Doncaster Fostering Services

Doncaster Fostering Services Inspection report for la fostering agency

p.1

SC046856 Unique reference number 22 August 2008 Inspection date Sarah Urding / Lynne Busby Inspector Key Type of Inspection

p.1

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

p.1

Email

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Registered person

p.1

Responsible individual

28 January 2008 Date of last inspection .

p.1

Responsible individual

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

p.2

Responsible individual

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008

p.3

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.

p.4

Summary

This was an announced full inspection. All key standards were inspected. This is an inadequate service with some good outcomes. Children and young people’s health is promoted by carers who are supported by nursing staff with an overview of children's health care needs. Carers and staff understand and work within safeguarding protocols, which protects children and young people. Children and young people enjoy and achieve well because staff and carers are committed to raising attainment and work together to improve life chances. Carers and staff are strong advocates for children and young people, recognising the importance of consulting with them and working in partnership with parents. Fostering support workers are skilled, experienced and committed. However, young people’s health and safety is compromised by the absence of current health management plans and risk assessments. There are shortfalls in

p.4

Summary

the implementation of safe caring guidelines and panel are approving foster carers prior to receipt of a Criminal Records Bureau check. There are significant shortfalls relating to how the fostering service is being managed and accountability in practice. There is a lack of direction from senior managers in terms of developing and improving the quality of care provided which places children at risk. Children and young people with disabilities are seriously disadvantaged by the manner in which the service is being managed. The overall quality rating is inadequate - enforcement action. This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection.

p.4

Improvements since the last inspection

Improvements have been made regarding the detail of foster care agreements. They now make clear to foster carers their child protection responsibilities and where financial responsibilities lie. The fostering service has addressed the shortfall relating to restraint training and a training programme is planned. However, written guidance is still not in place which places children at risk. The recruitment policy for staff is detailed and practice is safe with the exception of exploring gaps in employment. Children and young people are not yet fully protected because the recording of complaints and allegations does not provide a clear overview of events. However, some progress has been made regarding the compilation of these records. The numbers of complaints and allegations are now reflected in the statement of purpose. However, this document does not reflect how the service is being managed and as such children and other

p.4

Improvements since the last inspection

stakeholders cannot be clear about the service provided. A vice chair has now been appointed to panel which makes membership of the panel comply with regulation. Some progress has been made with regards to implementing safe caring policies in fostering households. Carers are now more involved in the implementation of Personal Education Plans and a virtual head teacher has been appointed, which assists in promoting attainment for children in foster care. However, a system is not yet fully established with regards to monitoring educational attainment.

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 Young people's good health is promoted because carers have an understanding of their health care needs. Children and young people are encouraged to eat healthily and keep active and their attendance at routine health checks is encouraged. The service employs a Looked After Children's nurse to monitor and review children's health for all children under the age of 16. As a result children and young people are provided with health care services when their needs change. The nurse also trains carers and gives advice where necessary. Carers of children with disabilities undertake competency based training relating to understanding specific health conditions and carrying out complex health care tasks. This is excellent practice. However, there are significant shortfalls within the service that place children's health at risk. Health

p.4

Helping children to be healthy

management plans are not in place or have not been updated for a number of years in spite of care routines and needs changing for children with disabilities. The service is over reliant on parents verbally updating carers within the Care to Share scheme which includes the administration of complex health care in many cases. For example, gastro feeds and invasive seizure medication. Risk assessments regarding health care issues have not been regularly reviewed. This includes a risk assessment for respiratory difficulties. The lack of oversight from the fostering service or child care team does not ensure that carers are clear about how to meet changing medical needs. There is little recording of significant events whilst children are on respite placement. This includes accidents, seizures, or when invasive medication is administered. This makes practice unaccountable. Children who are assessed as needing specialist equipment

p.5

Helping children to be healthy

and additional services are waiting substantial periods of time for this to be provided, compromising health and safety for children, carers and parents. Dental services are not routinely accessible for some children because foster carers believe that only emergency treatment is available. This means that children's oral health is not being monitored in these instances.

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is inadequate. Assessment and induction training for potential foster carers is thorough and contributes well to the safeguarding of children and young people. Rigorous checks are undertaken which ensure that children in foster care stay in a safe environment. This includes a health and safety assessment of the environment and a dog assessment undertaken by a specialist. Foster carers are also well trained in this respect. Carers are aware of how to protect young people. Safeguarding protocols are followed within the service. The service continues to implement safe caring policies in most fostering households with the exception of the Care to Share scheme. This places children and young people at risk. There are also difficulties within the Children’s Services directorate that are impacting upon the fostering service’s ability to monitor safeguarding concerns. A lack of established working relationships, protocols between

