Setting

Service

17th January 2005 Local Authority Adoption Services

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

Launched in April 2004, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) is the single inspectorate for social care in England.

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Commission for Social Care Inspection

The Commission combines the work formerly done by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), the SSI/Audit Commission Joint Review Team and the National Care Standards Commission.

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The role of CSCI is to:

• Promote improvement in social care • Inspect all social care - for adults and children - in the public, private and voluntary sectors • Publish annual reports to Parliament on the performance of social care and on the state of the social care market • Inspect and assess ‘Value for Money’ of council social services • Hold performance statistics on social care • Publish the ‘star ratings’ for council social services • Register and inspect services against national standards • Host the Children’s Rights Director role.

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Inspection Methods & Findings

SECTION B of this report summarises key findings and evidence from this inspection. The following 4-point scale is used to indicate the extent to which standards have been met or not met by placing the assessed level alongside the phrase "Standard met?"

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The 4-point scale ranges from:

4 - Standard Exceeded (Commendable) 3 - Standard Met (No Shortfalls) 2 - Standard Almost Met (Minor Shortfalls) 1 - Standard Not Met (Major Shortfalls) 'O' or blank in the 'Standard met?' box denotes standard not assessed on this occasion. '9' in the 'Standard met?' box denotes standard not applicable. 'X' is used where a percentage value or numerical value is not applicable. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 1

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Headquarters Address

Littleburn Business Centre, Mill Road, Langley Moor, Co Durham.DH7 8ET

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service

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 2 Date of Inspection Visit 17th January 2005 ID Code

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service

Name of Inspector 1 Sally Woodget 113975

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inspections and bring a different

perspective to the inspection process. Name of Specialist (e.g.

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Name of Establishment Representative at

the time of inspection Elaine Robinson Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 3

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D.3. Provider’s agreement

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 4

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INTRODUCTION TO REPORT AND INSPECTION

Local authority adoption services are subject to inspection by CSCI, to establish if the service is meeting the National Minimum Standards for Local Authority Adoption Services and the requirements of the Care Standards Act 2000, the Adoption Act 1976 as amended, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983 as amended and the Local Authority Adoption Service (England) Regulations 2003.

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INTRODUCTION TO REPORT AND INSPECTION

This document summarises the inspection findings of the CSCI in respect of Durham County Council Adoption Service. The inspection findings relate to the National Minimum Standards for Local Authority Adoption Services published by the Secretary of State under sections 49 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

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INTRODUCTION TO REPORT AND INSPECTION

The Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983 and the Local Authority Adoption Service (England) Regulations 2003 are secondary legislation, with which a service provider must comply. Service providers are expected to comply fully with the National Minimum Standards. The National Minimum standards will form the basis for judgements by the CSCI regarding notices to the local authority and reports to the Secretary of State under section 47 of the Care Standards Act 2000.

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INTRODUCTION TO REPORT AND INSPECTION

The report follows the format of the National Minimum Standards and the numbering shown in the report corresponds to that of the standards.

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INTRODUCTION TO REPORT AND INSPECTION

The report will show the following: • Inspection methods used • Key findings and evidence • Overall ratings in relation to the standards • Compliance with the Regulations • Notifications to the Local Authority and Reports to the Secretary of State • Required actions on the part of the provider • Recommended good practice • Summary of the findings • Report of the Lay Assessor (where relevant) • Providers response and proposed action plan to address findings

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INSPECTION VISITS

Inspections will be undertaken in line with the regulatory framework with additional visits as required. This is in accordance with the provisions of the Care Standards Act 2000. The inspection methods used in the production of this report are set out in Part B. Pre- inspection information, and the manager’s written self-evaluation of the service, have also been taken into account. The report represents the inspector's findings from the evidence found at the specified inspection dates. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED.

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INSPECTION VISITS

Durham County Council Social Care and Health operate their own discreet adoption service. The adoption service’s mission statement is to "provide safe and secure care for children and young people, to enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes for life". The aim to provide high-quality services in line with legislative responsibilities, to work in partnership with voluntary, independent, local and regional and national services and to work in a manner that promote equal opportunities.

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INSPECTION VISITS

The adoption service has recently moved to new premises along with the other family placement services provided by Durham county council. The premises are of high quality, providing facilities for training, panel meetings and the resource library.

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INSPECTION VISITS

The adoption services key objectives are; • to recruit, train and assess sufficient adopters to meet the needs of those children requiring adoptive placements. • To provide counselling, information, support and participation of birth families. • To provide adoption support services to those whose lives are affected by adoption. • To contribute to multiagency planning systems for Looked after Children were adoption is being considered and to avoid unnecessary delay in identifying and securing an adoption placement. • To maintain an anti-discriminatory approach with all service users.

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INSPECTION VISITS

The adoption service is supported by an effective management structure incorporating a strategic overview and development of the service, and by council who maintain a strong commitment to the corporate parenting role. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 6

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INSPECTOR’S SUMMARY

(This is an overview of the inspector’s findings, which includes good practice, quality issues, areas to be addressed or developed and any other concerns.) This service has been inspected the first time against the National Minimum Standards introduced on the 1 st April 2003. As a result, this report may contain a substantial number of requirements and recommendations. If so, these should fall significantly at the next inspection. However, inspectors found that the service was operating well, and a number of new services had been developed. The managers were well aware of any shortfalls and measures were being determined to rectify these. Inspectors felt that the adoption service was child-centred, staff were fully committed, hard-working and keen to drive improvements forward. The number of requirements inspectors made was low and a number of good practice recommendations have been made the top

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INSPECTOR’S SUMMARY

Standard 1 Statement of Purpose. This Standard has been nearly met. A few minor omissions need to be addressed to comply with the regulations. The children's guide needs to contain a summary of the Statement of Purpose and a further guide to meet the needs of children under the age of five needs to be developed .

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INSPECTOR’S SUMMARY

Standard 2 Securing and Promoting Children's Welfare. This Standard has been met. Inspectors were satisfied with the measures that were being taken to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of children. There was evidence that the agency were addressing the issue of recruiting enough adopters from different ethnic minority backgrounds.

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INSPECTOR’S SUMMARY

Standards 3-6. Prospective and Approved the Adopters. Two of these standards have been met, two were nearly met. Inspectors were satisfied with the written information provided to prospective adopters and were pleased to note that the service had systems in place to prioritise prospective adopters who were most likely to meet the needs of children waiting. Preparation and training courses were multidisciplinary in their approach including sessions run by the local CAMHS team and the specialist service, STEPS, providing information on attachment issues. The service need to provide written information for approved adopters on the linking, matching and introductory process. Further training has been identified for children's social workers in preparing the assessment and recommendation for the best interest decision making. Child/life appreciation days are recommended to be more widely used. Adoption support

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INSPECTOR’S SUMMARY

services are provided from a range of sources and further development in this area is intended. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 7 Standards 7-9 Birth Parents and Birth Families. One of these standards has been met, two have been nearly met. Staff were fully aware of the need to involve birth families in the planning for their children. Managers were aware that more work needed to be done in this area and had recently set up a service level agreement with the voluntary agency and intended to provide a more proactive and independent counselling service to birth families. One member of staff have been given responsibility for facilitating and supporting direct and indirect contact arrangements with birth families.

