Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service

Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service Inspection report for la fostering agency

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SC055889 Unique reference number 22 September 2010 Inspection date Sue Winson / Colin Myers Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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Kingston upon Hull City Council Address Kingston House Bond Street Hull North Humberside HU1 3ER 01482 612 800 Telephone number jacqui.edhouse@hullcc.gov.uk Email Kingston Upon Hull City Council Registered person

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Registered manager

Jon Plant Responsible individual 7 May 2009 Date of last inspection .

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Registered manager

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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Registered manager

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: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010

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Brief description of the service

Hull City Council's fostering service provides care for children and young people who are looked after by the local authority and whose needs are best met in a family environment. Foster care is provided via a number of distinct fostering schemes including short break carers, respite carers and mainstream carers. It is responsible for the recruitment, assessment, approval, supervision and support of foster carers. Where placements are not available in house the service uses independent fostering agency placements. Fostering social workers identify appropriate placements in conjunction with children's social workers.

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Summary

This announced key inspection covered all key standards under all the outcome areas. This is a satisfactory service with some good aspects.

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Summary

Outcomes for children in respect of health, education and preparation for adult life are good. The service is outstanding in the promotion of contact and consultation. Effective communication and joint working with a wide range of professionals and agencies is mirrored at strategic and operational levels to the benefit of children in foster care. The managers and staff have a range of relevant experience and skills and communication within, and between, the teams is good and allows for sharing of expertise. The administrative and business staff support the service well.

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Summary

The service is working to increase the number of foster carers in order to provide better placement choice and is providing extra support to compensate for gaps in matching. A number of children are placed outside of the approval range of their carers, often in an emergency. The fostering panels exercise effective scrutiny of approval and reviews of foster carers, but recommendations for changes to approval are not always presented to them in a timely manner.

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Summary

Arrangements for the monitoring of the service have not been robust enough to identify and address several issues. Assessments of health and safety issues, safe caring guidelines and risk assessments are not consistently updated to reflect the particular needs of individual children. Supervisory visits are not taking place in accordance with the service's own guidelines and not all unannounced visits are carried out annually. All the service's procedures and guidelines are in the process of being updated through the commissioning of an external agency. The premises used by the service is not suitable for the purpose.

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Summary

Eight recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection, two of which are breaches of regulations, namely, placement of children outside of foster carer's approval and monitoring of the service. The overall quality rating is satisfactory. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The fostering service has largely acted on the actions and recommendations made at the last inspection. Delays in accessing psychological support for young people has been addressed and foster placement agreements and foster carer agreements now meet regulations. Foster carers largely receive full information about children in their care and young people have 4 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010 pathway plans. The panel members now have a range of skills and experience and foster carers are not approved unless all aspects of the assessment process are completed. The system for conducting annual reviews of foster carers has been considerably strengthened. The telephone number of Ofsted is included in the children's guide. Security arrangements at the premises are adequate. Health and safety audits and risk assessments are not all relevant to current

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Improvements since the last inspection

children placed. Procedures and guidelines for staff, and for the fostering panel, are being developed. Effective monitoring to ensure quality performance is not in place.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. The fostering service ensures that the physical and emotional needs of children and young people are met. Positive working relationships with health professionals ensure that they have access to services to meet their assessed needs. The fostering service and the looked after children health team work closely together and work has taken place to ensure that social workers can access mental health services for children in a timely manner.

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Helping children to be healthy

Foster carers receive training in respect of children's health needs and promoting healthy lifestyles. These address emotional health in addition to physical health and include sessions on self-esteem, identity and attachment. Children are registered with doctors, dentist and opticians and a high percentage of health assessments are carried out annually. Foster carers have information about children's immunisations and health histories. Health needs are considered at the matching stage and at statutory reviews. Examples were given where specialist health and social work support have been provided to foster carers in respect of specific health issues. Foster carers said they are well supported and praised the paediatric and health visitor support when they are caring for children with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. The fostering service has identified that they will need specialist foster carers due to growing numbers and

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Helping children to be healthy

the need to provide an alternative to hospital care for these babies and a group of carers are being trained.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The managers are suitable to run a fostering service. They are appropriately qualified and experienced in fostering and in safeguarding children. Recruitment processes are robust and systems are in place to renew Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks every three years. Staff files contain all the required information and also include proof of continuing registration of social workers with the General Social Care Council. All staff involved in assessing foster carers have a social work qualification.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The service provides suitable foster carers in that all checks and references are taken up prior to panel. Personal referees are interviewed and records demonstrate that pertinent issues are discussed with them. Children are protected by CRB checks being taken up for regular visitors to the foster home and babysitters. Health and safety audits and safe caring family policies are developed at the approval stage but the service does not evidence that any actions from them are followed up, or that they are consistently reviewed in the light of the needs of individual children placed. Written risk assessments are not always carried out where children are sharing bedrooms. Effective systems are in place to address and monitor allegations and complaints and records demonstrate that they have been dealt with appropriately within reasonable 5 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

