Setting

X10029.doc Version 1.40 Page 1 FOSTERING SERVICE

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Lead Inspector Maggie Edwards Announced Inspection 21st November 2005 10:00 Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 2 The Commission for Social Care Inspection aims to:

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• 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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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 Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 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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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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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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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. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 4

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Name of service

Address Laurence House 1 Catford Road Catford London SE6 4SW

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manager (if applicable)

Type of registration Local Auth Fostering Service

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of places

Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 5

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Conditions of registration:

Date of last inspection 26th January 2005

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Brief Description of the Service:

This is a Local Authority Fostering Service located in an inner city area where there are high levels of deprivation and need. At the time of the last inspection in January 2005 the service had recently completed a major re-structuring procedure which had commenced in June 2004. This had resulted in the service being made up of two Recruitment and Assessment Teams and three Supervision and Support Teams. The Fostering Service worked in conjunction with the Placement Service which took initial referrals for children and young people who needed placements and had been incorporated into the Commissioning Service. Staff and relevant paperwork were spread across several sites.

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Brief Description of the Service:

Although the placement procedure remains the same at the time of the current inspection the Fostering Service has undergone further restructuring. The need for this arose from the creation of a new Children’s’ Services Directorate in April 2005 which incorporates Children’s’ Education and Children’s’ Social Care services. The newly restructured Fostering Service now consists of one Recruitment and Assessment team and two Support and Development Teams most of whom are now working in the central Local Authority offices with good access to other relevant services and administration facilities. At the time of this inspection plans were in place to implement a major restructuring of the Business Support Services the aim being to ensure more focused specific business support for the Fostering Service and other children’s’ services. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 6

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SUMMARY

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

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SUMMARY

The inspection was carried out by Maggie Edwards and Peter Nunn. Both inspectors took part in the first three days of the inspection with Maggie Edwards carrying out a further four days of inspection activity. The inspectors met with the Director of Children’s Social Care services and with the Service Managers for Fostering and Adoption; the Looked after Children and Leaving Care Teams; and the Business Support, Contracts and Placements Service. They also met with the Team Managers of the Recruitment and Assessment and Support and Development Teams and with the teams and with the Chair of the Panel. Visits were made to 6 individual carers and one inspector attended a carers’ training group. One young person agreed to talk with an inspector during a home visit. One inspector observed a meeting of the panel. Carers’, children’s, Panel members’ and staff files were examined as well as policy documents. Questionnaires had been sent to all carers and placed children.

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SUMMARY

Sixteen carers and three children replied and there responses were analysed.

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What the service does well:

There was an obvious commitment from staff at all levels to ensure the recruitment of a number and range of carers appropriate to the needs of the children and young people requiring placements. Staff were dedicated to providing efficient and effective support of carers in order to enable them to provide a high standard of care for all placed children and young people. Management spoke of their aim to ensure that Children Looked After were not marginalised and denied the opportunities open to other young people. There are good systems in place to ensure the provision of comprehensive health care, access to appropriate education and support for those young people approaching adulthood. The Fostering Service provides a robust training programme for both prospective and approved carers. There are good systems in place designed to ensure that carers receive regular visits from supervising social workers and that these visits include structured discussion covering all

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What the service does well:

aspects of the young peoples’ and carers’ needs. Visits are recorded within a well-designed form which enables social workers and their managers to easily ‘track’ developments. All files showed evidence of good monitoring documents. The majority of carers expressed appreciation of the support offered by their supervising social workers who also reported feeling well supported by their managers in the Fostering service.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

It was apparent from contact with management, staff and carers that the service was ‘settling down ‘after two major restructurings within a very short time frame and that the changes had led to improvements. The ‘refined’ service had reduced confusion and improved communication between staff Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 7 which was aided by the fact that most staff were now located in the same offices.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The delegation of specific responsibility to one supervising social worker has led to a substantial improvement in the provision of services to carers offering respite care to children with disabilities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The service is taking steps to improve the support for Family and Kinship carers. One of the team managers has undertaken specific responsibility for this area of work and consideration is being given to the specialist training and development needs of this group of carers.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The children’s service has also taken robust steps to recruit more permanent staff in Fostering and in the related services of the Looked after Children and Leaving Care teams

