Parent and Child Fostering Service

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 1 Parent and Child Fostering Service

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Parent and Child Fostering Service 497 Sunleigh Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA0 4LY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The main focus of the agency is to provide parent-and-child placements but it also offers short- and long-term fostering placements for children. The agency was registered in May 2012 and currently has six approved fostering households. At the time of this inspection, there were three mother-and-child placements and one placement of a single child. The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The independent fostering agency is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

This independent fostering agency requires improvement because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The effectiveness of the placements has been variable.  The agency is not consistently managed in line with legislation and good Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 2 fostering practices.  The quality assurance is weak.  The quality of foster care that children receive is not always good.  The agency fails to thoroughly assess all prospective foster carers‟ capacity to provide safe care and promote children‟s safety. This increases risks to children‟s safety.  The registered person does not always demonstrate to have considered the panel‟s recommendations seriously.  The first reviews of foster carers are not referred to the panel for their consideration in a timely manner.  The unannounced visits do not always happen within a year.  The written risk assessments regarding the placements are not always updated in a timely manner and sometimes contain confusing information.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The agency‟s training programme is not evaluated for its effectiveness on an annual basis  The quality of the records is variable and some records are not signed.

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Key findings from this inspection

The independent fostering agency‟s strengths:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Foster carers receive comprehensive support from their supervising social worker, which safeguards children from the negative impact of the weaknesses in other aspects of the agency. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 3

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider and the registered manager must, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

the size of the fostering agency, its statement of purpose, and the numbers and needs of the children placed by the fostering agency, and

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Requirement Due date

the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children placed by the fostering agency,

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Requirement Due date

carry on or manage the fostering agency (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 8 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must review the practice of the responsible individual combining the roles of being the agency decision-maker, presenting assessments of the prospective foster families to the panel and supervising the assessments of prospective foster families. This review must be carried to ensure that a robust process for approving foster families is in place. 01/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person in respect of an independent fostering agency must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

the welfare of children placed or to be placed with foster parents is safeguarded and promoted at all times (Regulation 11 (a)) 01/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when a person (“X”) applies to become a foster parent and the fostering service provider decide to assess X‟s suitability to become a foster parent, any such assessment must be carried out in accordance with this regulation.

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Requirement Due date

Where the fostering service provider have obtained all the information set out in paragraph (1A) and have not given the notification in paragraph (1B) within 10 working days of 01/08/2018 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 4 doing so, the fostering service provider must

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Requirement Due date

prepare a written report on X which includes the following matters—

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Requirement Due date

the information required by Schedule 3 and any other information the fostering service provider consider relevant,

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Requirement Due date

the fostering service provider‟s assessment of X‟s suitability to be a foster parent. (Regulation 26 (1) (2) (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must seek to obtain clear and detailed information about any substantiated allegations and concerns regarding the standard of care that any other fostering services are willing to share about the prospective foster carers, ensure that this information is considered carefully and ensure the quality of the assessments of X‟s suitability to be a foster parent. A fostering service provider must, in deciding whether to approve X as a foster parent and as to the terms of any approval, take into account the recommendation of the fostering panel. (Regulation 27 (3)) 01/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must on the occasion of the first review under this regulation, and may on any subsequent review, refer their report to the fostering panel for consideration. (Regulation 28 (5)) 01/08/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at appropriate intervals, and

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Requirement Due date

improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency. (Regulation 35 (1) (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the reports must be evaluative, include any learning for the agency from the standard of care investigations and show how the registered person‟s plans for improvement link with the analysis of the information contained in the report. 01/08/2018

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Recommendations

 The placement risk assessments should include clear and consistent information regarding the unsupervised time that a mother and child may have together. (National Minimum Standard 4.1)  Unannounced visits to each fostering household should take place at least annually. (National Minimum Standard 10.5) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 5  The learning and development programme should be evaluated for its effectiveness at least annually. (National Minimum Standard 23.2)  Records should be signed and kept efficiently. (National Minimum Standard 26.1)  The provider should have a business continuity plan. (National Minimum Standard 27.3)

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improvement to be good

The agency provides a fostering service that is not consistently managed in line with legislation and good fostering practices. For example, foster carers have not always been approved through a robust process. This raises the risk that children will receive care from foster carers who might not have the capacity to provide them with good care.

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improvement to be good

The effectiveness of the placements has been variable.

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improvement to be good

A child in the single placement is not engaging in education or any other services. She is wishing to move and is running away from the foster family. Arrangements are in place for a planned move. The child‟s social worker said that there was nothing more that the foster carer or the agency could have done to support this child better.