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

departments and communication compromise the manager's ability to provide an overview and scrutinise effectively. Some progress has been made towards making suitable matches of children and carers. A new matching proforma has been developed so that decision making can be evidenced. However, this is not being used effectively to reflect that children's needs and carers skills are taken into consideration. The ability of the fostering service to match appropriately has also been challenged recently due to pressure of work within child care teams resulting in a larger number of referrals of children to the fostering service than usual. Subsequently placement matching has become resource led. This increases the risk of placement breakdown for children and young people. The recruitment of managers and staff is safe. A substantial amount of work has been undertaken to move this forward. The policy in place is rigorous and

p.5

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

follows good practice. However, a shortfall in the implementation of the new recruitment procedure remains in relation to exploring gaps in employment. The fostering panel is appointed 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 safely and provides expertise from a range of disciplines with the exception of a representative from education. A vice chair is now in place and the quality of assessments are monitored well. However, the panel are approving some foster carers prior to the receipt of Criminal Records Bureau checks. Although it is accepted that children are not placed with carers prior to their return, this practice is open to challenge as panel are unable to make a full assessment of suitability in these instances. The decision maker was not aware of this practice when informed which raises doubt as to the quality of this process.

p.5

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is inadequate. There is inconsistency in the way that diversity is promoted within the fostering service. Positively, carers are recruited from a diverse range of backgrounds and the service works well to meet the needs of children in relation to ethnicity, religion, culture and linguistic background. The service has been involved in some very positive work in raising children's self-esteem and confidence throughout the year, involving them in regular activity based projects. Staff in the fostering service have worked well to improve opportunities for children and young people and have been successful in their bid to raise money for activities. However, children with disabilities are being indirectly discriminated against with regards to how the Care to Share scheme (short term breaks) is being managed. The service split from mainstream fostering five years ago and became managed by the Children’s Disability service, re-locating to a different premise. It is

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

viewed very much as a separate service. Since that time this part of the fostering service has not been included in social care inspections by the authority. This includes questionnaires to carers, parents and children; pre-inspection meetings; inspections and feedback. Carers do not view themselves as foster carers in this service. They do not access support groups or attend training other than training specific to meet health care needs of children. Supervision of placements is inadequate, twice yearly in some cases and parents and carers appear to liaise with each other to the exclusion of the fostering service. There is one support worker and a manager in post for 17 carers. The payment to carers, carrying out very complex health care, is lower than all other foster care payment schemes in the authority. The policies and procedures of mainstream fostering are used without adaptation and children’s records are not respected.

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Those seen are in disarray and do not contribute well to an understanding of a child’s life. This seriously disadvantages carers, children and young people using the scheme. The scheme's strength is the very positive and close working relationship between carers and parents. Birth parents remain central to the promotion of health and education needs. The service and carers are consistent in their commitment to promote educational achievement. Carers encourage and support children well because they are clear about their needs and levels of attainment. Carers inclusion in and understanding of Personal Education Plans has improved and a virtual head teacher has been appointed to monitor educational attainment. However, statistics are not yet available in this regard. Some outstanding and innovative practice was seen in the ‘learning Olympics’ which took place during the summer holidays. Its aim being to raise attainment and

p.6

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

promote healthy lifestyles for looked after children. This activity based project made learning fun for children and included drama, arts and craft, sport and music workshops. Children and young people thoroughly enjoyed this which culminated in a presentation of work to foster carers and staff at the end of the week. This was a well co-ordinated event and demonstrated some positive working between a number of agencies.

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 The arrangements for children to maintain contact with their family are managed well. Carers are clear about their roles because of good levels of training at the point of induction and support throughout placement. Foster carers who supervise contact are also given good levels of support. There is a clear point of contact should any issues arise and carers are clear about the parameters, which are clearly defined in placement agreements. This safeguards children's welfare. The service provides financial assistance to cover transport costs and expenses so that children and young people can see their families. Records are kept where appropriate. Carers are strong advocates for children and young people. They are fully aware of how to represent children and young people's views and know the children they care for well. Children and young

p.6

Helping children make a positive contribution

people value their carers support. The fostering service and carers actively listen to children and young people and the relationship between children's rights and the fostering service is developing. Although a child friendly booklet about the service was devised and shared with the fostering service some time ago but has not yet been implemented. Children and young people contribute to their reviews and are well informed about their rights and how to make a complaint. Any concerns that children raise about their care are looked in to and monitored by someone independent of the service. This is good practice and promotes their welfare.

p.7

Achieving economic wellbeing

The provision is good. Leaving care services are provided to young people aged 16 and over by an external agency. They effectively work in partnership with the fostering service and young people benefit from a proactive service that meets their needs. Young people are referred close to their 16th birthday and Pathway Plans are drawn up in partnership with them, their carers and the fostering service. An accessible service for young people is provided which encourages smooth transitions. Foster carers actively promote opportunities for young people to develop their life skills. For example, learning how to wash, cook and budget. There is a clear commitment from the fostering service to support foster carers with this task. Young people are fully involved and consulted and good outcomes promoted.

