Lancashire County Council Fostering Services

Lancashire County Council Fostering Services Inspection report for la fostering agency

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SC041383 Unique reference number 21 September 2009 Inspection date Jeffrey Banham / Helen Humphreys Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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Lancashire County Council Address PO Box 162 PRESTON PR1 3EA 01772 264429 Telephone number

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Email

Lancashire County Council Registered person Anthony Morrissey Registered manager Helen Denton Responsible individual 26 September 2008 Date of last inspection .

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Email

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Email

You can obtain copies of The Children Act 2004, Every Child Matters and The National Minimum Standards for Children's Services from: The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Cripins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcome for children set out in the Children Act 2004 and relevant National Minimum Standards for the establishment.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is strong Good: this aspect of the provision is sound Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is not good enough Inadequate: 3 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009

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Brief description of the service

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

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Brief description of the service

There are six fostering teams across the county. Five fostering support teams are located in the localities of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale; Hyndburn and Ribble Valley; Preston; Lancaster Fylde & Wyre; South Ribble and West Lancashire. These teams are responsible for the supervision of foster carers and undertake assessments of family and friends carers. The specialist foster carer recruitment and assessment team is based centrally in Preston and recruits and assesses all other foster carers.

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Brief description of the service

The whole fostering service is managed by the County Fostering Services manager.

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Brief description of the service

The fostering service recruits and supports carers who provide short term (task centred) placements, long term (permanence) placements, family link care that supports children with disabilities and their families and respite care fostering. There are other schemes that provide a range of specialist resources to looked after children and young people.

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Summary

The inspection was announced and covered all the key National Minimum Standards.

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Summary

The fostering service continues to make significant improvements in order to provide safe and effective care for children and young people. Operating within the framework of a detailed strategic action plan, The Journey to Excellence 2008-2011, the service has identified the areas in need of most attention and has committed a range of resources to develop key policies, practices and procedures. The resources have been used to provide, for example, increased allowances paid to foster carers.

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Summary

The service has been reorganised to become one county-wide operation led by a dedicated fostering manager. All staff are encouraged to be actively involved in the development of the service and are provided with opportunities, such as service development days, for this to happen.

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Summary

A specialist team has been created to deal with the recruitment and assessment of new foster carers. Existing carers have had their assessments reviewed and updated. The matching of children with carers who can meet their needs is safe, placement stability is high and outcomes for children are good.

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Summary

The fostering panels are well managed and offer objective scrutiny. The pre-panel quality assurance mechanism ensures that the quality of information presented to the panel contributes to effective decision making.

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Summary

Social workers are clear about the primary purpose of their role in supervising the foster carers on their caseloads. Family placement workers are supported to take an active role in contributing to the care planning and overall safeguarding of children in placement. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009 Monitoring of all areas of practice is detailed and effective. The fostering service has been able to move from reacting to previous areas of deficiency into the development of its practices. The importance of the role played by the fostering service is recognised throughout the whole children's services directorate and staff are well supported by elected members and senior managers. Staff are committed and enthusiastic about the changes that are happening and their morale is high.

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Summary

Some areas practice and organisation remain to be tackled. Although the fostering panels are well chaired and effective their composition does not yet fully conform to the National Minimum Standards or Regulations. The views of children and young people are not fully and systematically taken in to account when their foster carers are reviewed.

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Summary

Foster carers do not always write information about the children in their care in ways which record significant life events and the progress that children make. Foster carers do not always have documentary evidence about the restrictions of contact that may be in force for children in their care.

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Summary

The arrangements for the initial placement of children with independent fostering agencies are good and based on current data. Systems for the continued monitoring of the placement to ensure compliance are however less well developed.

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Summary

The steady progress made by the fostering service, and the commitment from all involved to its continued development, ensures that the safety and welfare of children and young people in foster care is placed at the forefront of the ambitions of the service. The overall quality rating is good. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The last inspection identified two breaches of regulations. Both of these have been the focus of improvement activity. The foster placement agreement that provides foster carers with information about the children for whom they care has been changed to cover all the topics required by Schedule 6 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2002. Further work is being done to make the document more accessible to all those who need to use it.

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Improvements since the last inspection

All five fostering panels have appointed a vice chair.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. The health care of children in foster care is given a high priority. There are a number of systems for identifying needs, for ensuring that children have health care assessments and for producing health care plans that detail the health care needs of children and young people.

