Viola Fostering Services

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 1 Viola Fostering Services Viola Fostering Services Limited 1st Floor East Suite, Salts Mill Road, Shipley BD17 7TD Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this independent fostering agency

This fostering agency is privately owned and was registered in July 2018. It provides foster placements for children and young people from birth to 18 years old. At the time of registration, the agency was based in Northampton but has since relocated to Bradford, West Yorkshire.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

Inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected Inadequate

p.1

Inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

p.1

Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

p.1

Inadequate

Date of last inspection: this is the fostering agency‟s first inspection

p.1

Inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: this is the fostering agency‟s first inspection

p.1

Inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: this is the fostering agency‟s first inspection. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 2

p.1

inadequate

Serious and widespread failures leave children being harmed or at risk of harm, or their welfare not being safeguarded. Furthermore, ineffective leadership and management have led to some children‟s and young people‟s overall experiences being poor, and not all have made progress.

p.2

inadequate

Poor recruitment and assessment practice of foster carers have exposed some children and young people to the risk of harm. The responsible individual has not ensured that appropriate quality assurance systems are in place to monitor and review the quality of Form F assessments. Consequently, not all checks on foster carers have been thoroughly considered and addressed prior to and during the panel process. For example, medical information about one applicant‟s health status was not scrutinised sufficiently through panel or by the agency decision-maker. This lack of consideration compromises the well-being and safety of children and young people placed, as appropriate strategies have not been implemented to ensure safe caring practices.

p.2

inadequate

Furthermore, not all the assessments of foster carers‟ capacity to meet and safeguard the needs of children and young people have been sufficiently robust. For example, the agency relied on the foster carers‟ „Skills to foster‟ training decision document that had been previously written by a local authority. This demonstrates that the agency had not assured itself that the foster carers had the appropriate skills and knowledge to care for children and young people safely. The recommended training and developmental support for some foster carers that has been identified at fostering panel, in areas such as managing challenging behaviour, managing self-harming behaviour, safeguarding children, attachment, separation and loss, have not been followed up. These deficiencies compromise the safety and well-being of children. Consequently, children and young people have been placed with foster carers who do not have the skills, capacity or insight to meet their

p.2

inadequate

Children and young people have been placed with foster carers, and some children were several months into placements, without all the required and critical documentation. Missing information relates to children‟s and young people‟s cultural, emotional and behavioural needs and risks and other significant information needed to care for them. There is also concern about the lack of timely planning meetings in the absence of the essential documentation which is needed to ensure that risk is managed, and matching is appropriate. The provider has not appropriately escalated concerns about missing paperwork to the placing local authorities.

p.2

inadequate

The responsible individual‟s failure to ensure that the foster carers‟ skills are matched to the children‟s needs to ensure placement stability is exemplified by a culturally inappropriate placement and a sibling group being separated and exposed to emotional harm following a placement breakdown. Opportunities for children and Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 3 young people to build trusted and secure relationships with foster carers who know them well and can protect and promote their welfare is significantly undermined by these weaknesses.

p.2

inadequate

Individual children‟s and young people‟s positive experiences and progress are largely due to their own motivation, rather than the systems and functions of the agency. Some children are making good progress in education. Others have not had an opportunity to attend school. For example, a primary school aged child has not accessed an education provision since their placement started in February 2019. Contributory factors have been the inappropriate interventions from a foster carer that have caused delay and the agency‟s ineffective escalation to the local authority to ensure the child‟s admission into a school placement. These weaknesses have hindered a child‟s capacity to learn during their early years.

p.3

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

There are serious or widespread failures that leave children and young people being harmed, at risk of harm or with their welfare not being safeguarded. For example, allegations of physical and emotional harm made against foster carers by a child have not been managed appropriately or escalated to the designated officer for independent scrutiny. This has placed children at risk of harm.

p.3

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

Poor risk management of children‟s and young people‟s needs has placed children at risk of harm. Foster carers do not sufficiently understand risk-taking behaviours because the fostering agency has failed to provide effective guidance regarding risk management. Consequently, there is no shared understanding of risk management, which leaves foster carers ill-equipped to safely manage risks such as self-harming and suicidal ideation. This means that children and young people are not protected from harm because foster carers do not possess the skills, experience or training and seem to lack the insight necessary to care for them safely.

p.3

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

A child who had been missing from home for several days had not been reported to the relevant authorities appropriately. There were no formal risk assessments or protocols for the foster carers to follow, such as individual missing from home procedures. The agency did not provide the foster carer with any timely or effective guidance on how to progress these concerns. Ofsted was not notified for a further two weeks. No proper recording was found, so it is not clear what action was taken to locate the child by the agency, and the responsible individual was unable to provide any further clarity about the incident.

