Doncaster Fostering Services

Doncaster Fostering Services Inspection report for la fostering agency

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SC046856 Unique reference number 24 May 2010 Inspection date Joseph Hobson / Stephen Smith Inspector Key Type of Inspection

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Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Address Directorate of Social Services PO Box 251 DONCASTER South Yorkshire DN1 3DA 01302 737789 Telephone number

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Email

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Registered person

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Registered manager

Vicki Lawson Responsible individual 16 October 2009 Date of last inspection .

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Registered manager

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

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Registered manager

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

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About this inspection

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

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is strong Good: this aspect of the provision is sound Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is not good enough Inadequate: 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010

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Brief description of the service

Doncaster fostering service provides foster carers who are recruited, trained, assessed, supervised and reviewed by the service. They form part of a full range of accommodation for looked after children and young people in the area.

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Summary

This was an announced key inspection of the fostering service. The views of the 12 children met during the inspection have contributed significantly to the outcome.

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Summary

Doncaster fostering service has made significant improvements since its last inspection. Although the overall grading remains satisfactory, a number of areas including, helping children to be healthy and helping children to make a positive contribution are now areas of strength. The overall direction of travel of the service is one of improvement. However, a number of recommendations have been made, particularly in respect of protecting children from harm and neglect and helping them stay safe, and organisation. One recommendation which is a breach of regulation relates to the recruitment and vetting of agency staff.

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Summary

Children said that they 'feel safe and happy' in placement and are 'well cared for' by their foster carers. Communication between the fostering service and children's social workers has significantly improved, helping to better safeguard children's welfare. Foster carers reported that they are very well supported by their supervising social workers. The overall quality rating is satisfactory. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

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Improvements since the last inspection

It is commendable that the fostering service has met all of the recommendations made at the last inspection. Improvements have been made in respect of health planning for children, ensuring their health needs are assessed and well met. New guidance has been produced for foster carers in respect of helping children pursue hobbies and interests, safe care practice, and the access and maintenance of records. Training has been provided to carers to develop their skills and knowledge to help them prepare young people for independence. There is a structure and systems in place to ensure assessments of carers are managed and implemented effectively, especially in relation to those undertaken by the council's external provider. A system has been introduced to ensure that the fostering service is informed when children access short stay placements. These measures ensure that foster carers are better equipped to

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Improvements since the last inspection

meet the needs of children and secure their welfare.

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Improvements since the last inspection

New guidance has been issued to the fostering panel and minutes of the panel's meetings record the reasons for their decisions. A new format for foster care agreements has been developed and systems developed to collate data and information about children's educational attainment and attendance. These measures help ensure that decision making regarding approving foster carers is robust and that the fostering service monitors and promotes children's educational outcomes. 4 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 Outcomes for children cared for by family and friends carers have improved through the introduction of an initial viability assessment of placements and by supporting these carers to attend training and develop their skills and understanding.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's health is promoted well and their needs closely monitored. Foster carers are knowledgeable about children's health and good arrangements are in place to access primary and specialist health care services. Children have health plans, which in many cases are known to them. Copies of health plans are maintained by foster carers, and improvements made to these plans includes information relating to moving and handling strategies for children with disabilities, thus meeting the recommendations made at the last inspection. Annual health checks take place within prescribed timescales and children are supported to access specialist health care and therapies, for example, the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Foster carers are able to access a range of health related training to support and promote children's health including, diet and nutrition, sexual health, substance misuse and supporting

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Helping children to be healthy

children through therapy. Children reported that they receive good support to stay healthy and engage in healthy lifestyles.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. The service is managed by a skilled, well qualified and experienced manager.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are placed in foster homes which have been checked and are generally free from hazards. Supervising social workers update health and safety risk assessments of carers' homes annually.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The fostering service has introduced a new format for foster placement agreements, meeting the requirements of regulation and the recommendation made at the last inspection. However, a number of foster carers have documentation in different formats, such as placement plans or placement information records. Some of the information in these records is outdated and does not include all of the required information. Internal matching arrangements are good and the children seen in placement were well matched with their carers. A new matching form helps ensure that supervising social workers have sufficient information to make informed judgements, matching children's needs to carers skills and abilities. Foster carers reported that the fostering service tries hard to make good matches and significant improvements have been made, delivering outcomes for children. However, the fostering service does not maintain responsibility

