Jane Foulkes

Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes Jane Foulkes

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this adoption support agency

Jane Foulkes is an individual provider who is registered to provide adoption support services to children and adults. This includes counselling, family support/therapy and psychotherapy. Her approach is Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). In the last 12 months, Jane has provided 21 adoption support packages funded by local authorities through the adoption support fund. Jane also undertakes work which does not fall into the remit of adoption support and which is not the subject of this inspection.

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Information about this adoption support agency

Inspection dates: 15 to 18 February 2019

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Overall experience and progress of

service users, taking into account: Outstanding

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Overall experience and progress of

How well children, young people and adults are helped and protected Outstanding

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Overall experience and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

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Overall experience and progress of

The adoption support agency provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the adoption support agency contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for service users.

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Overall experience and progress of

Date of last inspection: 26 May 2015 Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes

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Key findings from this inspection

This adoption support agency is outstanding because:  Jane provides an impressive therapeutic service. She is a creative leader in the field of adoption support.  Skilful support reduces trauma and family breakdown and keeps children in their adoptive families.  Children and families form strong bonds with Jane. She makes an exceptional and enduring commitment to them.  Respect and sensitivity for children and their experiences since birth is matched by high levels of compassion and respect for adoptive parents.  Robust safeguarding arrangements protect children. Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: outstanding

Parents and children say that the service provided by the registered person exceeds their expectations for help. Jane’s support repairs and strengthens children’s relationships with their adoptive parents. It enables children to accept care and nurture from their adoptive parents. This makes a significant difference to children’s life chances. Jane meets children and families in their homes. This reinforces the family home as the primary site of nurture. This means that children are comfortable, relaxed and secure in their own surroundings. Parents describe Jane as responsive and non- judgemental. They hold her in high regard and trust her implicitly. Jane’s patient and rigorous approach considers children’s sensory as well as emotional and developmental needs. One parent told the inspector, ‘She covers absolutely everything and at the child’s pace.’ Local authority professionals and parents request Jane’s post-adoption support

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: outstanding

because they know it works. She is prompt, reliable and delivers agreed adoption support, commissioned by the local authority or regional adoption agency. She is respected in her field for her skill, professionalism and the success of DDP in helping the whole family. She has carefully helped successive generations of adopted children in the same families. Her therapeutic commitment goes above and beyond the period of funding, lasting for as long as families need her. Jane’s therapeutic intervention improves children’s relationships with others, including being able to build and sustain friendships with peers, brothers and sisters. Parents described the impact that she has as ‘incredible’ because she goes above and beyond the therapeutic sessions. Jane carries out important partnership work with schools, health and social care. One headteacher told the inspector about Jane’s input with several pupils. ‘It is not an exaggeration to say that some of these pupils,

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: outstanding

at least, would have struggled to see school as a safe place in which to learn if it had not been for the ongoing therapeutic support provided by Jane. The advice and training provided for staff have also been invaluable in enabling us to understand and support the needs of our pupils.’ Parents value her advocacy, advice about benefits and her help in securing specialist assessments for their children. A parent told the inspector, ‘I’m not sure we would have managed to cope without the ongoing support.’ Jane uses stories, play, nurture, art and literacy to exceptional effect in her direct work with children. She has written tailored therapeutic stories to help children understand their situations, encouraging their poetry. She is a published author of a book that helps children understand death. Her innovative support, based on research and reflective practice, has a significant effect on those she helps. One child

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: outstanding

told the inspector, ‘She helps with everything and I can talk to her about anything. Jane is the best person in the world.’ Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes

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outstanding

Excellent support for children helps them to become safer, calmer and feel more secure in their adoptive families. Challenging behaviour and aggression diminishes. Jane’s proactive response reduces violence and distress. Children and families show a notable reduction of risk as her input progresses. Parents and children develop therapeutic insight and skills to protect each other from the impact of children’s earlier trauma, neglect and abuse. These strategies help them negotiate future family life safely. One senior local authority social work manager told the inspector, ‘Families I work with really value the input from Jane and certainly they seem to be more contained with her support, which inevitably reduces the likelihood of family breakdown.’ Jane is prompt to flag concerns and to escalate these concerns when children are at risk. She works tirelessly as part of a protective team around the child when children

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outstanding

have been vulnerable to bullying and/or exploitation by more powerful children. Jane has advanced safeguarding skills. She has previously delivered child protection training on behalf of local authorities. She is insightful about the vulnerabilities of children who are adopted and is committed to empowering them to lead safe lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Jane is inspirational, confident, and ambitious for children. She always thinks ahead about what will help them as they grow into young adults. She is an extremely skilled professional, recognised as an expert by her peers in working with children who have developmental trauma and attachment difficulties. She works to exemplary ethical and professional standards. Jane’s support is respectful of religious, cultural and racial difference. Children and parents described feeling valued and understood. She is a registered social worker and psychotherapist. Jane undertakes a high level of professional development activities to further her practice. She also provides advice, consultation, therapeutic supervision and training services for professionals working with adopted children and those who are in local authority care. She systematically monitors and evaluates her work through feedback from children, families, professionals, and regular peer mentoring and therapeutic supervision. She

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

actively reviews progress with families and commissioning social workers. She is accountable and transparent in the information that she provides about her service. This open approach ensures that her work is consistently of a very high standard and is based on clear outcome measures. A parent summed up her view of Jane’s support as, ‘Very simply, we would not be a family if it weren’t for her.’ Jane chooses to maintain her Ofsted registration, though not legally required to do so. All of her adoption support work is commissioned by local authorities and Jane welcomes public accountability for her standards to a national regulator. One associated professional described her as being at the peak of her profession. Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, to assess the effectiveness of the adoption support agency, how it meets the core functions as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Adoption Support Agencies (England) and Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes

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Inspector

Christy Wannop, social care inspector Inspection report for adoption support agency: Jane Foulkes 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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