p.3

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

Foster carers have not had behaviour management training. This includes training in de-escalation and physical interventions. This places children and young people at risk, as foster carers lack insight into their complex emotional and behavioural needs and risk-taking behaviour. In addition, foster carers do not know how to respond to children and young people appropriately and safely when they are in crisis and are exhibiting risk-taking behaviour.

p.3

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

Foster carers also lack insight into the effects of children‟s and young people‟s earlier Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 4 experiences on their behaviours. This leads to poor and inappropriate practice and poor experiences for some children, who are being blamed for their actions and behaviour. This is not child-centred practice. For example, one child in a placement that the foster carers served notice on is unable to access food himself at the foster home and is unable to spend time in his bedroom like a normal teenager. Notice had been served on another child‟s placement because their foster carers cited issues between their dog and the child and the foster carers prioritised their dog.

p.3

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

A foster caring couple have been subject to an action plan for a number of issues of concern, including shouting at a professional when a child was present and shouting at a child. This action plan has not been shared with the agency‟s fostering panel, because the panel is not currently quorate, so the suitability of the foster carers cannot be reviewed.

p.4

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

Children and young people are exposed to the risk of direct and indirect contact with potentially unsuitable people due to the lack of rigour in the agency‟s recruitment practice. The responsible individual has not recognised the unsafe recruitment practices taking place in the agency and has allowed at least two panel members to carry out their roles on the fostering panel without full and complete recruitment checks.

p.4

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

The lack of detail or absence of records of the children‟s and young people‟s daily lives do not provide a clear impression of how foster carers are managing their behaviours. This places children and young people at risk of harm.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has demonstrated poor leadership and management oversight of the agency. This has resulted directly in serious or widespread failures that leave children and young people being harmed, at risk of harm or with their welfare not being safeguarded.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has failed to take sufficient action to ensure that the fostering agency is managed with enough care, competence and skill. The delay in their identifying and taking decisive action to address the widespread failures and the serious concerns identified and raised with them has resulted in the agency failing to function in accordance with the regulations. This has placed children at risk.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual was aware that the director of this fostering agency had undertaken initial visits to potential foster carers, attended a looked after children‟s review and acted as the panel adviser, all of which fall outside of the remit of her director role. Furthermore, the director has been struck off the health and care professions council‟s register and cannot practice as a social worker or have any day-to-day involvement in the agency in line with her registration.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been several changes in managers, which has led to instability in the fostering agency and has limited its capacity to improve. Although the responsible Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 5 individual has taken steps to address this matter through recruitment, no registered manager appointment has yet been made to manage the day-to-day operation of the fostering agency. Furthermore, the responsible individual has not recognised that recruitment practices are unsafe. It is therefore not clear how the agency has satisfied itself of the suitability of these applicants.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has failed to ensure that that there is an operational mechanism in place for the agency to function in line with regulations. There is currently no panel chair or agency decision-maker in post. The vice chair has applied for the position of panel chair, which would leave a vacant vice chair role. This means that the panel is unable to recommend, approve and review the suitability of foster carers when assessments are undertaken and concerns or allegations against foster carers are raised. The responsible individual has not made sure that full and satisfactory recruitment information is in place to confirm how the panel members‟ experience and expertise have been determined. It is therefore not clear how the agency has satisfied itself that the panel can effectively discharge its functions. When panel has been quorate, it has not been consistently robust. The lack of professional challenge and scrutiny of foster carer assessments has resulted in some

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

weak decision-making. This has led to the approval of potentially unsuitable foster carers.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual has failed to implement the agency‟s own safeguarding policies and procedures when children go missing from foster placements and when allegations have been made against foster carers. This has not assured the children‟s welfare and protection during these times.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant incidents have not been notified to Ofsted. This obstructs Ofsted from considering, monitoring or tracking how the fostering agency responds to significant events and incidents.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered provider has failed to ensure that the register of children placed and approved foster carers contains all the required information, such as the details of the child‟s address prior to the placement and/or on leaving the placement. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards (NMS). The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

