Lancashire County Council Adoption Service

Lancashire County Council Adoption Service Inspection report for la adoption agency

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SC056564 Unique reference number 28 February 2008 Inspection date Sean White Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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Lancashire County Council Address PO Box 162 PRESTON PR1 3EA 01772 534429 Telephone number

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Email

Lancashire County Council Registered person Vivienne Wojciechowski Registered manager Vivienne Wojciechowski Responsible individual 22 February 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 Adoption Service, 28 February 2008

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Brief description of the service

The agency undertakes, or makes arrangements for all statutory responsibilities in relation to adoption. This includes, the recruitment, training and assessment of prospective adopters, support to children and adults affected by adoption and the matching and placement of children with approved adoptive families. Arrangements are in place with independent agencies to provide adoption support and to undertake assessments of applicants wishing to adopt children from another country. The agency is managed centrally and operates from various locality offices in the county.

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Summary

The agency has developed a strong approach to meeting the needs of children through adoption. It has clear strategy for recruiting adopters, a defined prioritisation model and a thorough approach to assessment and approval. The emphasis on quality monitoring of assessment and permanence reports is particularly strong. Adoption support is a developing aspect of the agency's responsibilities and although there is some effective work being carried out, the arrangements for managing this part of the service is not as well coordinated as other areas. Birth parents are provided with opportunities to be involved in planning their children's adoptive futures and are encouraged to give their views and wishes, and to provide information in respect of their children's histories and backgrounds. There is a positive approach to life-story work, although there are some inconsistencies in quality and timescales. The management

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Summary

arrangements of the agency provide a clear structure for the service to operate in. Quality monitoring and clear management information inform operational practice and strategic direction, and there is a positive approach to service improvement. The operational management is supportive and ensures that there is a focus on good practice across the board. 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 service has improved considerably since the last inspection. The improvements are across the board, including the management and operation of the panel, quality and performance monitoring, approaches to recruiting and prioritising adopters and general management issues. The commitment to making these improvements cannot be underestimated and it is clear that there has been significant efforts made to develop the agency from one that was unsatisfactory to its current performance.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. This is an agency that places a strong emphasis on placing children with the most suitable adopters. It has a clear strategy for recruiting people that can meet the range of needs of children requiring an adoptive home; this includes a prioritisation tool that enables the service to focus on the needs of children with complex histories and circumstances. The approach to the recruitment, preparation and assessment of families is thorough and ensures that due 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008 attention is paid to a full and rigorous process. This includes all statutory checks and references being obtained, and applicants' parenting capacity being fully explored. A particularly strong point is the agency's approach to the quality monitoring of Child Permanence Reports (CPRs) and Prospective Adopters Reports (APRs). This ensures that full and relevant information is

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

produced in a way that enables appropriate recommendations and decisions to be made. One area where thoroughness may be compromised, however, is in the arrangements for preparation training. The current model is two full days, which may not be sufficient to convey all the information in a way that can be absorbed and understood fully by all applicants. The appropriately constituted adoption panels are well managed by suitably experienced and qualified professionals. They are governed by policies and procedures that make clear the panels' responsibilities and duties and they are arranged at appropriate intervals to be able to manage the volume of work presented to them. Their deliberations give thorough scrutiny to reports and recommendations are made in receipt of full and up to date information; again, the effective quality monitoring systems of reports ensures that the panel and the decision maker have the necessary information available to reach their conclusions. The administrative

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

arrangements are well coordinated and decisions are made in a considered and timely way. The managers and workers in the adoption service are very experienced in social work with children and adoption; all have appropriate qualifications and recruitment practices ensure that only the most suitable people are appointed. There is considerable knowledge in the agency and workers demonstrated deep insight into the needs of children requiring adoptive placements and how these could be met through effective recruitment of adopters, and careful matching.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. The agency has a sensitive approach to supporting families once they have been approved. Adopters retain their social worker following their approval and this arrangement continues throughout the matching, introductions to and placement of children, until at least the adoption order is made. There are arrangements in place for adopters who may require more structured and formal support to receive assistance from an independent agency. The agency has medical advisors as members of the adoption panel, and although they are not responsible for undertaking medicals on children placed for adoption, they provide contemporary information and advice on reports submitted to them from paediatricians. They also provide advice in respect of prospective adopters. Legal advice is always available to the adoption panels and readily available to social workers. Post adoption support is a developing aspect of the agencies strategic

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

plan. Currently, although there is a range of support services available, both through contracts with independent support agencies and in-house provision, these are not well coordinated. There are no discrete adoption support managers or workers in the agency, there is no particular clarity about how requests or referrals for support are handled and there is inconsistency regarding the criteria for allocating or commissioning support services. There is little provision for evaluating the outcomes of support provided by contracted agencies. Nevertheless, the support services that are provided are of a sound quality, underpinned by clear thinking in respect of assessments of need and provision based on such assessments.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The agency has an approach with birth parents that recognises their importance in, and contribution to, the adoption process and the planning for children. Every effort is made to 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008 engage with birth parents and they are encouraged and invited to express their views and wishes in respect of their children's futures. There are well managed meetings arranged between them and the adoptive parents once a match has been agreed. There is a well presented booklet provided for birth parents that outlines their rights and provides details of a range of support networks available to them. Independent support and advice is arranged through an independent support agency for all birth parents who wish to avail themselves of this facility. Every effort is made to work closely with birth families to enable all relevant information to be collected so

