is a fair and competent employer.(NMS 18) • There is a good quality training programme. (NMS 19) • All staff are properly accountable and supported.(NMS 20) • The fostering service has a clear strategy for working with and supporting carers.(NMS 21) • Foster carers are provided with supervision and support.(NMS 22) • Foster carers are appropriately trained.(NMS 23)

p.28

The intended outcomes for these Standards are:

• Case records for children are comprehensive.(NMS 24) • The administrative records are maintained as required.(NMS 25) • The premises used as offices by the fostering service are suitable for the purpose.(NMS 26) • The fostering service is financially viable. (NMS 27) • The fostering service has robust financial processes. (NMS 28) • Local Authority fostering services recognise the contribution made by family and friends as carers.(NMS 32)

p.28

The Commission considers Standards 17, 21, 24 and 32 the key

standards to be inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

p.28

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

The quality in this outcome area is adequate. The management systems in place to monitor all aspects of the service are not fully developed.

p.28

JUDGEMENT – we looked at outcomes for the following standard(s):

This judgement has been made using available evidence including a visit to the service in Northwest Lancashire. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 29

p.28

EVIDENCE:

There was no evidence of a system in place to monitor the work of the carers as specified in the Regulations (Schedule 7) and NMS. There was some expectation that this work would be undertaken by other staff in other areas of the county, e.g. placing social workers. However it is the responsibility of the fostering service to undertake this work. This underlined some evidence that generally the knowledge of the regulations and standards amongst managers and staff was not thorough.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

It is recognised within the service that there are an insufficient number of carers, particularly for task centred and permanent placements. The Fostering Focus Service has been successful and has recruited over 100 carers, with a further 20 recruited recently. There is hope that this service will continue to expand but there are high costs involved which, need to be evaluated.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

Staff across the service in NWL were frustrated by the low number of carers, which impacted on the availability of suitable placements. There is work in hand to develop a recruitment policy and a task and finish group has been charged with this. There was some evidence of individual teams developing pieces of work and some local success had been achieved.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

There was no county wide recruitment strategy, based on an analysis of needs of the looked after population, an awareness of the potential areas to recruit carers from, supported by a suitable budget which was well known to all staff who were actively working towards this. Staff were aware of the need to recruit more carers but not actively involved in solving the problem. The shortage of carers is one of the major stumbling blocks to the continued improvement of the service.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

A number of assessments for carers were reviewed and discussions were held with a number of managers. There is an acceptance that the level of quality of assessment varied and greater use must be made of analysis of information and exploration of issues raised by carers. The use of language varied and overall standard of the reports were not consistent. There were no systems in place for re-assessments for carers who were assessed a long time ago, moved house or changed marital status.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

It was reported by staff and managers that the fostering service in NWL is almost fully staffed. Following restructuring, the fieldwork permanency teams and family support teams have been brought together under one management structure with the task centred carers team and the permanency teams. Staff valued this and said that it had contributed to closer working arrangements. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 30 The Fostering Focus team is separately managed by the Area Manager in East Lancashire.

p.29

EVIDENCE:

In the following months some of the staff will be re-located in different offices and there was some apprehension amongst staff about this although this will promote better working relationships.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

Staff said that they felt supported by managers, received regular supervision and had a range of training opportunities to take up. However some staff need further development and plans for this were unclear. Staff were not sufficiently ‘target driven’ no timescales were in place, for example for completing assessments and some carers complained about long it had taken for them to become assessed.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

Some first and second line managers receive some management training provided corporately. However this needs to followed up with more service specific training and translated into general practice so that staff are better managed and delivering outcome focussed work. Business plans which were available were not sufficiently robust, did not include targets or methods of evaluation and were not available for the County family placement team which is responsible for the development of the service.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

A range of training courses are offered to carers mainly in Lancaster and Skelmersdale, which were felt to be appropriate venues. The range covered a number matters relating to the NMS. Childcare fees are paid and timings of the course have recently been changed to reflect the caring responsibilities of the carers. However there was general recognition that take up of the training was fairly low, although some courses had proved more popular than others. However three courses had been cancelled. Carers who had attended training said that this had been good and helpful. It did appear that once carers tried training and liked it then they continued to access this.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

Work is required to try and find more creative ways of developing training, through supervision and support groups and to continue the dialogue with carers so that the training provided is meeting their needs. The use of distance learning or ‘E learning’ could be explored.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

Carers within the Fostering Focus service are expected to attend training although not all had undertaken any and NVQ level 3 is also offered to fostering focus carers and it was not clear if this was offered to other carers.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

Most carers were very happy with the support they received from the fostering staff and gave compliments about the quality of support and range of services they could access.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

The carers who were seen receive regular supervision, access to an out of hours help line, support groups and carer days. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 31 The annual reviews of carers seen, had been undertaken on time and were taken to the panel for approval. Plans are in hand for this to be improved with the appointment of independent reviewing officers The standard and style of recording both in carers’ and young people’s files varied and it is acknowledged that Lancashire uses an electronic system which is still being developed and therefore the use of a paper based file is limited. However some key documents did appear to be missing from children’s files, the foster placement agreement does not comply with the Regulations and was not evident on all files. Minutes of statutory reviews were not on all files, but may have been on the electronic file.

p.30

EVIDENCE:

As the style of recording varied it was not always possible to identify if young people had been seen alone or how frequently they had been visited by the placing social worker. Inspectors were advised that formal monitoring processes had been implemented but that the true impact of this could not be seen, as not all files would have been audited as yet.

