DMR Services Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 1 DMR Services Limited DMR Services Limited 102 Queslett Road East, Sutton Coldfield B74 2EZ Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

DMR Services Limited is a small fostering agency that is privately owned. The agency was registered in November 2017. It currently supports two children in two fostering households. The range of placement types that could be provided include emergency, long-term, medium-term, short-term and respite placements. The agency has an experienced and qualified registered manager in post.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The independent fostering agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: this is the first inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: this is the first inspection

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good

Enforcement action since registration: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The fostering agency is a new and developing service. Leaders and managers have not rushed the recruitment process of potential foster carers. This has ensured that children receive good care from skilled and confident carers. Children have made good progress despite them only being placed with foster families for a short period of time. A child who previously did not attend education now goes to school and completes homework that has been tailored to his interests by staff at the fostering agency. Children are thriving because of stable routines and consistent guidance and boundaries. Children are warmly welcomed into their new home by their foster carers. Each foster carer has an information booklet. This includes pictures of the house and family members. Children are shown these before they move in. Children settle quickly and have positive relationships with their foster families. Children’s views and opinions are regularly gathered and show that children are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

happy. The supervising social worker regularly spends one-to-one time with all children in the family. This is in addition to individualised feedback forms being completed by children. The registered manager reviews all feedback to assist with her monitoring of the quality of care that children receive. Foster carers receive consistent, individualised support. The supervising social worker visits foster carers every week when a child is first placed with them and also stays in contact through regular telephone calls. The registered manager provides telephone support day and night to assist foster carers should they need any advice or guidance in an emergency. The level of support is regularly reviewed and amended when needed to ensure that it is personalised to the needs of each family. The agency has a dedicated support worker who offers bespoke and focused support to children and foster carers when needed. This is beneficial and supports

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the progress that children make. For example, the support worker supports children to eat healthily, engage in education and complete homework. Staff know the children well and the progress that they make. They attend all significant meetings such as health appointments, education meetings and children’s reviews. Foster carers are provided with an array of good-quality training which supports them to care for children. The agency could improve this good practice further by giving foster carers clear individualised training plans. This will help foster carers to understand the expectations of training and the timescales that courses need to be completed in. Prospective foster carers feel welcomed and are prepared well for the role. The registered manager allows them time to reflect throughout the process. This ensures that carers understand the role and are clear that becoming a foster carer is the right move for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 3 The registered manager is skilled at matching children to suitable foster carers. She considers foster carers’ skills and abilities and ensures that they can meet the needs of the children placed in their care. This improves stability and reduces placement breakdowns.

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

Children are kept safe. There are few incidents of concern. This is partly due to the size of the service and children being new in placement. Incidents such as children going missing, being bullied, engaging in self-injurious behaviour and being exploited have not occurred. Risk assessments identify any known risks and are regularly reviewed and updated to support foster carers to keep children safe. Recruitment of foster carers is good. Any potential concerns are thoroughly explored until managers are satisfied that individuals are safe to work with children. The registered manager ensures that foster carers’ assessments are detailed. She has developed good-quality assurance processes to ensure that assessments are complete prior to going to panel. Panel members rigorously review the information that is shared at panel. On one occasion, they deferred their decision because of gaps that they identified in an

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

assessment. Such challenge allows for an additional layer of safeguarding and emphasises the high expectations that the panel members have for the quality of the assessments that are presented. The panel is diverse in experience and knowledge, offering a wide range of views and challenge. Panel members give constructive feedback to the registered manager following every panel meeting. This has supported improvement within the service. The agency decision maker provides a clear, written report giving her recommendation to approve foster carers and outlining the reasons why. Home safety checks are completed by an experienced maintenance professional who offers additional guidance to foster carers should this be required. Regular visits to the foster carer’s home by the supervising social worker also allow for ongoing monitoring. Recruitment processes for staff are good and are compliant with safe recruitment

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

guidance. This ensures that all staff are safe to work with children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since the service opened in 2017. She is a passionate and experienced manager whose enthusiasm is evident. She has a clear vision for the service and is child focused. The registered manager’s reflective approach promotes positive change and ongoing development. The registered manager knows the service, carers and children well. She understands the strengths and areas for development of the fostering service and has an improvement plan. She is continually developing and learning from practice Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 4 to ensure that children experience the best possible care. The registered manager has developed good-quality monitoring systems to drive improvement. A manager from another fostering service has undertaken a peer audit and the registered manager has acted on the recommendations made from this. Regular team meetings, supervision of staff, and gathering regular feedback

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

from foster carers, children and professionals provide the registered manager with a holistic oversight of the fostering service. Staff supervisions are of good quality. They focus on the fostering families and staff development and are a good source of support to the staff team. Staff speak highly of the support that is provided by the registered manager. The company invests in the staff team and its development through staff training. Staff are encouraged to develop their knowledge and interests and can access training specific to their needs. Training is delivered in several ways such as evening forums, online training and face-to-face training to ensure that everyone can attend. The registered manager and staff have developed positive relationships with other professionals, including social workers, education staff and health professionals. Professionals spoken to by the inspector were happy with the fostering service and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the level of communication. Leaders and managers have high standards and want the best experiences for children in their care. Poor practice is challenged inside and outside of the agency. For example, when a social worker transported a child’s belongings in a plastic bag this was immediately challenged and brought to the attention of the local authority. The fostering agency has enough staff for the current demands of the service. There are plans in place to gradually expand the staff team as the fostering agency grows. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 5

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Recommendations

 Ensure that foster carers’ personal development plans set out how they will be supported to undertake ongoing training and development that is appropriate to their development needs and experience. (National Minimum Standards 20.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people 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: DMR Services Limited 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: DMR Services, 102 Queslett Road East, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham B74 2EZ

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Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: DMR Services Limited 7 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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