East Riding of Yorkshire Council

East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service Inspection report for la fostering agency

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SC055966 Unique reference number 14 July 2008 Inspection date David Martin / Simon Morley Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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East Riding of Yorkshire Council Address County Hall Cross Street BEVERLEY North Humberside HU17 9BA 01482 887 700 Telephone number jane.stow@eastriding.gov.uk Email East Riding of Yorkshire Council Registered person David Glenville Registered manager

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Responsible individual

22 January 2007 Date of last inspection .

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Responsible individual

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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Responsible individual

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: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008

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Brief description of the service

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council operates its fostering services from its main office in Beverley. Its aim is to provide a wide range of foster carers so that children and young people can have a choice of placement and access to consistent care. The fostering team is responsible for assessments and approvals, foster care training programmes and the supervision of carers.

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Summary

This was an announced inspection which involved an assessment of the performance of the Local Authority's fostering service against all key standards. The East Riding of Yorkshire fostering service is well managed and child-focussed. The service provides very positive outcomes for young people placed in its care. There is a strong strategy for the recruitment and retention of carers and the service has developed a very effective matching process. The service provides skilled and motivated carers who are well supported by the fostering team. A particular strength of the service is its commitment to enabling young people to contribute their views. 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 East Riding of Yorkshire has taken action to comply with recommendations made in the last inspection report. A profile of each foster family has been developed to assist young people in the matching process. It has improved the way it seeks the views of young people, ensuring that they can contribute to the way in which the service is run. The service has moved to new office accommodation which has provided additional space and has helped establish a closer working relationship with the adoption service.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children and young people's health needs are identified via a statutory medical assessment and a record of this is maintained on their individual files. The service is exploring ways in which health assessments can be shared with carers. There are health care plans in place for all young people and health care issues are discussed at each supervision session with carers. This ensures that the health care needs of each young person are under regular review. The service is strongly committed to improving health outcomes for children and young people through the development of effective working relationships with partner agencies. It has established good links with the Looked After Children's nurse and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. All young people are registered with primary healthcare services. The service provides a comprehensive pre and post approval training programme which equips carers with the basic

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Helping children to be healthy

health training they require. There are regular articles on health issues and healthy lifestyles in the foster carers' news magazine which carers find very helpful. There is information available for carers and young people regarding substance misuse and sexual health. The service intends to work with colleagues in health to ensure that awareness of these issues remains high. Carers and young people have a good understanding of health care issues particularly in relation to healthy eating and lifestyle choices. 4 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. The East Riding of Yorkshire fostering service is run by a well qualified and experienced team. The fostering social workers have extensive experience in fostering and working with children. The organisation carries out rigorous checks on all prospective staff prior to appointment. This means that the agency has minimised the risks of young people coming into contact with unsafe adults. The assessment of carers is rigorous and all appropriate checks are carried out. All aspects of staying safe are well covered in 'Skills to Foster' and ‘Core Skills Training'. The service has developed high quality safer caring plans and carers have a sound understanding of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children and young people from harm. They understand their health and safety responsibilities and provide children and young people with safe accommodation. The matching process is a strength of the service. It has recruited carers with

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

a wide range of skills and experience and is able to make placements based on this information. The development of carer profiles and a successful recruitment drive has ensured that young people are given some choice in deciding who looks after them. The service is committed to making positive placements to ensure good outcomes for young people. The needs of carers' own children are also taken into account. There is a properly constituted fostering panel and meetings are quorate. Panel meetings are thorough and all members contribute their views in a reflective way. The panel provides feedback to the agency which contributes to its quality monitoring programmes. The work of the panel is held in high regard by the local authority and it carries out its business efficiently and effectively. The panel maintains clear written records of its decisions. The service has very strong processes to ensure that young people are

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

safe from abuse. The child protection procedures are widely available. Carers have completed safeguarding training and have a good understanding of issues of abuse and neglect. Carers are very confident about reporting concerns and have a good understanding about issues of confidentiality. The safeguarding board provides training and is open and accessible for advice and guidance. The service is rigorous in its investigation of allegations and concerns and maintains very good records of these incidents.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. The service has developed good policies and procedures relating to diversity and equality. The population of the East Riding of Yorkshire is predominantly White British and this is reflected in the profile of carers and Looked After Children. There are few young people who have needs associated with different culture, ethnicity or religion. There are a growing number of unaccompanied asylum seekers who require care and the service has made considerable efforts to match them carefully and to establish contact with community leaders. Carers and fostering staff have undertaken training in diversity and equality. The case records for young people reflect their individuality. The fostering service places a high priority on meeting the educational needs of each child and young person in placement. Carers have done some excellent work in encouraging children and young people to achieve their academic potential. In addition, the