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Helping children make a positive contribution

that life-story work can be undertaken. This is a developing aspect of the agency's strategy; greater priority is being placed on the development and undertaking of life story work and this is beginning to show results. It is, however, inconsistent across the county with both good and less well presented examples of life-story books being produced. There is also a lack of consistency about when they should be completed.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The up to date statement of purpose (SOP) is supported by a range of policies and procedures that inform and underpin the operations and strategic direction of the agency. This is supplemented by a children's guide that is suitable for older children but would have little relevance for those under the age of five. The information provided for adopters is well presented and enables prospective applicants to be fully informed about the adoption process and what it will mean to them. Following a very recent organisational restructuring, the management structure is clear with lines of accountability and communication that are understood amongst the workforce. A particularly positive aspect of the management arrangements that are well considered is the rigorous and committed approach to quality monitoring across the board. Although there remain some inconsistencies in practice in different localities, the overall

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Organisation

approach is one that encourages and expects better practice throughout the agency. The managers and staff of the service are supported at both senior management level and by the executive, who are kept fully informed about the activities of the agency. Experienced and skilled managers undertake their responsibilities well and ensure that operations are geared to meeting the needs of children requiring adoption; this is evident at both senior and locality level. The arrangements for identifying priorities, the allocation of work and the support for workers to undertake their responsibilities are well managed. Although there are some inconsistencies in caseloads in different localities, the general approach is well considered and equitable, and ensures that staff have sufficient resources and support to carry out their duties. There are sufficient staff to undertake the responsibilities of the agency, but as mentioned

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Organisation

earlier, there are differences in workload in different teams. There are ample opportunities for training and professional development and workers are provided with encouragement and resources to develop their skills, knowledge and expertise. The case recording arrangements are of a good standard, underpinned by a thorough approach to monitoring and auditing the content of case files. Although there are some minor omissions, both adopters' and children's case files are well constructed, contain relevant and required information and provide for ease of access to their contents. Administrative arrangements are of a good standard and meet the demands of the agency. Policies are in place in respect of access to information and confidentiality. Personnel files and records in respect of adoption panel members were, in the main well maintained and included all required information. There are some inconsistencies in

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Organisation

6 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008 staff records, but this had been identified and an action plan had been put in lace to improve matters and achieve consistency across the board. The agency is managed centrally from County Hall and is appropriately resourced; it is accessible to the public and has good transport links. The locality offices were not inspected on this occasion.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions, which must be taken so that the registered person meets the Care Standards Act 2000, The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and the National Minimum Standards. The Registered Provider must comply with the given timescales.

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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): • consider the effectiveness of a two day preparation course for all applicants (NMS 4) • make arrangements for a more coordinated approach to adoption support (NMS 33) • make arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the quality of outcomes of support provided by independent agencies (NMS 33) • develop a protocol that makes clear the timescales for the production of life-story books (NMS 8). 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• Ofsted considers the key standard to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the agency matches children with adopters (NMS 2) • the agency assesses and prepares adopters (NMS 4) • adopters are given information about matching (NMS 5) • the functions of the adoption panel are as specified (NMS 10) • the constitution and membership of adoption panels are as specified (NMS 11) • adoption panels are timely (NMS 12) • adoption agency decision is made without delay and appropriately (NMS 13) • the manager is suitable to carry on or manage an adoption agency (NMS 15) • staff are suitable to work with children (NMS 19) • the agency has a robust complaints procedure (NMS 24 voluntary adoption agency only) • the agency safeguards and promotes the welfare of its service users (NMS 32)

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the adoption agency provides support for adoptive parents (NMS 6) • the agency has access to specialist advisers as appropriate (NMS 18) • services are tailored to meet the needs of people affected by adoption (NMS 33) Ofsted considers 6 and 33 the key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• birth parents and birth families are involved in adoption plans (NMS 7) • birth parents and birth families are involved in maintaining the child’s heritage (NMS 8) • the adoption agency supports birth parents and families (NMS 9) • Service users receive good quality services based on their needs (NMS 34) Ofsted considers 7, 8, 9 and 34 the key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

Ofsted considers none of the above to be key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• there is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency and the adoption agency ensures that it meets those aims and objectives (NMS 1) 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008

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Annex A

• the agency provides clear written information for prospective adopters (NMS 3) • the manager has skills to carry on or manage the adoption agency (NMS 14) • the adoption agency is managed effectively and efficiently (NMS 16) • the agency is monitored and controlled as specified (NMS 17) • the staff are organised and managed effectively (NMS 20) • the agency has sufficient staff with the right skills/experience (NMS 21) • the agency is a fair and competent employer (NMS 22) • the agency provides training for staff (NMS 23) • case records for children and prospective / approved adopters are comprehensive and accurate (NMS 25) • the agency provides access to records as appropriate (NMS 26) • the agency’s administrative records processes are appropriate (NMS 27) • the agency maintains personnel files for members of staff and members of adoption panels (NMS 28) • the premises used by the adoption agency are suitable for purpose (NMS 29)

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Annex A

• the adoption agency is financially viable (NMS 30 voluntary adoption agency only) • the adoption agency has robust financial processes (NMS 31) Ofsted considers 1, 3, 16, 21, 25 and 27 the key standards to be inspected. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Lancashire County Council Adoption Service, 28 February 2008

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