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

Two of these standards were nearly met, two were met. Inspectors felt that further training was required for panel members on other forms of permanency for children. The draft panel policies and procedures required some further additions and amendments. Further consideration needs to be given to the recruitment of panel members. Panel meetings are convened every two weeks in order to ensure timeliness in decision making and panel members files fully complied with standards and regulations.

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

Standard 14 –15. Fitness to Provide or Manage an Adoption Agency. One of these standards was met, one was nearly met. Both the service manager and the manager of the adoption team had the necessary skills and qualifications and experience to carry out their work. Whilst relevant status checks were in place inspectors did not find evidence of telephone inquiries were made to each referee to verify written references.

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

Standard 16-18. Provision and Management of the Adoption Agency. Two of these standards were nearly met, one was met. The adoption service needs to develop clear and concise, written procedures that cover the arrangements for the use of services provided by the National Adoption Register. There are clear and well established lines of communication and accountability between manager and staff. There are number of established procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the adoption agency and ensuring quality performance. The adoption service need to develop the written protocol governing the rule of specialist advisers and it is recommended that an adviser with attachment therapy experience is included in the panel membership.

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

Standards 19-23. Employment and Management of Staff. All of these standards are nearly met. Staff working for the agency was suitable to work with children and young people and to safeguard and promote their welfare. Further work needs to be carried out to ensure contingency plans to restore staffing shortfalls in a short time and to develop systems to determine, prioritise and monitor workloads.

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

Standards 25-28. Records. Three of these standards where nearly met, one was met. The content and maintenance of case records was good, however further work was needed to develop policy and procedure putting together the adoption files and relevant auditing tools. Further work also is needed to record complaints in a way that complies with the regulations. Human resources files and files on panel members were satisfactory with only a few minor omissions. Standards 29. Fitness of premises. This Standard was met. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 8 The new premises were comfortable and suitable for their purpose. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 9 Reports and Notifications to the Local Authority and Secretary of State

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

The following statutory Reports or Notifications are to be made under the Care Standards Act as a result of the findings of this inspection:

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

NA Report to the Secretary of State under section 47(3) of the Care Standards Act 2000 that the Commission considers the Local Authority's adoption service satisfies the regulatory requirements:

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

NA Notice to the Local Authority under section 47(5) of the Care Standards Act 2000 of failure(s) to satisfy regulatory requirements in their adoption service which are not substantial, and specifying the action the Commission considers the Authority should take to remedy the failure(s), informing the Secretary of State of that Notice:

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

NA Report to the Secretary of State under section 47(4)(a) of the Care Standards Act 2000 of a failure by a Local Authority adoption service to satisfy regulatory requirements which is not considered substantial:

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Standards 10-13 Adoption Panels and Agency Decisions

NA Report to the Secretary of State under section 47(1) of the Care Standards Act 2000 of substantial failure to satisfy regulatory requirements by a Local Authority adoption service:

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The grounds for the above Report or Notice are:

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 10

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(Not relevant at first CSCI inspection)

Requirements from last Inspection visit fully actioned? NA

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Identified below are areas not addressed from the last inspection report which indicate a non-compliance with the Care Standards Act 2000, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983 and the Local Authority Adoption Service (England) Regulations 2003. No. Regulation Standard Required actions Timescale for action

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Action is being taken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection to monitor

compliance with the above requirements. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 11

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED DURING THIS INSPECTION

Action Plan: The appropriate officer of the Local Authority is requested to provide the Commission with an action plan, which indicates how requirements are to be addressed. This action plan is shown in Part D of this report.

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Identified below are areas addressed in the main body of the report which indicate non- compliance with the Care Standards Act 2000, the Adoption Act 1976, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 1983, the Local Authority Adoption Service (England) Regulations 2003 or the National Minimum Standards for Local Authority Adoption Services. The Authority is required to comply within the given time scales in order to comply with the Regulatory Requirements for adoption services. No. Regulation Standard * Requirement Timescale for action

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Reg 2(1) LA1 The Statement of Purpose must include a description of the relevant experience of the manager and of the staff employed by the authority for the purposes of the adoption service. End of April 2005

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

2 Reg 3(1) LA1 The children's guide must contain a summary of the Statement of Purpose. End of April 2005

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Reg 10 (a) (b) LA21 The adoption service must ensure that having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children placed for adoption, it has a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working for the purpose of the agency. End of March

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STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

Reg 14 LA27 The adoption agency must ensure that the place of special security used for storage of case records is suitable and in particular will minimise the risk of damage from fire and water. End of August Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 12 5 Reg 17(a) LA27 The local authority adoption service must ensure a written record is made of any complaint, including the details of the investigation made, the outcome and any action taken in consequence. This record needs to be maintained for three years from the date it was made. End of April 2005 Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 13

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

Identified below are areas addressed in the main body of the report which relate to the National Minimum Standards and are seen as good practice issues which should be considered for implementation by the Authority or Registered Person(s). No. Refer to Standard * Recommendation Action

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

1 LA1.5 The children's guide should be produced in different formats to meet the needs of different ages, abilities and levels of understanding; for example, a video guide.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

2 LA4.7 The adoption service should ensure that it assesses the competences and experiences that prospective applicants will need to develop as well as those they already possess.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

3 LA5.1 The adoption service should develop clear written information about the matching, introduction and placement process, to include the role of the adoption register for approved adopters will stop

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

4 LA5.2 The children's service should ensure that a full and detailed written information is provided to prospective adopters, identifying any risk factors and any specific difficulties that may arise, in order that the implications of these can be fully discussed and explored.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

5 LA5.3 The adoption agency should develop a robust system for requesting the agreement of adopters, to inform the agency in the event that an adopted child dies during childhood or soon afterwards.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

6 LA6.2 The adoption service should develop clear strategy for working with and supporting adopters, in particular, in relation to the frequency of visits following approval and placement.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

7 LA10.2 The adoption service should ensure that all the elements of the Standard are included in the written policies and procedures of the panel.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

8 LA11.4 The adoption service should ensure that the adoption panel members have access further training in permanence planning for children

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

9 LA19LA15 The adoption service should develop a clear procedure to evidence in the telephone enquiries verifying the written references. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 14 10 LA16.7 The adoption service should develop clear and concise, written procedures that cover arrangements for the use of services provided by the adoption register.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

11 LA18.5 The adoption service should develop a written protocol governing the role of the specialist advisers and provide evidence of their qualifications and their professional registration.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

12 LA20.4 The adoption agency should develop systems to determine, priorities is and monitor workloads.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

13 LA21.3 The adoption service should devise contingency plans to deal with shortfalls in staffing levels in the short term. 14 LA22 The adoption service should ensure that it operates its employment responsibilities in a fair and sensitive manner.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

15 LA23.2 The adoption service should develop some specific training for children's social workers, to ensure a detailed, analytical assessment on each child, were adoption is recommended in the child's best interests.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

16 LA25 A separate policy and procedure for the filing of information on adopters and children to be adopted, should be devised, together with a revised auditing tool.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

17 LA25 The adoption agency should ensure that all decisions by supervisors are recorded on the case files and legible, clearly expressed, signed and dated.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

18 LA28 The adoption service should ensure that records of staff recruitment interviews are kept on the individuals personnel file and all personnel files contain documentary evidence of any recent qualification.