timescales. Foster carers routinely receive training in safeguarding and positive behaviour management.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are matched with foster carers based on their identified needs and planning meetings take place prior to placement or soon afterwards to ensure that information is shared. The service is actively addressing lack of placement choice due to increased numbers of children in care and local factors. Support needs to compensate for gaps in matching are consistently addressed, to the benefit of the children. Many children are placed with foster carers outside of their approval range and there are some significant delays in presentation to panel for the necessary changes. There are very few unplanned endings and where children do have to move, this is managed and planned in a way sensitive to children's needs and feelings. Where placements are not available in house independent agencies are used. A placement support panel brings together decision makers to consider placements made with independent fostering

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

agencies and ensure appropriate support is provided. Services represented include housing, health, education, early years and clinical psychology.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering panels are organised efficiently and effectively. They challenge, scrutinise and make recommendations based on full information. They are properly constituted and include people with a range of relevant experience in addition to having access to medical expertise. Members have annual appraisal and a development day was held recently. The quality assurance function of panel is well developed and regular business meetings ensure effective communication with the fostering service. Panel papers are sent out on time and minutes are well ordered and include clear reasons for the recommendations made. Dedicated administrators ensure that the panels are well organised.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The fostering service values diversity and provides training for foster carers. Foster carers promote self-confidence and self-worth and celebrate children's successes. Support is provided for children with disabilities including support for them to access community activities. Foster carers collect mementos and record information for children to take with them when they move on.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Educational is well promoted and children and young people are attending and achieving. Foster carers are involved in school events and meetings and support children, for example, in attending personal education plan meetings and in deciding how the agreed targets can be met. The integrated working practices of the education support team, fostering service and foster carers benefits children and young people. Foster carers have access to the children in need education team, education co-ordinators and looked after children learning mentors for advice. They are trained in supporting education and learning and are positive about the support they, and children in their care, receive. Community involvement and activities are promoted and in line with their skills and wishes.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The short break service, which aims to keep families together, is well established and located within preventative services. It is an innovative and flexible service which provides short breaks at variable frequencies to meet individual needs. Where children need periods of full-time foster care the service aims to place them with their short break carers to provide consistency of care. Respite placements for mainstream and friends and family foster carers is also provided as part 6 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010 of their support packages. The fostering service also works with a local specialist agency to provide long-term and short break care for children with disabilities.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. The fostering service promotes contact arrangements and where possible foster carers establish and maintain positive relationships with parents and family members. Foster carers maintain clear records of the impact of contact on the child, and inform placing social workers of any concerns. There is a clear expectation that foster carers will facilitate contact where this is in the interests of the child and they are committed to doing so. The effectiveness of their training is evident in their understanding of the benefits to children. Arrangements are discussed at the matching stage and support is provided to foster carers appropriately.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The fostering service and the local authority are committed to promoting consultation. All children and young people in Hull have access to a range of participation projects including the Youth Parliament where resolutions are passed and agreed with senior managers. The Rights and Participation Project (RAPP) is well established and promotes and advocates for young people's rights. A newly appointed participation worker will consider the specific challenges of engaging looked after children in groups and events. Children are encouraged to contribute to foster carers' reviews, as are their own children and their views are routinely sought. Some young people are involved in the recruitment of foster carers.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The views of foster carers are gained in a variety of ways and they are involved in the development of the service, for example, they have recently been involved in rewriting the foster carer handbook. Foster carers who met with inspectors, or filled in questionnaires, expressed confidence that their views are listened to and valued. Placing social workers contribute to foster carer reviews and their views are gained through children's statutory reviews, as are the opinions of parents and families.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. The fostering service prepares young people for adulthood. Pathway plans are in place and foster carers receive training and support to enable them to prepare young people for independent living. They maintain an appropriate balance between allowing age appropriate independence and safety issues. Case responsibility is transferred to the young people's support service at the end of academic Year 11. This is a dedicated service which specialises in linking young people to health, counselling services, housing options, education, training and employment. Young people benefit from established arrangement which allow them to remain with their foster carers after their 18th birthday, through the supported lodgings scheme, or the shared lives scheme for those with disabilities.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The fostering services pays carers allowances and agreed expense. The allowances are audited annually and information on the fees scheme is communicated fully to all carers. Payments are made on time through the business support team which is co-located with the fostering service. Foster carers commented positively about the dedicated business staff and their ability to contact them directly. 7 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The promotion of equality and diversity is good. Young people in foster care receive individualised care through assessments of their needs and extensive support packages. Anti-discriminatory practice is evident and foster carers and social workers advocate on children's behalf to assist them in reaching their potential. Training sessions for foster carers take place in the daytime, evenings and weekends to facilitate attendance and a male carers' support group is in place which recognised their specific issues and which was set up at their request.