p.7

Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. A statement of purpose is in place but this does not clearly reflect how the service is managed particularly in relation to the management of the Care to Share scheme. Although information is given to children about foster care this is not accessible as formats are not child friendly or adapted for children with disabilities. This means that children and other stakeholders are not clear about the services provided. There are a high number of temporary agency managers in the Local Authority with senior positions. This has affected communication between senior managers and lower level staff. Two re-structures in the space of eight months has also contributed to a lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities within the fostering service. As a result accountable decision making is affected. Senior staff and managers are not taking responsibility for their own areas because this is unclear and they are unable or unwilling to

p.7

Organisation

move forward. Changes to the Local Authority structure have led to protocols not being followed and line management structures being misused. This is impacting upon the ability of the service to develop in the areas of safeguarding and placement planning. The assessment of the quality of service provided is also affected. Although some monitoring is taking place such as complaints, allegations and work load management, the system lacks rigour. The appraisal system is not yet fully established, there is no written report of the state of the quality of care in relation to 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 Schedule 7 and there is no service development plan in place. Senior managers are aware of the shortfalls within the service and there is a strong commitment to deliver change. Other staff do not feel so empowered and feel there is a blame culture. Fostering support workers

p.7

Organisation

are skilled, experienced and committed. The assessments of foster carers are carried out to a good standard. Preparation of most carers is thorough, which is positive in terms of reducing the likelihood of placement breakdowns for children. However, kinship carers are not so well prepared because induction training does not acknowledge the differences in this role. Joined up working between departments is not effective. Staff in the fostering service feel isolated from the rest of the Children's Services directorate. The relationship between fostering support workers and child care teams is strained. Social workers feel that the fostering team is not accessible as duty is only managed from 13.00. This creates unnecessary delay when placing children in an emergency and hinders the matching process. Fostering support workers feel that they are doing part of the social workers job as the latter do not visit the children often

p.8

Organisation

enough in placement. Foster carers and children reiterate this thinking. There are an unusually high number of senior managers on annual leave at one time. During part of the inspection, the fostering team manager, the service manager for fostering, the manager for the Care to Share scheme and the only support worker for this scheme were all off at the same time, along with the decision maker responsible for assessing suitability of Private Fostering Arrangements. This does not adequately support the needs of the service, staff, carers and children. Training for foster carers is moving forward within mainstream fostering with developments in the areas of behaviour management training and the provision of accessible training. The training provided for carers in the Care to Share scheme is not adequate and is limited to specialised health care training only. Support systems are well embedded for mainstream carers and supervision is

p.8

Organisation

frequent and thorough. Although it is not clear whether any unannounced visits are made to carers' homes. Most carers are very positive about the support and information they receive from the fostering service. A detailed handbook is supplied on approval which outlines all the policies, procedures, advice and support that the service provides. However, guidance to carers about restraint is not provided, which places children and young people at risk. Support services within the Care to Share scheme are poor. There is no strategy in place outlining how to effectively support these carers nor encouragement given to participate in support schemes offered by the mainstream fostering service. This isolates carers in this scheme and means that they are not kept up to date with best practice. Foster carers records are well kept and provide detailed information about recruitment, approval status and relevant placement information.

p.8

Organisation

These records are accountable and meet the standard. Records relating to children are inconsistently kept. Whilst some contribute to an understanding of a child's life well, others contain little useful information for this purpose. Not all foster carers are clear about their role in recording significant life events for a child. This makes practice unaccountable and means that children may not be provided with adequate information about their lives.

p.8

Statutory requirements

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

p.8

Due date Action Standard

8 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 7 October 2008 ensure that each child has access to dental advice and treatment (Regulation 15 (2) (b) ) 7 October 2008 keep a record of all accidents occurring whilst children are placed with foster carers (Regulation 22 (1) ) 7 October 2008 promote the health and development of children placed with foster carers, in particular provide a written health record to carers for every child placed in their care and update during the placement (Regulation 15 (1) ) 7 October 2008 ensure the provision of aids and equipment which children may require as a result of any disability they may have(Regulation 15 (2) (c)) 7 October 2008 carry on the fostering service with sufficient care, competence and skill, having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children placed by the fostering agency (Regulation 8 (1) (b) ) 7 October 2008 obtain the information outlined in schedule 3, in particular a