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GOOD PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THIS INSPECTION

• Note: You may refer to the relevant standard in the remainder of the report by omitting the 2-letter prefix e.g. LA10 refers to Standard 10. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 15

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

The following inspection methods have been used in the production of this report

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

Placing authority survey YES Placing social worker survey YES Prospective adopter survey YES Approved adopter survey YES Birth parent / birth family member survey YES Checks with other organisations and Individuals • Directors of Social services YES • Specialist advisor (s) YES Tracking Individual welfare arrangements YES • Interview with children NO • Interview with adopters and prospective adopters YES • Interview with birth parents YES • Interview with birth family members NO • Contact with supervising social workers YES • Examination of files YES Individual interview with manager YES Information from provider YES Individual interviews with key staff YES Group discussion with staff YES Interview with panel chair YES Observation of adoption panel YES Inspection of policy/practice documents YES Inspection of records (personnel, adopter, child, complaints, allegations) YES

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

Date of Inspection 12/1/05 Time of Inspection 0900 Duration Of Inspection (hrs) 76 Number of Inspector days 8 Additional Inspection Questions: Certificate of Registration was displayed at time of inspection NA The certificate of registration accurately reflected the situation in the service at the time of inspection NA

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

Total Number of staff employed (excluding managers) 10 Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 16 The following pages summarise the key findings and evidence from this inspection, together with the CSCI assessment of the extent to which the National Minimum Standards have been met. The following scale is used to indicate the extent to which standards have been met or not met by placing the assessed level alongside the phrase "Standard met?"

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

The scale ranges from: 4 - Standard Exceeded (Commendable) 3 - Standard Met (No Shortfalls) 2 - Standard Almost Met (Minor Shortfalls) 1 - Standard Not Met (Major Shortfalls)

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PART B INSPECTION METHODS & FINDINGS

"0" in the "Standard met?" box denotes standard not assessed on this occasion. "9" in the "Standard met?" box denotes standard not applicable on this occasion. “X” is used where a percentage value or numerical value is not applicable. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 17

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The intended outcome for the following standard is:

• There is clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption

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There is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency

which describes accurately what facilities and services they provide. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Durham County Council Adoption Agency has a clear written Statement of Purpose , which indicates the aims and objectives of, and services provided by, the agency. This document was ratified by the Corporate Parenting Panel and Senior Management Team in November 2004. The Statement of Purpose is well written, comprehensive and accessible. A few minor omissions need to be addressed to comply with Regulation 2 (1) Schedule 1; the description of the staff needs to include the relevant experience of the manager and of the staff employed by the authority for the purposes of the adoption service.

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There is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency

The agency has recently created a Children's Guide which is intended to be used in conjunction with the B. A. A. F Children's Guide. Managers informed the inspectors that they are planning to translate the local children's guide into other languages to meet the needs of children from different ethnic backgrounds and also to make it available in different formats to suit the needs of children of different abilities. The local children's guide is only appropriate for children aged 8 and above. Managers informed inspectors that a children's guide geared to meet the needs of younger children was planned. Inspectors suggested that producing a children's guide in different formats such as a video would be helpful. Managers assured the inspectors that social workers for individual children would spend time explaining the content of the children's guide to them. Inspectors found , however , that the local children's guide did not contain a summary of the Statement of Purpose and this

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There is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency

needs to be added to fully comply with Regulation 3.(1), Schedule 2.

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There is a clear written statement of the aims and objectives of the adoption agency

Inspectors found that most staff and adopters had seen the Statement of Purpose but that the children's guide was not yet widely distributed or known about by children's social workers. The adoption agency should ensure that all social worker staff are fully aware of the children's guide and are distribute it appropriately. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 18

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executive side of the council?

Is there a children’s guide to adoption? YES

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information required by Standard 1.4?

NO Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 19

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The intended outcome for the following set of standards is:

• The needs and wishes, welfare and safety of the child are at the centre of the adoption process.

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effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of

children waiting for adoption locally. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 Inspectors saw evidence that the adoption agency had developed a written policy for the implementation and evaluation of effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters. The agency works in partnership with an advertising consultant to plan each aspect of the annual recruitment programme. Statistical data is kept following each inquiry from prospective adopters so that the service can identify which method of advertising has been most effective. The various forms of advertising that have been used recently have been effective and are planned again on a rolling programme throughout the year.

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effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of

The team plan includes targets to assess a certain number of adopters throughout the year, which is managed in a staged way. The service runs a duty service each weekday afternoon to ensure they can respond swiftly to inquiries from prospective adopters. The service aims to complete an initial visit to each prospective adopter within two weeks of the first inquiry. Regular preparation and training groups are organised throughout the year in order to ensure the service can proceed in a timely way to process prospective adopters. The service focuses on the needs of the hardest to place children such as sibling groups and older children, and is able to prioritise and " fast track" prospective adopters through the assessment process in order to meet the needs of children referred to them. The inspectors felt that the processes and systems were child focussed and that the practices and strategies that were in place were good.

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effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of

There was evidence that the local authority had researched the ethnic origins of their demographic population and had compared this to their staffing, to the numbers of children in the looked after system and of those children needing adoptive placements. The agency had been successful in recruiting and assessing adopters from different ethnic backgrounds in order to ensure that any children referred to them could be matched with a family which reflected their ethnic origin but both the number of children referred to them and the number of prospective adopters applying to the agency are very low. The agency also have agreed arrangements with the Northern Region Consortium of Adoption and Fostering Agencies to increase the range and choice of placement for the children referred to them in order to match individual assessed needs more effectively. At the time of the inspection the adoption service was unable to place all children referred to them with their own adopters, while some

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effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of

of this was due to children needing to be placed outside the area for reasons of security, the agency was aware of the need to increase their own resources to provide better placement choice.

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effective strategies to recruit sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of

Any decisions which relate to the placement of brothers and sisters being placed together or separated, are fully recorded. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 20

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In the last 12 months:

How many children were identified as needing adoptive families? 91 How many children were matched with adopters? 34 How many children were placed with the service’s own adopters? 29 How many children were placed with other services’ adopters? 5 How many children were referred to the Adoption Register? 20

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adopters does this represent?

100 % How many sibling groups were matched in the last 12 months? 8

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waiting for a match to be identified?

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 21

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The intended outcome for the following set of standards is:

• The adoption agency recruits and supports sufficient adopters from

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diverse backgrounds, who can offer children a stable and permanent home

to achieve a successful and lasting placement.

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about the preparation, assessment and approval procedure and that they will be

treated fairly, openly and with respect throughout the adoption process. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 The information pack is sent out to prospective adopters and this provides useful information and implies a broad eligibility criteria. Inspectors were informed that the service was exploring the most creative ways to reach the widest range of prospective adopters, that there was an emphasis on equal opportunities and that the prospective adoptive parents were welcomed without prejudice.

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about the preparation, assessment and approval procedure and that they will be

Inspectors were told that staff have attended training days on the recruitment of ethnic minority carers and that the service is working with adopters from ethnic minority backgrounds already approved by the agency, to develop further creative links with the community. The information packs and the web site provided for prospective adopters provide useful information about the Durham County Council Adoption Service. The information includes a " step-by-step guide to adoption", "adoption your questions answered" and "supporting you after adoption". It would be helpful if other information is included at this time such as the Statement of Purpose and information from national bodies such as BAAF, and information about the Independent Review Mechanism, for example.