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Organisation

The Statement of Purpose is updated as necessary and states the aims and objectives of the service and the facilities and services they provide. The guide for young people is well produced, contains information and contact numbers for complaints, children's' rights organisations but is only accessible to those with well developed literacy skills.

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Organisation

The systems for monitoring and controlling the service are not robust, for example, unannounced visits are not all taking place annually, some exemptions from the usual fostering limits do not have full information included and occasionally management decisions are not recorded. The roles and responsibilities of managers and staff are well defined, and clear to all, as are lines of accountability. There have been capacity issues over the last year, including a vacancy for a manager, which have largely been resolved but have impacted on the ability of the service to develop as quickly as they would have liked. The staff group are experienced, skilled and committed to supporting children and young people in placement and are largely positive about their managers and the authority as an employer. They have regular supervision, are well supported and annual appraisals address professional development. The procedures and guidance

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Organisation

for the fostering service are in process of being revised and updated and plans are in place to launch them next year.

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Organisation

The service acknowledges that it does not have enough foster carers and plans are in place to address this. The service uses independent fostering agency placements to meet the deficit. Contracting and monitoring arrangements serve to protect children placed with them. Recruitment strategies include targeting specific areas and groups, assessing effectiveness of campaigns and providing a range of materials to attract the public and respond to enquirers. Clear processes are in place from enquiry to approval, however, there have been some delays in assessing foster carers due to capacity issues. The service has a dedicated assessment team who carry out good quality and in depth assessments which are analytical and include a summary of strengths and vulnerabilities.

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Organisation

Training for staff and foster carers is extensive and they expressed satisfaction with the range and content. The service has been successful in raising the number of foster carers attending training. A variety of venues and times of training has allowed for easier access. The authority's training department includes a development officer attached to the fostering service who delivers training at support groups, and where necessary, in foster carer's homes. The training department is responsive to requests for specific courses from the fostering service and gains feedback from participants which inform future planning. Foster carers are encouraged to completed Children's Workforce Development Council standards and are supported to do so.

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Organisation

The service excels in multi-agency working to meet the needs of children in foster care and to support their placements. Individualised and flexible packages are available which include 8 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010 respite care, support groups for children of foster carers and access to education and health specialists. Foster carers were largely positive about the support they receive, however, not all receive the frequency of supervisory visits to comply with the service's guidance. The quality of recording of these visits is variable and they do not all demonstrate that outcomes for children are being monitored on a regular basis. Arrangements are in place for support of foster carers outside office hours from two residential centres.

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Organisation

Foster carer reviews are comprehensive and include contributions from foster carers, children, placing social workers and supervising social workers. They are chaired by an independent reviewing officer who has administrative support to ensure that all the consultation documents are completed. She also has the responsibility for ensuring that all recommendations made at the review are carried out. All reviews are then considered by the fostering panel who have found the new arrangements useful and informative.

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Organisation

The fostering service maintains appropriate records for children and foster carers. There are sufficient administrative and business support services whose roles include providing management information reports and payments to foster carers. The premises provide a well-equipped base and suitable secure storage for confidential information. Staff reported problems with keeping warm enough during winter months, due to ineffective heating and draughty windows.

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Organisation

The service recognises the contribution made by family and friends as carers. They receive the same levels of training, support and supervision as mainstream foster carers and their particular needs are recognised. A dedicated team focuses on the needs of this group of carers and is successful in keeping children within their families. The staff work closely with the children's social workers from an early stage in the placement and approval process.

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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): • ensure that foster homes are inspected annually to make sure they meet the needs of foster children (NMS 6.2) • ensure that children's needs are assessed before any decision is made to allow sharing of bedrooms and ensure that the outcome of the assessment is recorded in writing (NMS 6.5) • ensure that children are placed with foster carers whose terms of approval are consistent with the placement (breach of Regulation 34(1)(b)) • ensure that safe caring guidelines are provided, cleared with the child's social worker and explained clearly and appropriately to the child (NMS 9.3) • ensure that the children's guide is suitable for all children fostered through the service (NMS 1.5) • continue with plans to review procedures and guidance for staff (NMS 16) • ensure that systems are in place to monitor and improve the quality of service provided

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Recommendations

(breach of Regulation 42 (1)(a and b)) • ensure that the premises used as offices are appropriate for the purpose. (NMS 26.1) 9 of 9 Inspection Report: Kingston upon Hull City Council Fostering Service,22 September 2010

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