p.8

Due date Action Standard

Criminal Records Bureau check prior to approval of foster carers (Regulations 27 (2) (a), 28 (2) (a) ) 7 October 2008 establish a system for monitoring educational attainment of children placed with foster carers (Regulation 16 (2) (a) ) 7 October 2008 compile a statement of purpose that consists of a statement as to the services and facilities to be provided by the fostering service (Regulation 3 (1) (b) ) 7 October 2008 establish and maintain a system to monitor the matters outlined in schedule 7 at appropriate intervals and to improve the quality of foster care provided, producing a written report in respect of any review undertaken (Regulation 42 (1) (a), 42 (2) ) 7 October 2008 ensure staff receive regular planned appraisals (Regulation 21 (4) (a) ) 7 October 2008 make arrangements for a person authorised on behalf of the authority to visit children in the home they are placed at the frequency outlined in regulation (Regulation 35 (c) )

p.9

Due date Action Standard

7 October 2008 Prepare and implement a written policy on acceptable measures of control, restraint and discipline of children placed with foster parents (Regulation 13 (1) ).

p.9

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • implement the recruitment and selection procedure with regards to exploring gaps in employment (NMS 15.2) 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008 • ensure that the matching process is fully recorded and reflects the decision making process and matching criteria used (NMS 8.4) • provide safe caring guidelines for each foster home (NMS 9.3) • ensure that there is a representative from education on fostering panel (NMS 30.8) • ensure that children and young people and their families are provided with foster care services which value diversity and promote equality (NMS 7.1) • devise and implement policies and procedures that will meet the needs of children receiving short term breaks, to include recording requirements (NMS 31.1) • ensure that the children's guide is available in suitable formats for children (NMS 1.5)

p.9

Recommendations

• establish clear roles for managers and staff and lines of communication and accountability between managers(NMS 4.2) • review the system for prioritising workloads and task allocation with regards duty (NMS 16.4) • review contingency plans to cover staff absence (NMS 17.3) • devise and implement a clear strategy for providing support services for Care to Share carers (NMS 21.2) • establish a good system of communication between the fostering service social worker and the child's social worker (NMS 21.6 ) • ensure that supervising social workers meet regularly with foster carers and provide the opportunity to supervise foster carers work and also ensure that unannounced visits take place at least once a year (NMS 22.6) • provide on going training for foster carers in all parts of the service (NMS 23.5) • ensure that children's records contribute to an understanding of that child's life (NMS 24.1) • provide foster carers with the necessary skills and equipment to record significant life events

p.10

Recommendations

of children in their care (NMS 24) • provide specific training for Kinship carers to prepare them for the task (NMS 32.3). 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008

p.10

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

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

p.11

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• any persons carrying on or managing the service are suitable (NMS 3) • the fostering service provides suitable foster carers (NMS 6) • the service matches children to carers appropriately (NMS 8) • the fostering service protects each child or young person from abuse and neglect (NMS 9) • the people who work in or for the fostering service are suitable to work with children and young people (NMS 15) • fostering panels are organised efficiently and effectively (NMS 30) Ofsted considers 3, 6, 8, 9, 15 and 30 the key standards to be inspected.

p.11

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the fostering service values diversity (NMS 7) • the fostering service promotes educational achievement (NMS 13) • when foster care is provided as a short-term break for a child, the arrangements recognise that the parents remain the main carers for the child (NMS 31) Ofsted considers 7, 13 and 31 the key standards to be inspected.

p.11

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

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

p.11

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• the fostering service prepares young people for adulthood (NMS 14) • the fostering service pays carers an allowance and agreed expenses as specified (NMS 29) Ofsted considers none of the above to be key standards to be inspected.

p.11

The intended outcomes for these standards are:

• there is a clear statement of the aims and objectives of the fostering service and the fostering service ensures that they meet those aims and objectives (NMS 1) • the fostering service is managed by those with the appropriate skills and experience (NMS 2) • the fostering service is monitored and controlled as specified (NMS 4) 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008

p.11

Annex A

• the fostering service is managed effectively and efficiently (NMS 5) • staff are organised and managed effectively (NMS 16) • the fostering service has an adequate number of sufficiently experienced and qualified staff (NMS 17) • the fostering service is a fair and competent employer (NMS 18) • there is a good quality training programme (NMS 19) • all staff are properly accountable and supported (NMS 20) • the fostering service has a clear strategy for working with and supporting carers (NMS 21) • foster carers are provided with supervision and support (NMS 22) • foster carers are appropriately trained (NMS 23) • case records for children are comprehensive (NMS 24) • the administrative records are maintained as required (NMS 25) • The premises used as offices by the fostering service are suitable for the purpose (NMS 26) • the fostering service is financially viable (NMS 27) • the fostering service has robust financial processes (NMS 28)

p.12

Annex A

• local authority fostering services recognise the contribution made by family and friends as carers (NMS 32) Ofsted considers 1, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25 and 32 the key standards to be inspected. 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Doncaster Fostering Services, 22 August 2008

p.12