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about the preparation, assessment and approval procedure and that they will be

The adoption service has very few applications for inter-country adoption, the BAAF intercountry adoption advice notes are sent to those applicants interested in this area of adoption. At present one member of staff from the children's services undertakes responsibility for all intercountry adoption inquiries and assessments. It is intended that this member of staff will share her skills and experience in this area with staff from the adoption team in order to ensure that others can take on this role in her absence. The service intends to develop modular training to facilitate intercountry adopters attending the local preparation groups. The adoption service will also share information about other providers who provide support and training for intercountry adopters such as "Oasis”.

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about the preparation, assessment and approval procedure and that they will be

As already stated , the service already had systems in place to prioritise applicants who were likely to meet the needs of the children referred to them. The adoption service evaluated the needs of children on referral and used this information to provide a focus for all recruitment processes of adopters.

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about the preparation, assessment and approval procedure and that they will be

Prospective adopters are given the opportunity to attend a preparation and training course and experienced adopters are invited to share their experiences with them. The service shares information about children who need families locally and nationally, by providing them with information contained in the BAAF”Be My Parent” brochure and other adoption advertising campaigns in the media. Information about the National Adoption Register is Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 22 also provided to approved adoptive families.

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

assessment, preparation and approval process. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Inspectors found that prospective adopters were fully involved in the formal process of assessment, training and approval. The Form F assessments were of a good quality, interweaving description and analysis throughout.

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

Preparation/training groups are made available to all prospective domestic adopters, and as stated earlier, the service has plans to integrate intercountry adoption applicants into this programme. Whilst the majority of prospective adopters found the training workshops excellent, a number reported not being happy with the process. The inspectors noted that in particular the experienced adopter input was crucial in influencing the prospective adopters expectations. The service may need to think carefully about how it can ensure a balanced range of views from the experienced adopters they invite to attend. Adopters informed inspectors that the training took place over four days and included such topics as, child protection, safe caring, medical issues, the process of adoption, attachment, and separation and loss. Staff informed inspectors that a multidisciplinary approach was used and professionals from health, education and other social services departments such as STEPS

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

(a therapy service) and CAMHS were involved. Adopters reported being asked to give written feedback following their training sessions. Staff reported that they took account of the views they received on a regular basis and altered the content and balance of the course to take these into account.

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

The service undertook appropriate checks and references including CRB checks on all members of the adoptive family over the age of 16 and all family members who would have regular contact with children placed. This is good practice. Social work staff in the service were well aware of the significance of undertaking such checks and references. However inspectors noted that some opportunities were missed to obtain evidence of competencies and skills, in some cases references were not undertaken with applicants who had had previous experience of working with children or vulnerable adults and references from the schools of adopters own birth children were not undertaken. It is important that managers with case oversight ensure that all appropriate references are undertaken in the future.

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

Adopters reported that the assessment process was thorough and detailed and staff handled issues in a sensitive way.

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Prospective adopters are involved in a formal, thorough and comprehensive

Inspectors found that the assessments tended to stress the positives and strengths of the applicants and that there needed to be more emphasis on the skills/competencies and/or Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 23 experiences that the prospective adopters will need to develop. This is a recommendation.

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

need. This will include the role of the Adoption Register for England and Wales. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Approved adopters are not provided with clear written information about the matching, introduction and placement process. However , inspectors were reassured by adopters that there was much discussion and information provided in order to assist them to decide if the match was appropriate. Clearly written information is required in order to avoid any confusion and uncertainties and to ensure that adopters can know what to expect from the service about this issue, this could be provided in a post-approval pack for adopters. This is a recommendation.

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

Adopters informed inspectors that they have the opportunity to discuss the child's needs fully with their adoption social worker and following this further opportunities are provided for them to meet with the child's social worker and the child's present carer. Inspectors were told that arrangements would be made for other professionals such as a medical adviser or therapist to come and meet the prospective adopters and share information, as and when appropriate.

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

Inspectors noted, however, that the written information on the child had a tendency to emphasise the positive points and minimise the difficulties. Further training is necessary for children's social workers on analysing the child's needs in their assessment in the form E report. (See Standard 23 and 11 and recommendation 15) The adoption service had experienced three disruptions of adoption in the past year and the inspector observed the Adoption Panel meeting, held to discuss the themes and trends arising from these in an attempt to learn what had gone wrong. In particular the inspectors noted that significant information about one child was missing from the form E and that this had occurred due to a number of changes in placement as well as a number of changes in social worker. It is recommended that the use of child's appreciation days/life appreciation days for each child should be more widely used, as a way of a ensuring that detailed and significant information

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

on each child is recorded, stored and evaluated appropriately. Inspectors were impressed, however, that the service were looking seriously at these issues and that there was significant senior management involvement and commitment to ensure that the matters would be addressed appropriately. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 24 Managers of children's teams reported that social workers were concerned about including too much detail in these reports due to the negative impact it might have on finding a family for the child and due to the emotional impact it may have on the child when reading the document in later life. Inspectors noted a large number of Form E requests for approval by the adoption panel were being deferred and concerns being raised about significant missing information. Inspectors were advised that adoption social workers were provided support to the children's social worker in the completion of this document, but that clearly the

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

responsibility of scrutinising and quality assuring this document lay with the managers of the children's social worker. These managers felt that they did not have the skills or experience to undertake this role. (cross reference Standard 11 and 23). Inspectors advise that children's service managers , together with the adoption service manager , give serious and urgent consideration about how to manage this issue. It is suggested that a professional adviser who does not have operational responsibilities would be a useful addition to the service in providing a quality assurance role and in driving up standards in this area. The managers of children's social workers also felt it would be helpful to have a flow chart/timeline for social workers to follow to assist them in knowing when to produce reports etc…

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

The adoption service does not have a robust enough system in place to ensure that adoptive parents are asked to agree to notify the agency if their adopted child dies during childhood or soon afterwards. Inspectors found that adopters have not been asked to give this information or were aware of its necessity.

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

Adoptive parents were clear about their role in explaining the importance of the birth family where contact arrangements were in place and of the need to pass on information to birth parents as agreed. (Issues about contact arrangements will be discussed again later in the report).

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introduction and placement process, as well as any support to facilitate this they may

Adopters informed inspectors that they were required to prepare a family book/photograph album to use with children before introductions commenced. They reported being given advice and support about how to compile such documents and felt these were useful preparation for both themselves and the child.

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Adoption Register?