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What they could do better:

Although staff acknowledged the improvements resulting from the two recent restructurings of the service some expressed some remaining feelings of insecurity and a number of carers expressed concern about the frequent changes and rapid turnover of staff. These concerns should be addressed by the above –mentioned drive to recruit more permanent staff and by the fact that there appear to be no plans for any further major changes to the service in the immediate future. Some fostering staff and a substantial number of carers who had contact with the inspectors spoke of the negative impact on the fostering situation of the lack of consistent and appropriate contact by some workers in the Looked After Children and Leaving Care Teams. It was felt that these difficulties resulted from lack of experience and understanding of the foster carers’ role on the part of the workers concerned. Senior management should ensure that they continue to encourage communication

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What they could do better:

between all teams involved in the care of placed children. This situation will hopefully be eased by the fact that the services concerned have recently achieved a full complement of permanent qualified staff.

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What they could do better:

The service should also continue to build on the development of specialist knowledge/services with respect to respite care for children with disabilities and Family and Kinship Care.

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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. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 8

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CONTENTS

Statutory Requirements Identified During the Inspection Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 9

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The intended outcomes these Standards are:

• 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 – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

The service takes steps to ensure that each young person receives health care appropriate to their individual needs.

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EVIDENCE:

The Community Paediatrician carries out health assessments for all Children Looked After and the Looked After Children’s Health Service employs two nurses who receive clinical supervision from the Primary Care Trust and social care supervision from the service manager of the Looked After Children and Leaving Care Service.

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EVIDENCE:

There is also a specialist team for Children Looked After within the local Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service to which older children can self refer. There was evidence from one young person’s case file and from a visit to their foster carer that there had been a speedy and appropriate referral to this service.

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EVIDENCE:

The Leaving Care Service provides health clinics including advice on sexual health.

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EVIDENCE:

The training programme for carers includes education on first aid.

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EVIDENCE:

One of the inspectors attended a carers’ training session on autism. The content and delivery of the session were excellent with the trainer facilitating a very comfortable and enabling atmosphere within which carers entered enthusiastically into discussion.

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EVIDENCE:

Children’s files contained evidence of registration with a GP, dentist and optician and of regular health checks and one contained clear details of referral to a specialist eye clinic and subsequent appointments which had been attended by the young person. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 10 The last inspection report had commented on concerns about the lack of expertise about disability within the team which workers had felt could impact on the level of support which they could provide to carers offering respite care to children with disabilities. One supervising social worker now has specific responsibility for this area of work. A visit to a carer who provides respite for a child with visual impairment and learning disabilities confirmed details in the carer’s and child’s file which demonstrated the high level of support provided by the social worker including good liaison with the Children With Disabilities

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EVIDENCE:

team. The social worker had also been responsible for the organisation of the carers’ training session on autism. It is hoped that the worker, who is at present an agency worker, will join the permanent staff team and there are plans to ensure that other team members receive training on disability issues. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 11

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The intended outcomes 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, and 15 the key

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

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

We inspected standards 3,6,8,9,15,and 30.

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

The service takes steps to ensure that young people are protected from abuse and neglect.

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EVIDENCE:

Files for management, staff, panel members and carers contained evidence of up to date Criminal Record Bureau checks. There is a computerised system which ensures that all checks are updated at appropriate intervals. Files also contained evidence of qualifications and the appropriate taking up of references.

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EVIDENCE:

All foster homes visited were comfortable, very homely and safe. There was clear evidence in carers’ files of appropriate Health and Safety assessments completed during the Form F assessment process and confirmation of information provided by carers that they received annual Health and Safety Checks and unannounced visits from supervising social workers. Carers’ files also confirmed that their preparation and training had included Health and Safety issues. Foster Care Handbooks were present in carers’ homes and contained guidelines on Health & Safety issues.

