Regional Fostering Services Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 1 Regional Fostering Services Ltd

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8 Lyon Way, Greenford, London UB6 0BN Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Regional Fostering Services Ltd is an independent fostering agency based in north- west London, which provides placements across London and the Midlands. The agency offers a wide range of placements, including short and long-term, mother and child, respite, planned and emergency placements. The agency was registered in July 2014. At the time of this inspection, there were 44 foster carers and 70 children in placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The independent fostering agency provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the independent fostering agency contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2016

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This independent fostering agency is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people make exceptional progress as a result of the care and support provided by agency staff and foster carers.  Agency social workers provide high-quality individualised support to foster carers.  Foster carers receive excellent training and support to meet the requirements of children and young people with complex needs.  Children and young people described their experience of care in positive terms. They feel safe and well cared for by their foster families.  The managers are expert practitioners. They promote a learning culture throughout the service and understand the needs of each child in placement.  The registered manager has excellent oversight of the quality of care provided to children and young people.  Foster carers are committed and resilient. Many of the young people in placement stay on under permanency arrangements and find their ‘forever home’.  The provider advocates strongly for children and young people within the

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Key findings from this inspection

professional network to ensure that the needs of young people remain at the heart of care planning.  Throughout the service, there is a clear focus on ensuring that foster carers meet the diverse needs of children and young people in placement.

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Key findings from this inspection

The independent fostering agency’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff need to improve recording in relation to risk assessments and safety plans, to ensure that information is more easily accessible.  Managers need to create a system to ensure that agency social workers evidence that they are monitoring practice in relation to the administration of prescribed medications. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that there are systems in place to evidence that agency social workers are checking that medications are administered as prescribed. (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 6)  Ensure that individual risk assessments for young people are used as a live document to identify risks and interventions to reduce risks. (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 4) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 4

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outstanding

Children and young people, including those with complex needs, make outstanding progress from their starting points. A placing social worker described how a young person had made rapid and amazing progress in learning skills for independence. She described how this young person had learned to communicate his needs and that this had a very positive impact on his life. Another placing social worker described how a young person was frequently missing, at risk of exploitation and self-harming. Since being placed with the agency she has made ‘amazing progress, is no longer at risk of harm and has achieved good results in her GCSEs’.

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outstanding

Children and young people described some of the things that had improved for them due to living with their foster families. One young person said he was supported to travel abroad to meet his grandmother for the first time. Another described how he is more confident and can now make friends. He feels he is doing much better at school and getting ‘top marks’.

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outstanding

Many of the children and young people placed with foster families remain with them under permanency arrangements. They benefit from living in secure, loving family homes and, as a result, they develop a more positive sense of self and have a positive outlook for the future. Permanency arrangements are carefully considered, with the young people’s long-term needs in mind. These placements provide a ‘forever’ family home for children and young people who have experienced multiple placement moves. It is a notable achievement that many of these children and young people arrived in crisis as short-term placements and stayed.

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outstanding

The quality of social work support provided to foster carers by the agency is exceptional. All members of the management team are experienced, qualified social workers. They lead by example and model good practice as expert practitioners. This hands-on approach provides excellent support and direction to staff and foster carers. This ensures that high standards are consistently maintained.

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outstanding

Supervising social workers demonstrate excellent skills and knowledge. They support foster carers to provide care for young people that is informed by research and best practice. In one example, a foster carer was supported to learn how to better understand and support a young person displaying sexually harmful behaviours, another was shown how to support young people with enuresis, and another, how best to understand the needs of a child with global developmental delay. This enables foster carers to help young people with complex needs to make progress, stay safe and have a positive experience of care.

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outstanding

All agency staff emphasise the need to reflect on practice. They pay attention to the emotional impact of the work, both on foster carers and on supervising social workers. They learn from mistakes and constantly review practice to understand what works best for young people. In one example, the supervising social worker Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 5 helped a foster carer to understand her own triggers and responses. She was able to use this understanding to better manage conflict and support a young person to reduce their challenging behaviour. Reflective practice enables carers to be more resilient in the face of challenge and results in more stable placements that may otherwise have broken down. This reflective approach also models good behaviour for young people who are learning to negotiate new relationships and develop trust. A foster carer described how she is looking after two brothers who, when first

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outstanding

placed, were constantly fighting. The placing authority was planning to separate them. She described how she was able to work through these difficulties and that ‘they learned to love each other’.

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outstanding

The provider advocates strongly to ensure that those children and young people who need it have access to adolescent mental health specialists. The agency has a qualified counsellor who provides extra support to young people, foster carers and supervising social workers. This provides an additional level of support for young people who are recovering from trauma and loss or who need additional help to make sense of their journey into care.