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

for making placements with independent fostering agencies and therefore does not ensure good matches are made for the children placed with the independent sector. The use of exemptions by the fostering service is limited with only a small number being made each year, although monitoring systems are not sufficiently robust to ensure that information is recorded in all cases.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Policies, procedures and guidelines for safeguarding children's welfare are good, as is the quality of the information contained within the foster carers' handbook in this respect. Foster carers demonstrated a sound understanding of the action required to protect children from abuse. However, although regular safeguarding training is made available to foster carers, too many carers have not undertaken this training for a number of years. This reduces their effectiveness 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 to safeguard children's welfare, given the significant number of changes in child protection practice in recent years.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The service has introduced new safe care guidelines for family and friends carers. The quality of safe care policies for foster care placements is generally satisfactory. However, safe care policies tend to be generic to the placement and not specific to each child. Children were very positive about the care they received and the relationships they had with their carers. They all reported feeling safe and being happy with their placement. Comments included, 'I am happy living here. I want to live here for the rest of my life, hopefully. I feel safe. My carers talk to me about keeping safe and not talking to strangers,' and 'I would give my carer 10 out of 10, they are brilliant. They keep me safe.' The service has good procedures and systems for investigating and recording complaints and allegations in respect of carers and members of staff.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The procedures for the recruitment and selection of internal staff are robust. However, the checking of the suitability of agency or consultant staff do not meet with the requirements of regulation. There are some gaps in the required information, such as employment history and confirmation of references. This does not ensure that only suitable people are employed to work with children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

There have been improvements made to the fostering panel since the last inspection. New procedures and guidelines have been produced and minutes of panel meetings now record the reasons for any recommendations made. The panel is chaired by an independent, experienced and skilled practitioner. There is a good mix of children's services and independent members with the necessary experience and backgrounds to contribute to robust decision making and scrutiny. The workload of the panel is heavy and recent developments have led to the creation of a separate panel, to consider family and friends carer applications and approvals.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Foster carers are provided with good quality equality and diversity training. This is also part of the skills to foster training conducted prior to the carer assessment. However, most carers have not undertaken recent training to update their skills and knowledge in this area. Children from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds are given satisfactory support to meet their needs and this is considered as part of any matching considerations. Those carers with children from different cultures in placement demonstrated a sound understanding of the cultural and diversity needs of the children living with them. However, identifying the cultural differences and carers understanding of equality and diversity issues, as part of the foster carer assessment and its subsequent reporting, is weak. The fostering service has introduced new guidance, which has been included in the foster carers' handbook, in respect of supporting children in their pursuing

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children in foster care have personal education plans in place and children reported that they have been involved in the production of these. Children also reported that they receive good support from their carers to access education and raise their attainment. Looked after children each receive a lap top from the council to support their education. Children's educational progress, attendance and support needs is monitored through the council's head of the virtual school and supervising social workers monitor this as part of their monthly supervision of foster carers. School improvement partners monitor the progress and outcomes for looked after 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 children in the schools for which they hold responsibility. Each school has a designated teacher for looked after children to oversee progress and co-ordinate school support.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The small shared care service has limited placements. Links with the children with disabilities team are strong. Prospective carers undergo the same assessment procedures and monitoring as mainstream carers, and attend the same training. Access to placements is through the multi-agency resource panel and two workers within the fostering service supervise carers and monitor placements, working in partnership with colleagues in the disabilities team. A new procedure has been introduced to ensure that the fostering service is made aware of when children are in placement, meeting the recommendation made at the last inspection.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The council provides good services to support contact between children and their families and friends. Contact arrangements are clearly recorded on their files and are known to children and carers alike. Some foster carers provide direct support and supervision for contacts. They reported, however, that neither the fostering service or children's social workers place pressure on them to do this, and that they can refuse if they wish. Children spoken to confirmed their contact arrangements and said that they were consulted about them.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children are consulted well about the care they receive and decisions about their futures. They reported that they attend their reviews and are invited to complete written consultation forms. These forms are in child friendly formats and are age relevant. The fostering service has good systems to consult with children and seek their views about their placements. Children can, if they wish, engage with the children's rights service to advocate on their behalf. Arrangements have improved for seeking the views of children receiving short break services through the provision of a child friendly questionnaire. The service has also held a consultation event for birth children of foster carers. The fostering service holds regular events for foster children, such as arts and crafts, and uses these opportunities to seek children's views about the quality and development of the service. Children reported that they are involved in the selection of

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Helping children make a positive contribution

staff and some have recently been involved in the appointment of the Director of Children's Services.

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Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is inadequate. The post 16 service has only recently been brought back in-house. At the time of the inspection, the service had only been back in-house for eight weeks. An audit found that the quality of pathway plans provided by the previous service provider was poor and that a significant number of young people did not have viable plans in place. The council has taken urgent action to address this. The pathway team has been expanded and new assessment tools created and a good quality pathway plan format introduced. However, currently two thirds of young people, who require a pathway plan, do not have a viable plan in place. The pathway team has provided training to foster carers about transition planning arrangements and preparing young people for independence. Further training is programmed for later in the year.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 The promotion of equality and diversity is satisfactory. Children are placed with foster carers who are able to meet their cultural and diversity needs well. Guidance and procedures are available to carers to support them in this task. However, assessment of carers understanding of equality and diversity issues as part of the foster carer assessment is weak.