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EVIDENCE:

One recently approved carer with a newly placed very young child was seen to be providing excellent care and dedication to the needs of the child. However the child’s room was quite small and, although there was a stair gate at the Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 12 top of the stairs to the first floor, there was no gate at the bottom of these stairs.

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EVIDENCE:

The service has clear and appropriate policies, included in the carers’ handbook on bullying, child protection and absconsions.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers seen confirmed that, as stated in the training programme, they had been made very aware early in ‘Skills to Foster’ of the reality of abuse whether physical, mental or emotional and had also received early training with regard to safe caring practice. Feedback from carers also confirmed that they had received training with regard to Child Protection procedures and managing challenging behaviour .One file contained evidence of the carer alerting the fostering service to fact that child’s father may have been accessing child pornography channels.

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EVIDENCE:

Visits to carers’ homes demonstrated that the young people in these placements had been appropriately matched with carers who could provide for their specific individual needs. A very young white child had been placed with a young white family with their own young children. A carer providing respite care for a child with visual impairment showed commitment to fulfilling the child’s needs by demonstrating a willingness to learn Braille and demonstrating sensitive, creative thought in planning activities for the child involving other senses egg the exploration of scent.

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EVIDENCE:

However there was some indication from carer feedback that they were not always provided with adequate information at the time of placement and, a concern, shared by some supervising social workers, that placements were sometimes carried out by the placement team without reference to the carer’s supervising social worker.

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EVIDENCE:

One of the inspectors observed a meeting of the panel at which it was decided to recommend deregistration of a carer. A young child placed with the carer and with agreed contact with a number of family members had been found in 2004, as a result of x-rays following a fall during a contact visit, to have old non- accidental injuries. The carer had been immediately suspended and the child placed with another carer. The subsequent investigation led to no clear conclusions as to who was responsible for the child’s injuries but did result in some concerns about the supervision of the assessing social worker, some inadequacies in the assessment of the carer which took place in 2002 and about the placements service not being made aware of the fact that, although the carer was originally approved for children aged 0-6 years the supervising social worker subsequently recommended this be amended to 3- 6 years. The

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EVIDENCE:

report also expressed concern about failures in communication e.g. the fostering service not informing the Looked After Children team when the carer reported the child having had accidents and the panel not being made aware at the time of the removal of the child. Steps have been taken to address these issues including plans to use the report from the investigation as a basis for Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 13 training across the childcare services. It should also be emphasised that, plans separate to those arising from this situation, are resulting in steps being taken to improve communication between teams responsible for Children Looked After e.g. meetings between Looked after Children and Leaving Care Teams and the Fostering Teams. The service manager for Fostering and Adoption had also stated that there is now more robust supervision of assessing social

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EVIDENCE:

workers. This was confirmed by staff from the Recruitment and Assessment Team.

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EVIDENCE:

The panel has an appropriate membership with a good balance of independent and statutory social workers and carers and plans are in place to recruit a care-leaver. There is access to appropriately qualified medical and legal advisors. The panel is a joint panel for Lewisham Local Authority and Barbados’ Kusadiki Independent Fostering Agency. Since the last inspection the decision makers of each service have met together to ensure a more rigorously joint approach. The Panel Chair is employed by the Local Authority as Service Manager for Safeguarding Children. Interview with the inspectors and observation of the panel showed that the Panel Chair was able to utilise their professional expertise and knowledge of the local authority’s children’s services whilst remaining objective in their panel role e.g. being able to confidently enter into discussion and express their professional opinions to the Council

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EVIDENCE:

The Panel meeting was quorate. There was good robust discussion with every one contributing. Carers attended panel and were communicated with in a sensitive manner including the carer who was facing deregistration. This very emotive and difficult situation was dealt with appropriately with the panel chair expressing sympathy and concern and the supervising social worker and manager sitting with the carer in a supportive manner. After the carer left the room, panel spoke of the need to monitor the possible impact of any emotional reaction of the carer on their own children when deregistration was officially confirmed. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 14

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The intended outcomes 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)

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

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

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

The service places strong emphasis on providing good educational opportunities for young people. Diversity is valued and efforts made to accommodate young peoples’ individual needs. Although arrangements for short –term breaks officially recognise that parents remain the main carers there was some indication of parents feeling excluded from decision-making processes.