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outstanding

Foster carers appreciate the support that they get from agency staff. One commented that ‘the agency has high standards and really cares about the children’. Foster carers described a welcoming, family environment where they feel listened to and supported. Several foster carers felt that the agency staff were particularly good at advocating for children and young people within the professional network.

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outstanding

The registered manager closely monitors the outcomes for children and young people in placement. She knows, for example, the extent to which each young person is achieving their expected targets in education. If a young person has additional needs, she ensures that they access funding from the pupil premium for extra support and that there is a clear plan in place to help them to make progress.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The provider prioritises the safety and well-being of children and young people. The management team and agency social workers have considerable experience in local authority child protection teams. They have the required knowledge and skills to assess vulnerabilities and to ensure that all concerns are addressed through effective partnership working with the professional network.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

All foster carers have completed core training in relation to safer care and safeguarding. This training is of high quality and is often face to face. This gives them the opportunity to discuss and explore learning in the context of the young people they are caring for. They undertake specialist training in response to the needs of young people in placement. Foster carers reported that recent training, delivered by an adult who had experienced exploitation as a young person, was authentic and had a real impact on their understanding of this area.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Careful matching and the high quality of support provided to foster carers ensure that young people, including those who are most vulnerable, are placed in families that can meet their needs. Reflective practice, a learning culture and excellent Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 6 management oversight provide significant protective factors. This means that areas of vulnerability are addressed promptly and practice in relation to safeguarding is closely monitored. This also enables foster carers to manage risk, to build trusting relationships and to support young people to make safer choices.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Record keeping in relation to concerns, complaints and safe care is generally of a high standard. Individual risk assessments are recorded on a central document and include areas of vulnerabilities and safety plans. However, this is not always used effectively and the information in some cases was fragmented and recorded elsewhere. This is an area that needs to be addressed to ensure that this information is more easily accessible.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are supported to live healthy lifestyles and their heath needs are understood and well met. They attend all necessary health appointments and those children and young people with complex health needs receive the specialist health care and support that they need. When necessary, foster carers undertake training in order to provide care for young people with complex health needs. The provider has clear systems in place for foster carers to record the administration of prescribed medication. All foster carers are trained to administer medications safely. However, it is not clearly evidenced in case records how the agency monitors practice in this area.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The provider operates safe practice in relation to the recruitment of foster carers and agency staff. All necessary checks are undertaken and updated when necessary. New staff undergo an excellent induction. They have ample opportunity to shadow senior staff and to get to know the foster carers and young people, before they operate alone. Agency social workers are encouraged to specialise and champion areas of practice. They use existing knowledge and additional training to focus on areas of practice such as protecting young people from exploitation, promoting diversity and understanding the impact of trauma and abuse. This increases their own knowledge and provides an in-house expert to offer advice and improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is a qualified social worker. She has a level 5 qualification in social care management and is skilled in business administration and social care practice. She maintains excellent systems to monitor the quality of care. This gives her an in-depth understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the service. She maintains high standards and takes prompt action to address any shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership and management team includes the responsible individual, the registered manager, operations manager and a practice manager. They have clearly defined roles and a complementary range of skills and social work practice experience. This provides a high level of support, mentoring and direction to supervising social workers. It also means that foster carers and young people can easily access a senior staff member for support. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 7 An outstanding feature of the service is the quality of social work support provided by supervising social workers to young people and foster carers. This is a direct result of the vision and ambition displayed by the leadership and management team. Managers have improved recruitment processes and induction for new staff. They celebrate success and promote a learning culture to ensure that interventions are

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All agency staff and foster carers are encouraged to reflect on their work, feelings and decisions to consider how best to help young people. This results in resilient and stable family homes for young people, including those with more complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The agency social workers have a manageable workload and access to excellent training in order to develop their knowledge and skills. The registered manager makes good use of administrative staff to free up social work time to ensure that they can undertake direct work with foster carers and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team meet with young people and foster carers who attend regular focus groups. These forums contribute to service development and ensure that the manager keeps in close touch with the lived experiences of young people and foster families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The fostering panel is meticulous in its assessments when considering the suitability of foster carers. The panel chair is very experienced and provides constructive feedback to the agency to maintain high standards and to help improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager leads a high-performing team that has a keen focus on the best interests of children and young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the independent fostering agency knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Regional Fostering Services Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 8 Lyon Way, Greenford, London, Middlesex UB6 0BN

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: faraz@regionalfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Lee Kirwin, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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