Requirement Due date

6(1) The registered provider must appoint an individual to manage the fostering agency. 02/12/2019

p.6

Requirement Due date

7(1) A person must not manage a fostering agency unless they are fit to do so. (2) A person is not fit to manage a fostering agency unless that person— (a) is of integrity and good character.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the responsible individual prohibits the director from having any further day-to-day involvement in the fostering agency. 21/07/2019

p.6

Requirement Due date

*8(2) The registered provider must ensure that— (b) where the registered provider is an organisation, the responsible individual undertakes, from time to time, such training as is appropriate to ensure that they have the experience and skills necessary for carrying on the fostering agency. 01/09/2019

p.6

Requirement Due date

11 The registered person in respect of an independent fostering agency must ensure that— (a) the welfare of children placed or to be placed with foster parents is safeguarded and promoted at all times, and (b) before making any decision affecting a child placed or to be placed with a foster parent due consideration is given to the child‟s— (i) wishes and feelings (having regard to the child‟s age and understanding), and (ii) religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background. 02/12/2019

p.6

Requirement Due date

12(3) The procedure under paragraph (1)(b) must, subject to paragraph (4), provide in particular for— (b) the prompt referral to the area authority of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child placed by the fostering service provider, 02/12/2019 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 7 (c) notification of the instigation and outcome of any child protection enquiries involving a child placed by the fostering service provider, to the Chief Inspector, (d) written records to be kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect, and of the action taken in response, (e) consideration to be given to the measures which may be necessary to protect children placed with foster parents following an allegation of abuse or neglect.

p.6

Requirement Due date

*12(1) The fostering service provider must prepare and implement a written policy which— (a) is intended to safeguard children placed with foster parents from abuse or neglect, and (b) sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect. 21/07/2019

p.7

Requirement Due date

16(1) The fostering service provider must promote the educational achievement of children placed with foster parents. (5) Where any child placed with a foster parent is above compulsory school age, the fostering service provider must assist with the making of, and give effect to, the arrangements made for the child‟s education, training and employment. 02/12/2019

p.7

Requirement Due date

17(1) The fostering service provider must provide foster parents with such training, advice, information and support, including support outside office hours, as appears necessary in the interests of children placed with them. (3) The fostering service provider must ensure that, in relation to any child placed or to be placed with a foster parent, the foster parent is given such information, which is kept up to date, as to enable him to provide appropriate care for the child, and in particular that each foster parent is provided with a copy of the most recent version of the child‟s care plan provided to the fostering service provider under regulation 6(3)(d) of the Care Planning Regulations. 02/12/2019

p.7

Requirement Due date

20(1) The fostering service must not— (a) employ a person to work for the purposes of the fostering service unless that person is fit to do so. (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work for the purposes of a fostering service unless that person— (c) is physically and mentally fit for the work they are to perform, and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to that person in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 1. 02/12/2019

p.7

Requirement Due date

22(1) The fostering service provider must maintain and keep up 02/12/2019 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 8 to date the records specified in Schedule 2.

p.7

Requirement Due date

*23(4) Subject to paragraph (5), the fostering service provider must constitute one or more fostering panels, as necessary, to perform the functions of a fostering panel under these Regulations, and must appoint panel members including— (i) a person to chair the panel who, in the case of any appointment made after 1st October 2011, must be independent of the fostering service provider, and (ii) one or two persons who may act as chair if the person appointed to chair the panel is absent or that office is vacant (“the vice chairs”) from the persons on the central list. (7) The fostering service provider must ensure that the fostering panel has sufficient members, and that individual members have between them the experience and expertise necessary, to effectively discharge the functions of the panel. 01/09/2019

p.8

Requirement Due date

25(2) In considering what recommendation to make under paragraph (1), the fostering panel— (a) must consider and take into account all of the information passed to it in accordance with regulation 26, 27 or 28 (as the case may be), (b) may request the fostering service provider to obtain any other relevant information or to provide such other assistance as the fostering panel considers necessary. 02/12/2019

p.8

Requirement Due date

26(2) The fostering service provider— (c) except where the fostering service provider is a local authority and X lives in the area of that authority, must consult with, and take into account the views of, the local authority in whose area X lives. 02/12/2019

p.8

Requirement Due date

28(1) The fostering service provider must review the approval of each foster parent in accordance with this regulation. (3) When undertaking a review, the fostering service provider must— (a) make such enquiries and obtain such information as they consider necessary in order to review whether the foster parent continues to be suitable to be a foster parent and the foster parent‟s household continues to be suitable, and made by the fostering panel and the recommendation of the independent review panel. 02/12/2019

p.8

Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 9

p.8

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: Viola Fostering Services 10

p.9

Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Viola Fostering Services Limited

p.10

Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 1 Floor East Suite, Salts Mill Road, Shipley BD17 7TD

p.10

Telephone number:

Email address: margaretfirth@starlightfostercare.co.uk

p.10

Inspectors

Jacqueline Malcolm, social care inspector Tina Ruffles, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Viola Fostering Services 11 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.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11