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EVIDENCE:

The Local Authority provides a team which specialises in the provision of education for all Children Looked After and aims to avoid them being marginalised by ensuring that they have the same opportunities as other young people in Lewisham. There is an Education Welfare Officer allocated specifically to Children Looked After who regularly visits the Fostering Support and Development teams. There is administrative and funding support for tuition for GCSEs for Children Looked After. The service has linked up to ‘Welfare Call’ who contact carers daily to check on the situation with regard to placed children’s school attendance. The Looked After Children and Leaving Care Teams hold meetings every six weeks with the purpose of promoting the educational progress of Children Looked After. There is a special secondary transfer service used to try and avoid school exclusion and there are links to a specialist service for 8-13 year olds who are excluded.

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EVIDENCE:

Files contained details of ways by which the education of each young person was being addressed, not just at reviews but also as an integral part of each regular supervising social work visit. Carers visited were able to confirm that Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 15 school age children were at school and that where there were difficulties with regard to the young person’s attendance these were being addressed. One young person seen during a visit was very positive about their education and spoke confidently of their aim to progress beyond sixth form to higher education. The service manager of the Leaving Care Team confirmed that the service aims to ensure funding which will enable young people who go away to college or university to continue to live at their carers’ home in vacations.

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EVIDENCE:

Details in the file of a young asylum seeker showed that, following their placement soon after their arrival in this country they had been placed quickly in local school with access to specialist English lessons. The same young person had initially expressed some unhappiness with regard to the meals provide by the carer. There was evidence on file that carer then made an effort to cook meals appropriate to the young person’s cultural background.

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EVIDENCE:

The last inspection report expressed concern about the long-term placement of a child of dual heritage with white carers. At this inspection the service manager informed the inspectors that the child, now aged 6 and with the carers since 2 days old, has been adopted by them. The service manager felt that this was a balanced decision in this particular case because of attachment issues but assured the inspectors that plans are in place to address identity issues in, that the matching process is now more robust and strong efforts are made not to repeat this scenario.

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EVIDENCE:

A visit to a carer offering respite care confirmed information in their file which indicated a very sensitive awareness that the child’s mother remained the main carer. The carer did report that the mother was distressed because of being excluded from a forthcoming professionals’ meeting. Whilst understanding that the reality of professionals’ meetings is that they do not include parents it is to be hoped that there has been sensitive communication with the mother on this issue. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 16

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The intended outcomes these Standards are:

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

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The Commission considers Standards 10 and 11 the key standards to

be inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

The service considers the establishment of arrangements for young people to maintain contact with birth families and other significant people to be of great importance but some carers did not receive sufficient support when contact was very frequent and/or at some distance from their home. Steps are taken to ensure that children and their families can express their opinions. There was some indication that not all children were fully aware of the complaints process.

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EVIDENCE:

Files contained evidence of the appropriate planning of contact arrangements between young people and their birth families where this had been judged appropriate for the young person’s welfare.

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EVIDENCE:

Visits to carers confirmed their commitment to enabling the young people in their care to maintain officially agreed contact. One newly approved carer who had very recently taken their first placement was taking the young child to a contact centre at some distance five days each week. The carer was very committed to carrying out whatever was necessary for the welfare of the young child but did express some concern that, if they were to be personally expected to continue with such a high frequency of contact at the centre, this could seriously affect the lifestyle of her own young children and delay the integration of the placed child into local play schemes etc. One questionnaire returned by a carer specifically stated that they felt the need for the service to explore ways to help carers when a high level of contact has to take place away from the carer’s home. Another carer expressed frustration at the lack of

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EVIDENCE:

support from the service to enable them to ensure that the young person could Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 17 maintain contact with a sibling who was living at some considerable distance outside London.