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Organisation

The Statement of Purpose meets with the requirements of regulation and is in sufficient detail to give a broad description of the service and the work it undertakes. The children's guide does not sufficiently reflect the Statement of Purpose as it does not summarise information about how children can make a complaint.

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Organisation

The fostering service has systems in place which support the monitoring of the functioning and quality of the service. However, data is produced in different formats and a report is not produced of the findings, reducing the effectiveness of the monitoring.

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Organisation

Staff are well supported by a manager who is well regarded both from within the fostering service and wider children's services. Communication between the fostering service and field social work teams has greatly improved and information sharing is now routine, ensuring that carers, supervising social workers and children's social workers are kept well informed. The service benefits from the support and regular in-put from the council member with lead responsibility for children's services who maintains a high profile and is well respected by professionals and carers. The service has put in place arrangements for enhancing the service provided by the external contractor which currently undertakes most of the mainstream carer assessments.

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Organisation

Assessments of mainstream carers are in-depth and mostly of at least satisfactory quality. The majority of these assessments are undertaken by an external provider. However, where assessments have been conducted by members of the fostering service, the quality of these assessments is good. A significant proportion of the fostering service's resources are spent undertaking assessments of family and friends carers. The quality of these assessments and that of the viability studies of placements, introduced in response to a recommendation made at the last inspection, is variable. Reports do not always have sufficient detail and information for the fostering panel to make a well-informed decision. In these cases a deferment is made until information becomes available, prolonging the timescales.

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Organisation

The support provided by the fostering service to its carers is good and in some aspects outstanding. Carers receive regular supervision, which is rigorous and ensures that placements are safe. Team members see their role as not only one of support to carers but rightly to safeguard children. All of the carers with whom the inspectors had contact rated the quality of the support as outstanding. Relationships between supervising social workers and carers are in the main very good. Having said this, professionals and foster carers recognise and promote the need for robust monitoring and scrutiny of the quality of placements. There is a strong willingness to challenge when placements do not deliver good outcomes and children's welfare is compromised. Foster carers have access to a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and guidance contained within the foster carers' handbook.

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Organisation

Foster carers are offered a wide range of training opportunities. However, the numbers of foster carers attending training is relatively low. Some carers have not attended training for several years. Carers also reported that training is sometimes cancelled at short notice. Overall, carers said that the quality of the training provided is excellent. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 Records are maintained confidentially and kept securely. Guidance has been provided to foster carers about ensuring the security and confidentiality of records. Children's records are up to date and maintained in accessible formats. There are systems to undertake file audits to ensure that files are maintained in good order. There are procedures in place to allow access to records by children. Foster carer records are accessed and monitored by supervising social workers as part of supervision and a record of their findings is kept.

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Organisation

The fostering service has a growing number of family and friends carers. New systems and procedures have been introduced to initially assess the viability of placements made under Regulation 38 (emergency and immediate) placement with family and friends. A specific panel has been set up to quality assure assessments and recommend approvals of family and friends carers. Full assessments are conducted by supervising social workers, although the reports to panel are in a different format from that of mainstream carers. The fostering service has provided all family and friends carers with a copy of its training programme for foster carers, and training is open to these carers. Family and friends foster carers receive six weekly supervision and are able to attend fostering support networks.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure that each young person placed in foster carer is carefully matched with a carer capable of meeting his or her assessed needs. Specifically, that the process of making placements with independent fostering and the process for managing and monitoring of exemptions from the usual fostering limit are sufficiently robust and well managed (NMS 8.1) • ensure that foster placement agreements are fully detailed and are in place and up to date for all fostered children (NMS 8.4) • provide training for all foster carers in caring for a child who has been abused, safe caring skills and recognising signs of abuse (NMS 9.2) • develop safe caring guidelines relating to each child that are cleared with the child’s social worker (NMS 9.3) • ensure that the organisation has full and satisfactory information relating to all matters in

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Recommendations

Schedule 1 of the regulations for all people employed to work for the purposes of the fostering service. Specifically in relation to agency staff members employed (breach of regulation 5 (3)(c)) • ensure that the fostering service provides children and their families with foster carer services which value diversity and promote equality. Specifically, in relation to the content of foster carers’ assessments (NMS 7.1) • ensure that foster care services help to develop young people’s skills, competence and knowledge needed for adult living. Specifically, that all young people who require pathway plans have these in place (NMS 14.1) • ensure that the children’s guide provides specific information to children about how to complain (NMS 1.5) 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010 • ensure that there are clear procedures for monitoring the activities of the fostering service and ensuring quality performance. Specifically, that a system is in place to monitor and

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Recommendations

report on the matters set out in Schedule 7 (NMS 4.1) • ensure that assessments of foster carers are consistently of the required standard. Specifically, those undertaken in relation to family and friends under Regulation 38 (NMS 17.7) • ensure that foster carers are trained in the skills required to provide high quality care. Specifically, that action is taken to increase the numbers of foster carers attending training sessions (NMS 23.1). 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services,24 May 2010

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