NO Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 25

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

for the children placed with them. Key findings and evidence Standard met? 3 Adoption social worker's who have carried out an assessment of an adopter are expected to support them following the approval, to assist and prepare them in the linking and matching process, and in preparing them in advance of the child coming to live with them. They continue to offer support until such time as the adoption order is made. Inspectors noted that there was a lot of evidence of support being provided for adopters by social workers but that in some cases where things seemed to be going fine, adopters were left to get on with it. It is suggested that a written policy is drawn up, which outlines the departments’ system of support to adopters, i.e.; the frequency of visits etc. and that this practice is scrutinised by the manager to ensure consistency.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

Durham adoption service has three dedicated adoption support workers, two of these are qualified and experienced social workers, one is working at a senior practitioner level and has a development role. The adoption support staffs remit is to consider the needs for support of adopters and all children placed for adoption. They will receive referrals from adoption social workers, children's social workers and directly from adoptive families. Following assessment, these referrals may be signposted to other services with whom Durham adoption service has links, such as CAMHS, STEPS, Durham County Council’s therapeutic service and "After Adoption", an independent adoption support agency with whom Durham County Council Adoption Service has a Service Level Agreement and works in partnership.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

The adoption support worker’s job description includes the responsibility for organising the contact arrangements for adopted children with their birth families via the post-box system and advising social workers in developing support plans for children placed for adoption. Inspectors found that this work was in its early days and a number of contact agreements between birth families and adoptive families were outstanding and causing some confusion and upset for adopters. The adoption manager recognised that there was still a lot of work to catch up on in this area. (This will be discussed again later in the report). The adoption support social workers are dedicated, enthusiastic and committed to improving the services to support adopters and adopted children. They have recently developed support group meetings for adopters, which include seminars on particular subjects as well as opportunities

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

for adopters to support each other. They have commenced a regular newsletter to be distributed four times a year, to inform adopters of forthcoming events and to provide information about changes in legislation and practice. They have also started a children's group with the aim of providing opportunities for adopted children to meet each other and share their experiences. This is very much in its early stages.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

The most recent member of the adoption support team is a support worker whose remit is to work directly with young people who have been affected by adoption. Again, this service is very much in its early stages and will be monitored and reviewed to determine the best way to deliver support. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 26 Following the recent move to new premises the adoption support staff have established a resource library with a range of appropriate books to be provided , on a loan basis , to prospective and approved adopters. This includes story books for children which help to explain the adoption process.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

The Durham County Council web site includes information on support after adoption, however not all families will have access to this and it is suggested that documentation covering all the areas of adoption support (including financial support) is distributed to adopters following their approval.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

Inspectors noted that there has been an emphasis on post adoption support services in the past, however staff have recognised that adoption support needs to commence much earlier than this, in some cases, particularly in relation to older children and sibling groups, this should be around the time that the decision to proceed with adoption is made at the LAC review. The STEPS team has been heavily involved in providing therapy services to children whose plan is adoption and to adoptive families. The therapists are all qualified social workers who also have qualifications in; directive play therapy, systematic practice and/or counselling skills. Unfortunately this service has a considerable waiting list which means that children waiting for adoptive placement but who require work on attachment issues will have further delays. It is suggested that the authority considers ways to ensure that this specialist work in assessing attachment is available more widely and in more timely

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

way to avoid delay and possible future disruptions.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

As stated earlier , the adoption service had had three disruptions of adoption placements in the last 12 months. Inspectors were pleased to note that the service had a no blame culture and there was evidence to show that significant support had been provided to the adopters and to the child.

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

Number of adopter applications started in the last 12 months 18

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Adoptive parents are helped and supported to provide stable and permanent homes

Number of adopters approved in the last 12 months 19

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last 12 months

Number of adopters approved but not matched 11

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last 12 months

Number of adopters referred to the Adoption Register 7

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and adoption, in the last 12 months?

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 27

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The intended outcomes for the following set of standards are:

• Birth parents are entitled to services that recognise the lifelong

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implications of adoption. They will be treated fairly, openly and with

respect throughout the adoption process.

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Standard 7 (7.1 – 7.5)

The service to birth parents recognises the lifelong implications of adoption. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Children's social workers endeavour to work in partnership with birth parents to enable effective plans to be made and implemented for their children. Birth parents have the opportunity to comment on what is written about them in the children's Forms E and their views are clearly recorded in these papers. However , inspectors noted that the quality of these documents varied considerably and the adoption panel had frequently had to defer best interest decisions on children as they had not received significant and appropriate information in the documentation.

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Standard 7 (7.1 – 7.5)

Part of the adoption social worker's remit is to provide support to birth parents and inspectors noted that some good work was going on in this area. However , during interviews with staff, both fieldwork social workers and adoption social workers, it became clear that that there was some confusion over the timing of this, and questionnaires received from birth parents revealed that they were confused about what was on offer and from whom.

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Standard 7 (7.1 – 7.5)

The adoption service has set up a service level agreement with an independent adoption support agency called "After Adoption". Following an evaluation of this agreement it was evident that the take-up of counselling services by birth families was low. As a result , the adoption service has set up a more formalised arrangement whereby birth families are referred directly by social workers to " After Adoption". It is intended that the "After Adoption" team will then work more proactively to engage with birth parents to offer appropriate support and counselling.

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Birth parents and birth families are enabled to contribute to the maintenance of their

child’s heritage. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 As stated already , birth families views are clearly recorded in the Form E and in the court documents, and it is the role of the child’s social worker to obtain as much information as possible about birth families for the child.

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Birth parents and birth families are enabled to contribute to the maintenance of their

The adoption support social worker in the adoption team has been given the clear responsibility for facilitating and supporting direct and indirect contact arrangements.

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Birth parents and birth families are enabled to contribute to the maintenance of their

It is intended that arrangements with "After Support" will include being in contact with birth families to assist them to write letters where necessary. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 28

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includes providing information about local and national support groups and services

and helping birth parents to fulfil agreed plans for contact. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Inspectors found , at present , that services were inadequate. Birth parents reported that they had not been told about support, did not know about the complaints procedure, had not been given leaflets about national or local groups and that they did not feel listened to.

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includes providing information about local and national support groups and services

However , as stated earlier , the adoption service has developed a strategy for working with and supporting birth parents and birth families (including siblings) which involves a Service Level Agreement with an independent support agency called "After Adoption". A more proactive approach is intended in recognition that birth families have found it difficult to refer themselves for such support. The plan is for ten birth families a year to be be referred directly to this service and offered counselling and support to meet their needs. The adoption service plans to evaluate and review this arrangement Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 29

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The intended outcomes for the following set of standards are:

• Each adoption agency has an adoption panel which is organised efficiently

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children suitable for adoption, the suitability of prospective adopters and

the matching of children and approved adopters.

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children suitable for adoption, the suitability of prospective adopters and

• The adoption agency’s decisions are made to promote and safeguard the welfare of children.

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Adoption panels have clear written policies and procedures about the handling of

their functions and ensure that they are implemented. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The adoption service manager had recognised the panel had been operating with policies and procedures that were outdated and practice had moved on. The agency provided inspectors with a draft of the new panel policies and procedures. These still needed to go through the consultation process with the panel and other members of the adoption service.

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Adoption panels have clear written policies and procedures about the handling of

Whilst the policy mentions that all panel members must ensure that they declare any conflict of interest , it did not advise how this would be managed ie; when a panel member needed to absent themselves from a part of the meeting and therefore not be able to contribute to the discussion. This also may affect issues of quoracy. The policy also needs to detail the emergency procedures for the adoption panel to meet to deal with urgent placements, the arrangements for receiving progress reports on individual cases and specify how it intends to promote good practice, consistency of approach and fairness by panel members in assessing cases, as outlined in Standard 10.2. Whilst the panel chair is also a member of the Permanency Review Group, which reviews the progress of individual cases where recommendations have been made by the panel , there was no arrangement in place for panel members to receive this information.