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improvement to be good

The children in the mother-and-child placements remained safe and reached their developmental milestones. Some mothers returned to live in their communities with their children; some moved with their children to the assessment centres or had to be moved to a different area for their safety. One child went to live with his father.

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improvement to be good

The quality of foster care that children receive is not always good. For example, there has been a substantiated complaint and an instance of a poor standard of care. The children‟s own social workers, rather than agency staff, identified the weaknesses in both of these instances. The agency has taken appropriate steps to support the foster carers‟ learning and development of better fostering skills; in particular, how they communicate with mothers and social workers.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers receive comprehensive support from their supervising social worker, which safeguards children from the negative impact of the weaknesses in other aspects of the agency. The supervising social worker communicates effectively with children and their mothers, and listens to their views and experiences. Foster carers talk positively about the level and the quality of the support that they receive from the agency.

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improvement to be good

The feedback from the placing authorities is positive. One social worker highlighted the foster carer‟s balanced approach to providing supervision and direct support in a mother-and-child placement as a particular strength. Local authorities appreciate Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 6 that the agency specialises in providing mother-and-child placements and that it helps their foster carers to develop a deeper understanding of these complex types of placements.

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improvement to be good

The assessment of prospective foster carers does not have a strong focus on child protection and safeguarding. The agency fails to thoroughly assess all prospective foster carers‟ capacity to provide safe care and promote children‟s safety. This increases risks to children‟s safety.

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improvement to be good

The assessments of foster carers who have previous fostering experience do not always consider all the information that is available. The examples include previous substantiated allegations and repeated failures to share significant information with professionals in a timely manner. Without robust scrutiny of this information, the agency‟s recommendations to approve the foster carers are not fully evidence- based.

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improvement to be good

Approved foster carers receive comprehensive training, guidance and advice on how to keep children who live with them safe and how to promote their welfare. However, the written risk assessments regarding the placements are not always updated in a timely manner and sometimes contain confusing information. For example, one assessment provided contradictory information regarding the mother being allowed to take her child out unsupervised. The supervising social worker does not always share written risk assessments/management plans with the foster carers, although this is regularly discussed.

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improvement to be good

The supervising social worker carries out announced visits to the foster carers‟ homes on at least a monthly basis. However, the unannounced visits do not always happen within a year. The lack of regular unannounced visits increases risks to children in placements.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers follow clear reporting procedures when children go missing from the placements. They work in close partnership with the placing authorities and the police to optimise the chances of the child returning safely. On one occasion, foster carers involved a child in their care to sign up to a behavioural contract to prevent further episodes of going missing. However, this arrangement was only effective for a limited period of time.

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good

The quality assurance is weak. Despite completing the annual monitoring report, leaders and managers failed to identify all the weaknesses in the agency. The areas for improvement that they have identified in the annual monitoring report do not clearly link with the content of that document and only partially link with this inspection‟s findings. In addition, the agency does not have a business continuity plan. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 7 The system for approving foster carers fails to include enough safeguards to ensure the quality of foster carers. The responsible individual holds many roles. This includes being the decision-maker while presenting assessments to the panel and supervising the assessor directly. Having all these roles compromises the assessment of foster carers and impacts negatively on the quality assurance of the agency.

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good

The fostering panel is constituted appropriately and has an effective chair. However, the responsible individual does not always demonstrate that she has fully considered the panel‟s recommendations. On one occasion, she decided to approve a foster carer despite the panel‟s recommendation not to do so. The responsible individual‟s reasoning for making this decision did not fully address the panel‟s concerns.

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good

The agency reviews the approval of foster carers on an annual basis. Despite this, the first reviews are not referred to the panel for their consideration in a timely manner. For example, no arrangements have been made for the panel to consider one foster carer‟s first annual review that was completed in September 2017.

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good

The agency has a good training programme that supports the learning and development of foster carers and staff. The supervising social worker talks with foster carers about the quality and the impact of the training on their fostering skills and knowledge. However, the whole programme is not evaluated for its effectiveness on an annual basis.

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good

The quality of the records is variable and some records are not signed. The responsible individual said that she is reviewing the system for keeping records, in order to make the process more efficient. However, this shortfall was highlighted at the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Parent and Child Fostering Service

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Continental House, 497 Sunleigh Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 4LY

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Abimbola Ladipo-Aridegbe

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: enquiries@parentandchildfostering.com

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Inspector

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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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