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EVIDENCE:

Another experienced carer family who live in Kent have been caring for two siblings for a long period and consideration is being given to establishing the placement as permanent. The carers have established good relationships with the adoptive parents of the children’s siblings who are in the West Country .The families are in frequent contact and visit each other regularly –‘Like normal families ‘.

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EVIDENCE:

Files show that young people and, where appropriate, birth parents are invited to reviews. One young person who met with the inspector was positive about the support he was receiving from the Leaving Care Team.

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EVIDENCE:

Young people did have access to a Children’s Society Advocacy Service but the Children’s Society has withdrawn for advocacy work nationally and therefore this service had been recently withdrawn. Three young people were involved in the panel responsible for selecting the new advocacy service and some young people were involved in the recruitment and assessment of staff of Leaving Care Team.

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EVIDENCE:

There was a very limited response from young people to the questionnaires sent out by the Commission as part of the inspection. Those who did respond wrote that they were consulted by their carers on day-to-day issues and had been consulted by social workers about the fostering service. Questionnaire responses indicate that children and young people may not fully understand the complaints process or be aware of their right to contact the Commission for Social Care Inspection and there was some indication that not all young people were clear about whether they had received a copy of the Children’s Guide. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 18

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The intended outcomes 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)

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The Commission considers Standards 29 the key standard to be

inspected at least once during a 12 month period.

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

The service has good policies and procedures designed to ensure that young people receive support and guidance to enable them to cope with independent living. Carers receive regular payment of agreed allowances but there was some indication of some carers experiencing a delay in the re-imbursement of extra expenses.

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EVIDENCE:

The carers’ training programme includes a session on preparation for the young people’s independence.

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EVIDENCE:

Each young person approaching independence is allocated a social worker from the Leaving Care Team who replaces the original worker form the Looked After Children team. Files of older children contained Pathway Plans which the young person completes privately if they wish or with assistance. The plan is a competency based assessment document which acts as a ‘trigger’ to highlight issues for consideration by including, for each issue being assessed, separate sections for the young person and their Leaving Care Worker to comment on whether there was a problem with the issue. ?

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EVIDENCE:

There is a Leaving Care Group and a ‘Drop-In ‘ service, which is held twice each week, and at which CAB, financial advice and a sexual health clinic are available.

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EVIDENCE:

One young person was very positive about the help they received from the Leaving Care Team as was his carer who had cared for them since they the young person was 2 and said that she had received good guidance on coping with the emotional process of ‘letting go’. One of the inspectors visited this Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 19 family. The young person arrived home with friends and the young people were happily in the young person’s room playing with playstations.

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EVIDENCE:

Carer response with regard to the Leaving Care Service was expressed both in visits and in returned questionnaires and was mostly positive. However some did express concerns about the insensitivity and lack of respect of some Leaving Care workers to the fact that foster carers carry out a complex role which includes involvement in statutory meetings, that they and their birth families have emotional and psychological involvement with placed children sometimes going back over a number of years and that carers have much to contribute to the planning for the young person’s independence. The service manager for the Leaving Care Team acknowledged that, as with other children’s services, there had been a history since 2003,of frequent changes in the structure of the service and of a high turnover of staff. However the service has recently established a full quota of Personal Advisers in the Leaving Care Team. A joint meeting was to be held for the Fostering and Leaving Care

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EVIDENCE:

teams and there is official recognition of the need to aim for all social workers to understand each other’s roles and work to a common agenda for the good of children and young people.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers visited expressed no major concerns about their allowances but there was some query about the adequacy of payments for respite carers. One questionnaire spoke of a delay in re-imbursement but did not specify details. One carer family expressed extreme concern about delay in re-imbursement for expenses incurred as a result of trying to arrange alterations to their property which they stated the service had acknowledged were necessary in order to accommodate a young relative at a time of crisis. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 20

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The intended outcomes 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)

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The intended outcomes 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)

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

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

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

We inspected standards 1,2,4,5,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26 and 32.