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

fostering service has developed a number of imaginative initiatives to support children and young people who are finding reintegration difficult and all initiatives are underpinned by highly effective multi agency working. The authority has established a Looked After Children Group which has worked hard to identify young people at risk of exclusion and there are two Education Programme Workers specifically for Looked After Children. A successful Home School Support Service has been initiated which has impacted positively on school attendance figures. 5 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008 Children and young people are provided with a range of accessible and enjoyable leisure activities which reflect their own interests and abilities. Some events are arranged specifically for young people in foster families, such as the annual Christmas party and the summer event.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. The service actively promotes contact between young people and their birth families where this is appropriate. It is a key aspect of placement matching and is an issue that is regularly considered during supervision visits. There is some excellent practice within the authority which demonstrates that carers fully support and promote contact. For example, some foster carers are willing to take responsibility for supervised contact, some regularly send photographs to parents, and all encourage young people to keep in touch by telephone, letter, and email. Carers are aware of restricted contacts and take necessary safeguarding precautions. Complaints about contact from young people are responded to well. Young people are actively encouraged and supported to have a say. Young people feel listened to by foster carers and strongly express the view that they are part of the family. There are effective systems in place for young people

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Helping children make a positive contribution

to contribute to their reviews. They can use electronic feedback through 'Viewpoint' which is supported by the children’s rights service. Independent Reviewing Officers are proactive in providing individual contact with young people to ensure their views are properly represented. There is a strong and well established children’s rights participation team. They have a clearly defined role in ensuring that young people are engaged in the way in which Looked After Children are cared for. This group has participated in interviews for new staff and were actively involved in the appointment of the current resource manager. They meet with the resource manager and head of service to affect change and also attend the council’s corporate parenting meetings. They are actively involved in providing training and advice for potential foster carers.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The service has a clear Statement of Purpose which accurately reflects provision. The fostering service benefits from strong leadership by well qualified and experienced managers who are highly child-focussed in their approach. The service has experienced a number of changes in its direct line management in the last two years. However, the resource manager and fostering manager have established stability and are developing an overall strategy to enhance the fostering service. The staff work in a very supportive team that has access to good training programmes. They feel that the manager is accessible and that they receive advice and guidance as needed. Supervision is not carried out at the required intervals. This hinders the team in discussing their developmental needs and casework issues on a formal basis. The team has access to good in-house training programmes but external training is limited. This restricts the

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Organisation

staff team in sharing ideas with colleagues from other agencies and keeping up with best practice. The fostering team has the skills needed to recruit, assess, approve and support a diverse range of foster carers. They have undertaken a considerable amount of recruitment work which has increased the range of available fostering placements. The quality of work produced by the team has increased but this has put a strain on resources. The team currently is working to capacity. The support offered to carers is excellent and makes a significant 6 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008 contribution to the stability of placements. Carers report that they can always contact a member of staff for advice and guidance. The monitoring processes for carers are clear and include regular reviews of strengths and areas for development. Carers are provided with training which

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Organisation

equips them with the expertise and practical advice they need for their role. The 'priority care' scheme which enables carers to attend training events has been suspended but there are plans to introduce a similar, streamlined service in the near future. The quality of case recording is of a high standard. The service has moved to new office accommodation which has provided additional space and has helped establish a closer working relationship with the adoption service.

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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 Fostering Services 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): • carry out formal, recorded supervision of all staff (NMS 16) • provide access to a range of training course (NMS 19). 7 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the fostering service promotes the health and development of children (NMS 12). Ofsted considers 12 the key standard to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for 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) Ofsted considers 3, 6, 8, 9, 15 and 30 the key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for 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) Ofsted considers 7, 13 and 31 the key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the fostering service promotes contact arrangements for the child or young person (NMS 10) • the fostering service promotes consultation (NMS 11) Ofsted considers 10 and 11 the key standards to be inspected.

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The intended outcomes for 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) 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 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) 8 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008

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Annex A

• 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) • 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)

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Annex A

• local authority fostering services recognise the contribution made by family and friends as carers (NMS 32) Ofsted considers 1, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25 and 32 the key standards to be inspected. 9 of 9 Inspection Report: East Riding of Yorkshire Council Fostering Service, 14 July 2008

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