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Helping children to be healthy

Foster carers ensure that children are registered with all health practitioners such as GPs, opticians and dentists to provide routine and regular care. Specialist treatments are provided where required. Children are well cared for and supported to live healthy lifestyles through, for example, participating in sport and activities, being given information about the effects of drugs, smoking and alcohol and they are encouraged to eat healthily. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009 Foster carers are trained to provide basic first aid and can access other specialist courses where required. They are supported by the specialist nurses for looked after children. They are also supported by their supervising social workers to meet the health needs of children in their care who, for example, ensure that all foster carers have information about delegated medical

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision of health care well is monitored through foster carers' regular supervision and the statutory reviewing process that checks the progress of each child's overall care plan.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. The fostering service uses a number of measures and works with foster carers and other relevant professionals to ensure children are safe. Children are cared for safely by foster carers who are aware of their responsibilities. Foster carers are assessed to determine that are able to understand and meet the wide range of needs that children have. Their training ensures they understand and are able to put into practice the policies and practices they must use in their daily care of children. Foster carers' homes are checked to ensure they are safe places for children to live.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The foster placement agreement provides carers with information about the children placed with them. The documentation has been improved and the children's directorate is committed to further improvements through the introduction of new, more user friendly system to ensure foster carers have full and accessible information on children. The matching of children with carers is good. Children are placed with foster carers who are approved to meet their needs and placement stability is high.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Staff recruitment and selection is detailed, conforms to local authority practice and ensures that all workers are checked to determine they safe to work with children. Although all checks and references are taken up for new staff, including direct contact with referees, there is no documentary evidence that these enquiries are made in addition to obtaining written references.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering panels provide effective scrutiny of all aspects of foster carer assessments, their reviews and the matching of children with carers. They are well organised and administered. Staff appreciate the robust and objective pre-panel quality assurance process that provides scrutiny designed to improve their practice and the quality of care that is provided. Panels are clear about ensuring their recommendations focus on improving outcomes for children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The membership of the fostering panel does not always conform to the National Minimum Standards and Fostering Regulations. Panels do not always have, for example, an elected member or a social worker employed by the fostering service and membership can be predominantly from staff employed within the local authority.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The local authority has created a detailed strategy for ensuring that all children are cared for in ways that meets their specific needs and takes into account their individual circumstances. This ensures there is a robust application of the policies and practices designed to ensure that the fostering service values diversity and promotes equality. There is a strong commitment 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009 from the children's directorate to ensure children and carers are given support to meet their individual needs and which take into account their individual backgrounds.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The fostering service gives a high priority to meeting the educational needs of each child or young person in foster care and works to ensure each child achieves their educational potential. The majority of children have personal education plans and there is a low number of exclusions. There is a clear local authority-wide strategy for developing individual educational potential. There are good systems for identifying needs and monitoring practice. The regular supervision of foster carers covers educational issues and the ability of carers to promote education is discussed and evaluated at their annual review. Foster carers work well with schools and support the development of children's individual interests, activities and hobbies within the home.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The short break service provides supportive care to families by offering short time-limited placements to children with disabilities. Foster carers work closely with the families of these children to provide consistency of care. Foster carers in the short break service receive training, supervision and support so that they are aware of and put into practice all the policies, practices and procedures relevant to the fostering service.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. The fostering service recognises that contacts with significant family members and friends is an important component in the successful care and development of children and young people. Contact is maintained and promoted wherever this is in the best interests of children. Contact arrangements are agreed and set out in placement agreements and in the matching of children with carers. They are regularly reviewed to ensure that the welfare of children is being promoted through such contacts.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Foster carers assist contact arrangements and help children by taking them to and from contact and supporting them at all times. The assessment and training of foster carers stresses the importance of helping a child to maintain appropriate contacts and covers the skills required to encourage and facilitate such contact. Individual arrangements, and the role of individual foster carers, are reviewed through the support and supervision that foster carers receive from supervising social workers.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Foster carers are not always clear about the legal basis or status of restrictions of contact, and do not always have documentary proof that restrictions of contact are based in law. This can affect the stability of placements and the welfare of children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There is a good strategy for, and commitment to, providing opportunities for children to participate in discussions about their care and for them to have their views known. The fostering service contributes to the process to ensure that children's views over all the issues which are likely to affect their daily life and their future are sought and taken into account where these are in the best interests of the child.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