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Adoption panels have clear written policies and procedures about the handling of

Inspectors found that a number of adopters had not had the opportunity to attend the adoption panel and be heard. However , since the move to the new premises and the improved facilities, which became available in April 2004, adopters have been regularly invited to attend panel. It is suggested that it would be good practice to offer adopters the opportunity to attend panel for the match of the child to be placed with them. It is suggested also that where age, ability and understanding allows children should be invited to attend panel meeting. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 30

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

for the overseas country. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The adoption service ensures that each new panel member has the opportunity to observe an adoption panel. Relevant CRB and status checks were all satisfactorily completed on each panel member and all had signed a confidentiality agreement

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

Panel members include a medical adviser and professionals in social services and health. And adoptive parent and a foster carer are also represented in the panel members. The panel chair felt that the adoption service lacked a systematic approach to recruitment of panel members and tended to draw on their knowledge of individuals and approached people directly. Whilst it is helpful to have prior knowledge of individuals in knowledge and skills it is thought that this process could compromise the independence of the panel. It is important that the recruitment and selection of panel members also complies with the agencies equal opportunities policies. Inspectors were informed that the chairperson and the agency adviser met with each new panel member to discuss their role and to provide an information pack to support their induction process.

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

There was evidence on panel members’ records of enhanced CRB disclosures having been carried out and confidentiality agreements being made.

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

Training on mental health issues in family placement was provided for the panel in October 2004 and training is scheduled on the Adoption and Children Act for May 2005 . Inspectors were informed that all panel members have a copy of BAAF practice guide regarding adoption panels and further panel training is proposed for both staff members and panel members in the coming year.

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

Members were concerned about the number of disruptions that had occurred in the previous 12 months and had convened a meeting to discuss the issues. It was noted that the disruptions were, in the main, older children who had not emotionally invested in the adoption plan. The agency acknowledged it will be helpful for a psychologist to be invited to act as a panel member, to assist the panel in considering whether adoption was in the “best interests” of each child. Some panel members expressed their concern about "refusing" or "turning down" and approval for a form "E.", feeling that this was denying the child is their "last chance" to have a family. (As already stated in Standard 5 and again in Standard 23 further training is required for children's social workers in completing detailed and analytical assessment on each child to be presented to panel, to ensure a full discussion can take place and an appropriate recommendation made). Inspectors felt that panel members would

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from overseas and seeks advice, when necessary, on the laws and eligibility criteria

also benefit from further training about other ways in which the social services department could provide permanence for children which may be better suited to meet their needs. It is recommended that panel use the phrase "best interests", rather “form E approval” to change the emphasis in this decision making process. (Cross reference with Standard 23 and 5) Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 31 Is the panel a joint panel with other local authorities? NO

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to avoid delays in the consideration of prospective adopters and matching children

and adopters. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 The adoption service’s panel convenes every two weeks in order to avoid delays in the consideration of prospective adopters and matching children with adopters. The panel administrator was well organised and efficient and her contribution to the timeliness of panel meetings must be commended. Members of the Adoption Panel receive all the necessary information in advance of the panel and this is handled in a confidential manner .

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to avoid delays in the consideration of prospective adopters and matching children

The minutes of panel meetings are checked for accuracy at the beginning of each panel meeting and are detailed and informative, clearly stating the panel's discussion. It is suggested , however , that the summary made by the panel chair could be more specific in stating the reasons for the recommendation by highlighting any areas for development and by suggesting ways in which any weakness may be addressed ie; by referring to matching issues and training needs etc.

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recommendation of the adoption panel and promotes and safeguards the welfare of

the child. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 The decision maker receives the minutes, recommendations and panel papers soon after the panel has met. She uses this information, and a meeting with the panel adviser, to inform her decision – which was made in a timely way.

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recommendation of the adoption panel and promotes and safeguards the welfare of

Once the adoption agency’s panel has made a recommendation, this is immediately conveyed, to the applicants/social workers by the Panel Chair. The Panel Chair informed inspectors that he made it clear that this is only a recommendation and that it needed to be considered by the agency decision maker prior to the final decision. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 32

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The intended outcomes for the following set of standards are:

• The adoption agency is provided and managed by those with the appropriate

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The people involved in carrying on and managing the adoption agency:

• possess the necessary knowledge and experience of child care and

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adoption law and practice and

• have management skills and financial expertise to manage the work

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efficiently and effectively and

• ensure that it is run on a sound financial basis and in a professional manner. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 Both the service manager and the adoption manager have relevant management and social work qualifications and extensive relevant experience in children's services in general and family placement services in particular.

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efficiently and effectively and

Staff reported that the adoption manager was knowledgeable and supportive and exercised effective leadership of the staff and operation of the service. Other senior managers were seen as approachable and supportive. All managers had clear, written job descriptions which set out their duties, responsibilities and level of delegation.

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voluntary organisation or business concerned with safeguarding and promoting the

welfare of children. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Inspectors noted that the managers had had satisfactorily enhanced disclosures from CRB and that there are systems in place to ensure that these will be renewed every three years. Inspectors were informed from one source that a policy and procedure was in place to ensure that telephone enquiries were made to verify the provenance of written references . However , there was no evidence to support this on workers’ files. This process needs to be discussed again with human resources to ensure that an identified person assumes responsibility for this and ensures that this is fully documented. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 33

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The intended outcomes for the following set of standards are:

• The adoption agency is organised and managed efficiently, delivering a good quality service and avoiding confusion and conflicts of role.

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Standard 16 (16.1 – 16.7)

The adoption agency is managed effectively and efficiently. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Inspectors found that all staff members interviewed were fully aware of the statement of purpose and that they felt that it reflected their service delivery. Inspectors were informed that clear arrangements were in place to identify the person in charge when the manager was absent, and that leave is co-ordinated between the manager and Service Managers. The Looked After strategic children's service manager and the service manager for fostering and adoption had only been in post since the summer of 2004 and it was clear that these new arrangements were still ‘ bedding down ’ . There are clear, written roles for different managers and well-established lines of communication and accountability. Staff reported that the structure was open, accessible and supportive.

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Standard 16 (16.1 – 16.7)

The adoption service endeavours to ensure that all staff who work with children, prospective and approved adopters and birth parents take into account their racial origin, religion, culture and language. The service have recently undertaken a review of the demographic make up of the county and have gathered information about their present service delivery in relation to this client group. This process has also been helpful in raising awareness of staff and to ensure the equal opportunities are continually evaluated and reviewed.

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Standard 16 (16.1 – 16.7)

The adoption agency needs to develop clear written procedures for the use of the Adoption Register and this is intended as has been evidenced in the business plan. It is advised that information on the use of this register is also made available to adopters in a Post Approval Pack. The adoption service has a comprehensive conflicts of interest policy.

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Number of the above complaints which were substantiated

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 34

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There are clear written procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the

adoption agency and ensuring quality performance. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 The Durham County Council Adoption Service produces performance information which is discussed and analysed quarterly at the Performance Review Monitoring Group; - monitoring progress of children waiting for adoption, against targets and agreeing action to be taken. The Panel Chair also produces an annual report. Inspectors saw evidence that recruitment of adopters was being monitored by the adoption recruitment report which was detailed and analytical. Every quarter the Children's and Family's Service held Performance Days and reports were provided detailing information and statistics on all areas of work such as the educational performance of looked after children, the levels of sickness and disciplinary hearings, the results of recruitment of staff and a number of supervision sessions held etc…

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There are clear written procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the

Inspectors found that the approach to corporate parenting responsibilities was well developed within Durham, informed by a Corporate Parenting Business Plan, and undertaken by an enthusiastic and involved group of elected members on the Corporate Parenting Panel. This provided good scrutiny of the adoption service. There is also an adoption subgroup tasked to audit services for adopted children. The Children's Services Management Team and the Corporate Parenting Panel receive quarterly performance information, and meet with senior managers to look at quality assurance issues.

