F5 Foster Care Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 1 F5 Foster Care Limited F5 Foster Care Limited First Floor Amington House, 95 Amington Road, Birmingham B25 8EP Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

F5 Foster Care Limited is a private limited company based in Birmingham. The agency provides a range of placements, including long-term, short-term and respite placements. At the time of this inspection, the agency was providing placements for three children. It had three fostering households.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 13 August 2018. The registered manager is currently working towards gaining a level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Inspection dates: 29 July to 2 August 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

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

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 2

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inadequate

The agency was registered with Ofsted in August 2018. Foster carers are newly approved. Consequently, children have only been with their new foster carers for a short period of time. As a result, the long-term impact of the agency on children‟s experiences and outcomes is not yet tested.

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inadequate

Children have not been safely placed with foster carers. For example, managers made the decision to place two children with foster carers outside of the foster carer‟s approval numbers. It took two weeks before the right approval was secured.

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inadequate

Children are placed with foster carers before essential information is shared. For example, managers have failed to follow their own processes for assessing risks when children are required to share a bedroom. This is despite managers knowing that one child may pose a risk to another child if they were to share the same bedroom.

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inadequate

Oversight of children‟s health needs is poor. Key information about children‟s health needs and medical appointments is missing from the agency‟s records. As a result, managers are unable to demonstrate that they are aware of children‟s health needs.

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inadequate

The children‟s guide lacks information about the agency‟s statement of purpose and complaints process. This leaves children without essential information about the agency.

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inadequate

Children do not have regular opportunities to share their views about the care they receive or how the agency could improve. This is a missed opportunity to enable children‟s views to inform service development.

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inadequate

Despite the significant shortfalls in the agency functions, there are some areas of early progress for children. As a result of the commitment of their foster carers, children are beginning to settle into their new households and develop positive relationships. This includes taking part in family events and holidays. Children are supported to attend school, even when this is at a distance from their foster home. These positive indicators support children‟s stability in the early stages of a new placement.

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inadequate

Foster carers feel supported by the agency, despite the limited staff available to them. This reflects the commitment of the registered manager, who offers a high level of day-to-day contact with foster carers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 3

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inadequate

Managers fail to ensure that children have personal safe care plans and risk assessments that reflect their individual needs and known risks. This significant omission leaves foster carers without essential information about how to safely care for the children who are living with them. It also leaves foster carers, their family members and children vulnerable to allegations.

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inadequate

Foster carers have been placed in unsafe situations due to the lack of guidance on how to support children when they see their family. This lack of guidance has placed one child and their foster carer at risk of injury. The foster carer was required to physically intervene to safeguard the child, despite not having received training about how to do so safely. Managers failed to ensure that the foster carer made a record of the incident in accordance with the agency‟s guidelines. Managers have also failed to offer the foster carer any support after the incident. The ineffective management of this situation fails to allow the foster carer or the agency to learn from the incident and prevent a recurrence.

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inadequate

Foster carers do not have the necessary skills and understanding to enable them to manage children‟s vulnerabilities. This is despite foster carers caring for children who are at risk of child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, a history of drug misuse or drinking alcohol under age. Foster carers have not received any specialist training or support to help them understand how to safeguard these highly vulnerable children. This failure leaves newly approved foster carers totally unprepared to be able to identify patterns of concern and to put in place appropriate safeguards.