However the system for obtaining children's views for their foster carer's review is not consistently implemented and their views about the care they receive from their foster carer are not always made clear through the review process. It is recognised throughout the service that the process is not robust and that the contribution of the children's social workers to the consultation process to obtain children's views about their foster carer is variable. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. The fostering service ensures that young people in placement are helped to develop skills, competence and knowledge necessary to support them into independent living. The foster placement agreements set out the responsibilities of foster carers. Young people have Pathway Plans that provide the framework of tasks, responsibilities and practical support required to prepare young people for independent or semi-independent living. Progress is monitored through regular reviews and young people themselves are involved and consulted about what is being done to assist them.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The fostering service has increased the allowances paid to foster carers and these are now in line with the agreed national minimum rates. This increase is appreciated by foster carers and they are paid in full and on time. There is a written policy of fostering allowances that is made available to foster carers. The framework for agreeing extra payments and additional expenditure is now clear and expenditure is detailed in written agreements. The system for recognising financial rewards for foster carers who achieve outstanding practice contributes to the overall awareness of the contribution made by carers to supporting children and young people.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The fostering service has developed a strong sense of team and service identity and a clear sense of the direction it is taking in order to provide continued improvements in ensuring good outcomes for children and young people.

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Organisation

There is optimism about the new structure of an integrated family placement service that is the responsibility of a single county manager who is accountable for all the work of the fostering service. The regular service development days involve all the staff and are seen to be very valuable. The contribution of senior managers to them is recognised.

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Organisation

There is an effective centralised system for monitoring practice such as complaints and allegations and this enables a rigorous analysis of practice to be undertaken.

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Organisation

The role of supervising social worker is clear in monitoring the practice of foster carers to ensure they provide effective care and support to children and young people. Their role in care planning and safeguarding for children in placement is encouraged and valued. Support for foster carers is good and there is detailed recording of supervision and unannounced visits. Foster carers and staff have access to a structured training and development programme and foster carers are subject to regular reviews conducted by an independent reviewing officer.

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Organisation

Overall staff morale is high and there is considerable enthusiasm about the direction the service is taking. Staff are involved in and committed to the continued development of the service.

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Organisation

The centralised recruitment and assessment team has clear and well managed strategy and targets for the recruitment of new foster carers. Staff are enthusiastic about their task and the overall development of their work. The team is developing new initiatives to assist recruitment, such as a DVD of a range of existing carers describing their experiences. 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009 Children have their own case records to which they have access. Not every foster carer is clear about the records they themselves should keep on children in their care. Practice is variable and sometimes inconsistent. Some foster carers for example record information on different children in a hard-back diary, others use loose recording sheets for individual children.

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Organisation

The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Specific information about children's identity, religion and culture is contained on the placement information record. Child centred care is provided by short break service. There is a clear county-wide strategy for the development of equality and diversity throughout the local authority.

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Organisation

The system for deciding on the placement of children in appropriate and suitable independent fostering agencies is good and provides placing social workers with a benchmark from which to make placement decisions by the use of reports and ratings of individual services. There is a large number of such placements and the monitoring of them when they are underway and over time is not yet centralised and is left to individual social workers and the children's statutory reviewing process. This does not allow the service effectively to control and monitor all aspects of the placements of children placed outside the local authority.

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Organisation

The service has a number of family and friends who act as foster carers. They are well supported and have access to training and supervision in order for them to care for children properly.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • review the membership of all fostering panels so that they conform to the National Minimum Standards and Fostering Services Regulations 2002 (breach of regulation 25 (1)) • ensure that, when undertaking a review, the fostering service seeks and takes into account the views of any child placed with the foster carer (subject to the child's age and level of understanding) (breach of Regulation 29(3)(b)(iii)) • ensure that when assessing suitability of staff to be employed telephone enquiries are made as well as obtaining written references (NMS 15.3) • ensure that foster carers have documentary evidence of, and are clear about, overriding requirements such as court orders restricting contacts (NMS 10.6) • ensure that every carer is trained and provided with the necessary equipment to record

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Recommendations

significant life events for the child (NMS 24.7) • review the monitoring procedures for placements of children with independent fostering agencies to control all the activities of the fostering service and ensure quality performance. (NMS 4.1) 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Fostering Services,21 September 2009

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