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There are clear written procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the

There is clear information, which outlines the cost of inter-country adoption assessments which are the BAA/H2 guidelines. Protocols are in place for charging for placements within the consortium.

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The adoption agency has access to specialist advisers and services appropriate to its

needs. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Inspectors were informed that the adoption service had access to specialist advisers and services appropriate to its needs. The medical adviser is a member of the adoption panel and is fully committed to providing advice to the adoption service as a whole . The legal adviser is also available for consultation by adoption staff and attends the adoption panel regularly to provide advice and support on legal issues. The education adviser is available for consultation by the adoption service but there is no one available to give such advice during the panel meeting. At the business meeting of the panel - which was convened to discuss the themes and trends arising from a number of disruptions, which was observed by the inspectors, - it was noted that specialist advice would have been helpful from a therapist/psychologist.

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The adoption agency has access to specialist advisers and services appropriate to its

The adoption service has good links with other agencies and organisations that can provide specialist advice and consultation, such as; After Adoption, STEPS, CAMHS and OASIS Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 35 (specialist advice on intercountry adoption).

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The adoption agency has access to specialist advisers and services appropriate to its

The adoption service need to develop a written protocol governing the role of specialist advisers and evidence should be provided in panel advisor's files of their qualifications, references, employment history and their registration by the appropriate professional body as outlined in Standard 18.5 and regulation 11 Schedule 3. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 36

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The intended outcome for the following set of standards is:

• The people who work in the adoption agency are suitable to work with

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Anyone working in or for the adoption agency are suitable to work with children and

young people and to safeguard and promote their welfare. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The adoption service has clear written recruitment and selection procedures for appointing staff, which follow good practice in safeguarding children and young people. All applicants are interviewed as part of the selection process and inspectors found evidence that all statutory references and checks were made to assess their suitability . As mentioned earlier in the report , inspectors were unable to find evidence that telephone enquiries were made to each referee to verify the source of written references and this needs addressing.

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Anyone working in or for the adoption agency are suitable to work with children and

Social workers in the adoption team had a relevant professional social work qualifications and a good understanding of adoption issues. Most of the adoption team had significant experience in family placement work.

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Anyone working in or for the adoption agency are suitable to work with children and

Inspectors were satisfied that the social workers in the adoption team and appropriate knowledge and skills to carry out their work. Inspectors interviewed a representative from the therapy team, STEPS, and were assured that the staff were professionally qualified and appropriately trained to work with children, young people, their families and adoptive parents and had a good understanding of adoption issues.

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Anyone working in or for the adoption agency are suitable to work with children and

The unqualified adoption support worker carries out her functions under the strict supervision of the senior practitioner who is accountable for and checks all her work.

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equivalent?

What % of the adoption service’s social workers have a PQ award? 35 % Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 37

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

service. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The adoption service has been through a period of significant change in terms of; the senior management structure, the move of premises, and due to severe shortage of staff. At one point in the last twelve months the team were carrying five vacancies. All these issues had a significant impact on staff morale and on their ability to cope with the growing demand for their services ; and is recorded regularly in monthly team meeting minutes.

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

Staff were keen to point out that they managed to cope with these difficulties by supporting each other. Managers were able to provide evidence of measures that had been actioned, giving guidance as to the priority of visiting pattern frequency, the frequency of training delivery and high priority work agreed with staff members. At a strategic level managers had made a number of changes to take the pressure off staff, by using sessional workers to undertake stepparent adoptions and by setting up a service level agreement with After Adoption. Targeted advertising staff recruitment was also undertaken. However staff clearly reported that they have not felt protected from the stress and pressures of the increased workloads for a considerable period and inspectors felt that the gap in service provision, and the stress on individual social workers could have been avoided had there been clearer systems in place to determine, prioritise and monitor workloads and more effective

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

contingency plans to resolve the situation in the short term.

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

Professional supervision and consultation is provided for the workers on a regular basis by the adoption manager. Social workers are also supported to undertake ongoing training and appropriate professional and skills development.

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

The adoption staff spoke highly of their administrative support - in particular the panel administrator - but felt that due to a high turnover of clerical staff, efficiency and effectiveness of the team was affected. (Social workers are involved in photocopying and filing activities). The adoption service needs to consider how to address this issue.

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

The adoption team set up an afternoon duty system in order that they are able to deal promptly and sensitively with inquiries from prospective adopters and this is good practice. There are structures and systems in place to ensure that assessments and approval of prospective adopters are managed and implemented effectively . Although clearly , due to other staffing problems earlier in the year, a number of assessments had been delayed.

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Staff are organised and managed in a way which delivers an efficient and effective

All employees and social workers were provided with written contracts and job descriptions. All staff had seen the Statement of Purpose and had access to the Council intranet where they could find the staff policies and procedures. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 38

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the needs of the adoption agency and they are appropriately supported and assisted

in providing a service. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 As already stated, staff had been overstretched and under pressure significantly over the last 12 months. Managers had responded to these pressures as a strategic level by creating a discreet team to manage the "relative and friend" fostering situations which were originally managed by the adoption and permanent team. At the time of the inspection the Family and Friends team were not yet fully staffed and a number of staff in the adoption team were still carrying long-term fostering cases. Staff reported that these cases were time-consuming and complicated. It is hoped that the newly structured fostering teams would be able to take on this work soon, freeing adoption social workers to carry out the adoption work more effectively and respond to the growing number of referrals the team receive.

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the needs of the adoption agency and they are appropriately supported and assisted

The adoption team still has a vacancy and the service needs to consider contingency plans to resolve the situation in the short term.

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the needs of the adoption agency and they are appropriately supported and assisted

Over the last few years Durham County Council has devised staff policies to encourage the retention of salaried staff across the children's services as well as the adoption service, this has been successful and staff reported improvements in levels of training and support. An appraisal system is in place called the "aiming for excellence" scheme, which has been revised recently. All staff have been appraised in the last year.

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The adoption agency is a fair and competent employer, with sound employment

practices and good support for its staff. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 Staff felt that the adoption services employment practices were sound, and that the training offered was good. Some staff felt , however, that they had been misled by the authority in terms of their annual leave arrangements. It was noted, too, (in one instance) that in respect of staff raising personal concerns, there appeared to be a less than welcome response from the authority than one might expect in a department that promotes inclusiveness. Despite pressures of work staff informed inspectors that they were happy in their present position and felt their manager was fair and supportive. All staff were aware of the authority’s ‘whistle blowing policy’ known as the "speaking out" policy which was available on the corporate intranet site. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 39

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There is a good quality training programme to enhance individual skills and to keep

staff up-to-date with professional and legal developments. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 There is a clear plan for the ongoing training and appropriate professional and skills development of all staff in the adoption team. There is a rolling programme delivered by BAAF which is tailored to suit the needs of social work staff in the adoption service. Individual staff had undertaken a variety of training courses which had been identified to meet their individual needs. Courses on IT had been undertaken and as well as social work courses on such areas as; mental health and substance abuse, adoption legislation, preparing children to move, mental health issues in family placement, Adoption and Children Act legislation, permanency planning, contact in permanent placements, therapeutic work with children requiring placement, and diversity training. Managers and senior practitioners had also undertaken training on recruitment and selection and chairing

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There is a good quality training programme to enhance individual skills and to keep

disruption meetings. The training programme was projected into the next 12 months for each individual member of the adoption team.