p.31

EVIDENCE:

Family and Friends carers who are known as ‘named carers’ in Lancashire receive the same level of service as other carers, including allocation, access to training, visits and supervision. Once identified a viability assessment is undertaken within 6 weeks and taken to the panel for interim approval. A full assessment is then completed although there are no timescales attached to completion unless it is driven by court proceedings and this should be considered. The named carers are assessed using the same process as other carers and Lancashire may want to consider adapting the process to consider more closely the parenting ability and wider family issues which may impact on the long term care of the child involved, which often is more relevant with named carers. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 32

p.31

SCORING OF OUTCOMES

This page summarises the assessment of the extent to which the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services have been met and uses the following scale.

p.32

SCORING OF OUTCOMES

4 Standard Exceeded (Commendable) 3 Standard Met (No Shortfalls) 2 Standard Almost Met (Minor Shortfalls) 1 Standard Not Met (Major Shortfalls) “X” in the standard met box denotes standard not assessed on this occasion “N/A” in the standard met box denotes standard not applicable

p.32

SCORING OF OUTCOMES

BEING HEALTHY ACHIEVING ECONOMIC Standard No Score WELLBEING 12 2 Standard No Score 14 X STAYING SAFE 29 2 Standard No Score 3 3 MANAGEMENT 6 2 Standard No Score 8 2 1 X 9 2 2 X 15 3 4 2 30 2 5 X 16 X ENJOYING AND ACHIEVING 17 2 Standard No Score 18 X 7 2 19 2 13 2 20 X 31 x 21 3 22 X MAKING A POSITIVE 23 X CONTRIBUTION 24 2 Standard No Score 25 X 10 3 26 X 11 3 27 X 28 x 32 3 Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 33 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? NO

p.32

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Fostering Services Regulations 2002 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider(s) must comply with the given timescales.

p.33

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1. FS12 27 LCC must appoint or provide access to a medical advisor who can advise the Panels and staff undertaking assessments of carers. 01/01/07

p.33

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

2. FS9 12 LCC must create an anti-bullying policy and procedure for fostered children and carers and make this known to appropriate staff. 30/11/06

p.33

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

3. FS8 34 LCC must record matching decisions and revise the Foster Placement Agreement so that it meets the Regulations. 01/01/07

p.33

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

4. FS6 28 LCC must create a robust recruitment strategy to ensure that they have a sufficient number of carers to meet the needs of the service. 01/01/07

p.33

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

5. FS4 8 LCC must create a robust system for monitoring the activities in Schedule 7. 01/01/07 Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 34

p.33

RECOMMENDATIONS

These recommendations relate to National Minimum Standards and are seen as good practice for the Registered Provider/s to consider carrying out.

p.34

RECOMMENDATIONS

No. Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations

p.34

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. FS12 LCC should influence where possible to ensure that the service from CAMHS is consistent and where required is improved. 2. FS12 LCC should consider inviting the LAC nurses to support groups and carers days. 3. FS12 LCC should ensure that all young people have health care plans and that these are regularly monitored and revised as required. 4 FS9 LCC should ensure that carers and CSCI are notified of the outcome of allegations in a timely way. 5 FS9 LCC should create a system to monitor the allegations against carers and look for patterns and trends and advise on learning opportunities. 6 FS9 LCC should amend the foster carer’s handbook to make the information on children missing from home clearer. Strategies should be developed on an individual basis as required. 7 FS9 LCC should resolve the issue about the use of physical restraint and create an appropriate policy. 8 FS8 LCC should monitor the use of exemptions and reassess

p.34

RECOMMENDATIONS

carers as required. 9 FS9 LCC should ensure that staff are aware of the babysitters carers use. 10 FS17 LCC should ensure that all carer assessments are of good quality 11 FS30 LCC should ensure that the Panels meet the NMS in membership and include in their development plan the matters outlined in the report. 12 FS13 LCC should ensure that carers are aware of the education strategy and their role to promote educational achievement. 13 FS13 LCC should continue to revise the PEPs and ensure that carers have copies. 14 FS13 LCC should streamline the arrangements for granting permission for young people to go on trips join clubs etc. 15. FS7 LCC should provide information and training for carers on equality and diversity, which is accessible and meets their needs. 16. FS10 LCC should continue to revise the system for annual Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 35

p.34

RECOMMENDATIONS

reviews and encourage more young people to attend. 17. FS11 LCC should continue to brief staff and IROs on the use of new powers relating to statutory reviews. 18 FS11 LCC should create a system for the monitoring of complaints. 19 FS29 LCC should have efficient financial arrangements for the payment of foster carers. 20 FS17 LCC should ensure that all managers and staff have a thorough working knowledge of the Regulations and NMS. 21 FS23 LCC should provide additional methods of delivering training so that more carers attend. Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 36

p.35

Commission for Social Care Inspection

North Lancashire Area Office 2nd Floor, Unit 1, Tustin Court Port Way Preston PR2 2YQ

p.36

Commission for Social Care Inspection

National Enquiry Line: 0845 015 0120 Email: enquiries@csci.gsi.gov.uk Web: www.csci.org.uk © This report is copyright Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and may only be used in its entirety. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the express permission of CSCI Lancashire County Council Fostering Services DS0000041383.V295442.R01.S.doc Version 5.2 Page 37

p.36