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JUDGEMENT – The intended outcomes for these Standards are

There is a clear statement of the aims and objectives of the service. The service places emphasis on taking steps to ensure that these aims and objectives are met. These steps include the effective and efficient management, by managers who are suitably qualified and experienced, of an appropriate number of suitably qualified staff. There is a clear well implemented strategy for training, supporting and supervising carers with Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 21 steps being taken to ensure that this includes all Family and Kinship carers with recognition of their need for some more specialised support.

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EVIDENCE:

The Statement of Purpose has been revised to reflect the recent restructuring of the service and other changes.

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EVIDENCE:

The service manager for the Fostering and Adoption Service has social work qualifications at Post-Graduate level and is soon to complete a Diploma in Leading, Management and Partnership. They also have experience of working at management level in other services. All team managers hold social work qualifications, have extensive experience of fostering work and undertake internal courses relevant to management.

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EVIDENCE:

Children’s’ and carers’ files each included a front sheet which clearly explained the services’ policy on recording and file maintenance. Each file also contained an appropriate monitoring form which was easily accessible and clearly indicated the auditing of essential information. Carers’ files included an excellent form for the recording of supervising social work visits. The form contained sections for all relevant issues e.g. education, health, and contact and so contributed to the structuring of carer contact and supervision. Files seen were mostly maintained to a high level although there was some confusion in the chronology of recording in two children’s’ files.

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EVIDENCE:

Staff and panel members’ files were also organised according to a clear and accessible format with good and well- maintained monitoring forms.

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EVIDENCE:

The service was in the process of ‘settling down’ after two major re- organisations within a relatively short time span. This had involved some radical changes at management level which the service manager and Director described as having been very ‘top-heavy’ leading to possible difficulties in accountability. The restructuring had resulted in the loss of some management posts. The director and the service manager emphasised that the service was also prioritising the recruitment of permanent social work staff to the Fostering teams and was holding weekly interviews as well as encouraging long –term agency staff to become permanent.

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EVIDENCE:

Social work staff at all levels expressed the view that they felt that the resulting structure is more satisfactory and that they now feel that they have a very good basis on which to continue to constructively and creatively build and develop the service. Some staff did however express some lingering feelings of concern about the possibility that there may be more radical change and some admitted to having felt very insecure when they realised that even posts at the level of management could be lost .A number of carers who were visited or Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 22 responded to questionnaires expressed concern about the past frequency of changes to the service and the turnover of staff.

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EVIDENCE:

Staff felt very well supported by their managers and expressed satisfaction with the level of supervision and the opportunities for ongoing training and development. Staff and carers were clear about their own and senior managements roles and responsibilities.

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EVIDENCE:

The Business Development Manager outlined plans with regard to a proposed re-structuring of the Business Support Staff. If implemented this would, as with other re-structuring of the service, result in quite radical changes including some possible loss of posts. Senior management were confident that this would result in further efficiency with clearer lines of business support to the fostering service but they were also aware that there was a potential for some business support staff to find the process distressing.

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EVIDENCE:

There is a good and appropriate training programme for carers including a Skills To Foster course which all who apply to foster are required to complete satisfactorily before being accepted onto the Form F assessment process. One of the inspectors attended a training session for approved carers on autism. The content and presentation were excellent and the trainer expertly encouraged carers to enter into discussion. However the number attending were low especially when taking into consideration the fact that the session was also open to carers from Southwark and Greenwich. Most carers visited or who responded to questionnaires spoke very positively about the training provided and confirmed details seen in files that training was regularly discussed with them by their supervising social worker.

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EVIDENCE:

Carers visited spoke very highly of the support and supervision which they received from their supervising social workers and the fostering service in general. They confirmed that they received unannounced visits and regular Health and Safety checks and that fostering social workers were very supportive in helping carers and children to resolve difficulties. However there was some variation in satisfaction with social workers from the Looked After Children’s team with carers especially expressing concern about the rapid turnover of staff and lack of contact. Supervising social workers also indicated to the inspectors that they had had, on occasions to instigate reviews and a small number of carers expressed concern that they had not been informed about reviews. Some carers also expressed concern about the manner in which they were approached by some social workers from the Looked after Children service e.g. being ‘told’ at very short notice that a statutory meeting is to take