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There is a good quality training programme to enhance individual skills and to keep

The adoption service had recognised the need for training for children's social workers and a rolling programme, "permanency planning", was commissioned through BAAF. Inspectors were informed that children's social workers were , however , still unsure about the evidence required when completing the form E on children where the plan was adoption. Managers reported social workers were concerned about how much information to include as they did not want to jeopardise the child's chances of finding an adoptive family. This seems to indicate the need for further training on this very specific issue for children's social workers. (Cross reference with Standard 11 and 5) This is a recommendation.

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There is a good quality training programme to enhance individual skills and to keep

As already stated , an appraisal system is in place and has recently been revised. All adoption staff had had an appraisal in the last 12 months , which had identified their training and development needs. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 40

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The intended outcome for the following set of standards is:

• All appropriate records are maintained securely, kept and are accessible when required.

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maintained for each child, prospective and approved adopter with whom the agency

has worked. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The maintenance of case records on both adopters and children was good and they contained appropriate and useful information. The policy and procedure for putting together the adoption files for children and adopters was , however , not useful and did not meet the needs of the adoption service. Social workers reported that it was a matter of guesswork about where to put certain information. An indexing and auditing tool had been developed which had identified this issue. Further work is required to review the auditing tool once the policy and procedure for adoption files has been completed.

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maintained for each child, prospective and approved adopter with whom the agency

Arrangements are in place for maintaining the confidentiality of adoption information and case records. Inspectors were not convinced , however , that the storage of records minimised the risk of damage by fire or water.

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maintained for each child, prospective and approved adopter with whom the agency

As already stated , appropriate CRB checks, health and written references are undertaken for all prospective adopters.

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maintained for each child, prospective and approved adopter with whom the agency

Inspectors noted that records of supervision of staff were handwritten and illegible. These need to be typed, checked for accuracy and signed and dated by both parties. Any decision- making during supervision should be clearly recorded on the case files, inspectors understand that this is intended.

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way, to other adoption agencies and local authorities with whom it is working to effect

the placement of a child. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 There is a detailed corporate policy on access to records which provides procedural guidance for staff and takes into account the requirements of the Data Protection Act. It has been identified that these procedures require reviewing and this is intended and identified within the business plan as a matter that needs addressing.

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way, to other adoption agencies and local authorities with whom it is working to effect

Managers informed inspectors that they responded speedily to written requests by other adoption agencies with which it is working to effect the placement of the child. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 41

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confidentiality and contents of files, including secure storage and access to case files

in line with regulations. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 As stated earlier (Standard 25) the current corporate policy for the format of case files is not suitable for the adoption service and need addressing.

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confidentiality and contents of files, including secure storage and access to case files

Separate records are kept with human resources for staff and within the adoption service for complaints and allegations. The arrangement for recording complaints received by the service was not adequate. Further information needs to be provided on the details of the investigation, the stage of the complaint, the outcome, and any action taken in consequence of the complaint. This needs to be addressed in order to fully comply with Regulation 17(a). The service had received one complaint in the last 12 months.

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confidentiality and contents of files, including secure storage and access to case files

As already stated earlier in the report the present system to monitor quality and adequacy of records using the audit tool is not sufficient or appropriate and this needs addressing. Other elements of this Standard been addressed elsewhere in report.

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Up-to-date, comprehensive personnel files are maintained for each member of staff

and member of the adoption panel. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 2 The Inspectors found the records of staff held in personnel were generally of a good quality and contained information about qualifications, checks and references and their outcomes, experience and training as well as any complaints and any disciplinary action. There were a few omissions in some cases, however, including, job descriptions and proof of qualifications. As already mentioned elsewhere in the report there was no evidence that telephone calls were being made to verify written references. Inspectors noted that records of interviews were not always kept on personnel files this is recommended as good practice. Files on panel members were very well maintained and contained all information required by the regulations and standards, which is good practice. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 42

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The intended outcome for the following standard is:

• The premises used by the adoption agency are suitable for the purpose.

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Standard 29 (29.1 – 29.5)

Premises used by the adoption agency are appropriate for the purpose. Key Findings and Evidence Standard met? 3 The adoption service premises were inspected and considered to be secure and comfortable for staff.

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Standard 29 (29.1 – 29.5)

There is disabled access on the ground floor, and good facilities for training, for panel meetings and for interviewing purposes. The premises are situated a few miles out of Durham city in a business and industrial estate. They are on a bus route. The agency is proud of its new premises and has taken a range of measures to ensure that it is safe and comfortable for both workers and any visitors to the building. There is a daily back up to a main server system in place for all electronically held records and some effort has gone into securing archive records. Although they are kept in a securely locked room, it was not possible to determine exactly how much the records were protected from damage by fire or water; the agency should seek further advice and risk assess this situation. Current records held in the main office, although kept in locked rooms, may also not be able to protect their contents from disaster and similar advice should be sought. The

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Standard 29 (29.1 – 29.5)

inspectors were informed that there is an initiative currently in place to copy all archive records into electronic form, although this will take some time to achieve. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 43

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Date

Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 44

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D.1 Local authority manager’s comments/confirmation relating to the content and

accuracy of the report for the above inspection.

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D.1 Local authority manager’s comments/confirmation relating to the content and

We would welcome comments on the content of this report relating to the Inspection conducted on 17 th January 2005 and any factual inaccuracies:

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D.1 Local authority manager’s comments/confirmation relating to the content and

Please limit your comments to one side of A4 if possible Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 45

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Action taken by the CSCI in response to the provider’s comments:

Amendments to the report were necessary YES

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Action taken by the CSCI in response to the provider’s comments:

Comments were received from the provider YES

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Action taken by the CSCI in response to the provider’s comments:

Provider comments/factual amendments were incorporated into the final inspection report YES

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Action taken by the CSCI in response to the provider’s comments:

YES Provider comments are available on file at the Area Office but have not been incorporated into the final inspection report. The inspector believes the report to be factually accurate

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Note:

In instances where there is a major difference of view between the Inspector and the local authority adoption manager, both views will be made available on request to the Area Office.

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report:

Action plan was received at the point of publication YES

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report:

Action plan covers all the statutory requirements in a timely fashion YES

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report:

Action plan did not cover all the statutory requirements and required further discussion NO

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report:

Provider has declined to provide an action plan NO

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Public reports

It should be noted that all CSCI inspection reports are public documents. Durham County Council Adoption Service Page 46

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relating to the inspection conducted on the above date(s) and that I agree with

the statutory requirements made and will seek to comply with these.

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Date

Note: In instance where there is a profound difference of view between the Inspector and the Registered Provider both views will be reported. Please attach any extra pages, as applicable.

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Durham County Council Adoption Service / 17th January 2005

Commission for Social Care Inspection 33 Greycoat Street London SW1P 2QF

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Durham County Council Adoption Service / 17th January 2005

Telephone: 020 7979 2000 Fax: 020 7979 2111

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Durham County Council Adoption Service / 17th January 2005

National Enquiry Line: 0845 015 0120 www.csci.org.uk

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Durham County Council Adoption Service / 17th January 2005

S0000055022.V207469.R01 © This report may only be used in its entirety. Extracts may not be used or reproduced without the express permission of the Commission for Social Care Inspection

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Durham County Council Adoption Service / 17th January 2005

The paper used in this document is supplied from a sustainable source

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