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inadequate

Safe recruitment practice is weak. For example, managers have not verified the reasons why a person who has previously worked with vulnerable adults or children left their past employment. This omission leaves children vulnerable to being in contact with people who may not be safe to work with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager for the service is an experienced practitioner with a range of relevant experience in fostering. She is in the process of completing the level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is the only qualified social worker employed permanently by the service. The management functions of her role have been overlooked in her focus to try and support foster carers and children. This has significantly impacted on her management oversight of the service. A lack of audit systems, and an over- reliance on self-reporting, has prevented senior managers from identifying the significant omissions identified during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The fostering panel is in the early stages of development. The panel chair is suitably experienced and panel membership demonstrates a diversity of knowledge and experience. The panel chair has creative ideas about how the panel can Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 4 develop, including regular quality assurance meetings and the involvement of children in the panel process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of reports submitted to the panel is not of a consistently good standard. A lack of robust quality assurance resulted in two reports requiring addendum materials to be submitted to enable the panel to reach an informed recommendation. In one instance, this has resulted in a delay of one month in a decision being reached regarding a foster carer‟s approval.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Foster carers do not benefit from regular supervision. As a result, newly approved foster carers do not receive enough supervision visits within a six-month period. This failure to provide adequate supervision has left the foster carers without essential support and oversight in the early stages of their fostering career.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to provide foster carers with the necessary training to enable them to meet the complex needs of the children who are placed with them. Foster carers have not received training to enable them to understand the basic elements of what it means to be a foster carer. Consequently, foster carers do not understand the importance of record-keeping or how to care for children who have suffered separation and early childhood trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have not ensured that members of staff receive regular supervision or training. The registered manager has not received supervision since February 2019. The organisation‟s training plan fails to reflect the specialist role of the supervising social worker. These omissions leave staff without the knowledge or support required to fulfil their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A lack of management understanding of regulation has resulted in administrative errors in the service. For example, the foster carer‟s agreement does not contain details of the foster carer‟s approval. This omission means that foster carers are without clear information about their fostering approval. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 5

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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. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must produce a written guide to the fostering service (“the children‟s guide”) which includes a summary of the statement of purpose and a summary of the procedure (the representations and complaints procedure) established (i) in the case of an independent fostering agency, under regulation 18(1). (Regulation 3(3)(a)(b)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider and the registered manager must, having regard to the size of the fostering agency, its statement of purpose, and the numbers and needs of the children placed by the fostering agency, and the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children placed by the fostering agency, carry on or manage the fostering agency (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 8(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are only placed with carers who have the necessary approval to provide the placement required.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the agency operates clear and accessible recording systems which are updated in a timely manner. 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person in respect of an independent fostering agency must ensure that the welfare of children placed or to be placed with foster parents is safeguarded and promoted at all times. (Regulation 11(1)(a))* 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 17(1))* 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure that foster parents are familiar with, and act in accordance with the policies established in accordance with regulations 12(1) and 13(1) and (3). (Regulation 17(2)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that there is a 04/10/2019 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 6 sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working for the purposes of the fostering service, having regard to the size of the fostering service, its statement of purpose, and the numbers and needs of the children placed by it, and the need to safeguard and promote the health and welfare of children placed with foster parents. (Regulation 19(1)(a)(b))* The fostering service provider must not employ a person to work for the purposes of the fostering service unless that person is fit to do so, or allow a person to whom paragraph (2) applies, to work for the purposes of the fostering service unless that person is fit to do so. For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work for the purposes of a fostering service unless full and satisfactory information is

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Requirement Due date

available in relation to that person in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 1. (Regulation 20(1)(a)(b)(3)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that all persons employed by them receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal, and are enabled from to time to time to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform. (Regulation 21(4)(a)(b)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

If a fostering service provider decide to approve X as a foster parent they must enter into a written agreement with X covering the matters specified in Schedule 5 (the “foster care agreement”). (Regulation 27 (5)(b)) 04/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The fostering service provider‟s decision-maker makes a considered decision that takes account of all the information available to them, including the recommendation of the fostering panel and, where applicable the independent review panel, within seven working days of receipt of the recommendation and final set of panel minutes. (Fostering Services; National Minimum Standards, page 31, paragraph 14.9)

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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: F5 Foster Care Limited 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: F5 Foster Care Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: First Floor Amington House, 95 Amington Road, Birmingham B25 8EP

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: F5 Foster Care Limited 8 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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