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EVIDENCE:

place in their home with no indication of the social worker being willing to discuss whether this would be convenient to the carer and their family. The Director and the service managers for Fostering and Adoption and for Looked After Children assured the inspectors that these concerns should be resolved in the near future by the recent establishment of a fully permanent and qualified team of social workers in the Looked after Children service. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 23 A few carers who completed questionnaires expressed dissatisfaction with the level of support which they received from the Fostering and other children’s services. Some were living at some distance outside London and/or were Family/Kinship carers. The service has recently allocated a manager to have specific responsibility for Family and Kinship carers and aims to develop a service which acknowledges their specific requirements.

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EVIDENCE:

The recent restructuring has resulted in the majority of the fostering service staff being accommodated in the central premises of the Local Authority. Staff expressed a high level of satisfaction with this arrangement The Director stated that substantial financial provision is to be provided to further improve the working environment. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 24

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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.

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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

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SCORING OF OUTCOMES

BEING HEALTHY ACHIEVING ECONOMIC Standard No Score WELLBEING 12 4 Standard No Score 14 3 STAYING SAFE 29 2 Standard No Score 3 3 MANAGEMENT 6 2 Standard No Score 8 3 1 3 9 3 2 3 15 3 4 3 30 3 5 3 16 3 ENJOYING AND ACHIEVING 17 3 Standard No Score 18 3 7 3 19 3 13 4 20 3 31 2 21 3 22 3 MAKING A POSITIVE 23 3 CONTRIBUTION 24 3 Standard No Score 25 3 10 2 26 3 11 3 27 X 28 X 32 2 Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 25 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? No

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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.

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 FS6 11 (a) The Registered Provider must ensure that all carers caring for very young children have installed stair gates at both the top and bottom of each flight of stairs. 15/03/06

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

2 FS10 14 The Registered Provider must ensure suitable arrangements are in place to support foster carers who are facilitating contact outside their home for children in their care. 31/03/06

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RECOMMENDATIONS

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

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RECOMMENDATIONS

No. Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations

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RECOMMENDATIONS

1 FS1 That the Registered Provider ensures that there is a system in place which ensures that all children placed in foster care receive a copy of the Children’s Guide. 2 FS8 &FS7 The Registered Provider should continue to ensure that systems are in place to ensure that steps are taken, at an early stage, to achieve foster placements which provide a Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 26 suitable racial, ethnic and cultural match. 3 FS10 That the Registered Provider ensures that there is a system in place which ensures that all placed children fully understand the complaints process including their right to approach the Commission. 4 FS2 That the Registered Provider ensures that where team managers are appointed without a management qualification they are enrolled as soon as possible on suitable management training. 5 FS9 That the Registered Provider ensures that the fostering

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RECOMMENDATIONS

service notifies the Commission in writing of the instigation of a child protection investigation or any other events specified within Schedule 8 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2002 and of subsequent developments. 6 FS8 That the Registered Provider ensures that the placement team consult with a carer’s supervising social worker before confirming a placement of a child/young person with that carer. 7 FS17 The Registered Provider should continue to take steps to encourage the recruitment and retention of a sufficient number of suitably qualified and experienced staff in order to facilitate the effectiveness and efficiency of the fostering service. 8 FS19 That the Registered Provider continues to take steps to ensure that social work staff in the Looked After Children and Leaving Care Teams have a full appreciation of the role of the foster carer and ensure that they communicate appropriately with foster carers and their families.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

9 FS31 That the Registered Provider further develops its capacity to provide appropriate placements and carer support for children with disabilities. 10 FS29 The Registered Provider should monitor the existing system to ensure that when carers incur extra expenses in order to provide appropriate welfare provision for placed children they receive speedy re-imbursement. 11 FS32 That the Registered Provider further develops its specialist service for family and kinship carers. Lewisham LA Fostering DS0000043496.V259047.R01.S.doc Version 5.0 Page 27

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

SE London Area Office Ground Floor 46 Loman Street Southwark SE1 0EH

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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

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