Parent and Child Fostering Service

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 1 Parent and Child Fostering Service Parent and Child Fostering Service Continental House, 497 Sunleigh Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA0 4LY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The main focus of this independent fostering agency is to provide parent-and-child placements. The agency also offers short and long-term fostering placements for children. The agency was registered in May 2012 and currently has eight approved fostering households. At the time of this inspection, there were two mother-and- child placements and two child placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency has not had a registered manager since 1 December 2018. The current manager is applying to register with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive highly individualised care from their foster carers. Children have access to universal services and are supported to attend education and expand their learning opportunities in other ways. Children make good progress across different areas of their lives, such as in their safety, health, education and general development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a strong voice. The agency encourages them to contribute their views to the care planning process and shape the support that they receive. The agency ensures that the care and placement plans are followed and continue to be relevant to the needs of the children and their parents who are placed with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships between the agency and foster families, and the children and parents living with foster carers are excellent. The supervising social worker frequently visits foster families and speaks to adults and children on their own. They also spend time observing interactions and relationships within the foster family. Foster carers and professionals from the placing authorities spoke highly about the standard of fostering that this agency provides.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good recruitment, preparation, training and support of foster carers ensures that they are well prepared for fostering children, and parents with children who have a wide range of complex needs. Foster carers have the necessary motivation, attitudes and skills to be effective carers. They are resilient and determined to make a difference in the lives of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The reliability of carers and continuity of placements underpin the strong sense of security, safety and trust that children and parents experience. In one case, when both parents left the parents-and-child placement, the foster carers continued to care for the child and assisted with the child’s positive transition into an adoptive placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency provides effective parent-and-child placements. Staff and foster carers support parents to develop their parental capacity and understanding of issues such as domestic violence, mental health, substance misuse and child development. In many cases, parents have been enabled to move back into the community and care for their children safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency carefully matches children and parents who need a foster placement together with their child, with foster carers. One mother said that she ‘clicked straight away’ with the foster carer when they met. This mother said that in the past, she did not think that she could trust anyone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spoken with said that they have positive relationships and experiences. For example, one child visited a new city and stayed overnight in a hotel for the first time in her life. Having budgeted well, she was able to buy the clothes that she Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 3 wanted.

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

The agency’s risk management practices are proactive, collaborative and effective. Risk management plans are formed and reviewed in consultation with the placing authority in question and foster carers. To encourage a sense of ownership and responsibility, the agency seeks contributions from children and parents towards their risk management plans.

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

The agency has an effective procedure for safeguarding children when they are missing from care. By following the multi-agency protocols, the agency ensures that every effort is made to protect children from the risk of harm when they are missing. One commissioner talked positively about the agency’s return-to-home interviews that are completed with children.

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

Foster carers form close relationships with children and with parents of children. Children and parents benefit from experiencing clear boundaries and emotional warmth in their foster placements. These secure relationships enable children and parents to engage in conversations about their own safety and the impact that their negative behaviours can have on the safety of others.

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

Incidents are managed well by the agency. Foster carers said staff are available when they need them. The support provided by agency staff, together with the support that foster carers provide for each other, helps foster carers to develop confidence in themselves when dealing with challenging situations.

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

The agency’s safeguarding policies provide staff and foster carers with clear guidance on a number of safeguarding topics, such as the risk of children sexual exploitation, forced marriage, trafficking, radicalisation and female genital mutilation. Foster carers, parents and children have access to a wide range of training on thematic safeguarding issues. However, child criminal exploitation is not covered in the current training schedule and it is not included in the agency’s policies.

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

Staff and foster carers follow correct procedures for reporting concerns or allegations. The agency cooperates with the placing authority and designated officer to ensure that any allegations are thoroughly investigated, and children are protected. The agency supports foster carers well throughout this process.

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

Thorough procedures for recruiting staff ensure that they are suitable to work in their roles. However, one staff file did not have an explanation for a gap in the staff member’s employment history. This weakness was resolved during the inspection.

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good

The agency has been without a registered manager for over eight months. The current manager is applying to register with Ofsted. A previous manager withdrew their application to register, due to circumstances beyond the agency’s control. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 4 The changes in management and the periods of time without any manager have meant that some aspects of the agency’s work have not improved as much as other areas. An example of this is the inconsistent oversight regarding the quality of assessments for prospective foster carers. Consequently, the approval of some foster carers was delayed, due to some gaps in their assessments that had to be addressed first.

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good

The agency’s fostering panel provides a good level of scrutiny. The panel brings together people from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, including those who experienced being in care themselves and those who work in education, health and legal services. However, the panel would benefit from having an independent foster carer.

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good

The agency is child-centred and achieves the principles of its statement of purpose. The agency has developed expertise in supporting parent-and-child placements. A placing authority was complimentary about this agency being the ‘go to’ agency for parent-and-child placements.

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good

Leaders and managers are committed to improving the fostering service. They have complied with all the previous inspection requirements. The appointment of an independent decision maker has significantly strengthened the decision-making processes.

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good

The introduction of an online data-recording system, which both staff and foster carers can access, has been a major development for the agency. The new system enables the quicker sharing of information and an easier management monitoring tool. However, the agency is still helping the owner of the online system to mould it to satisfy the specific requirements of this agency more fully.

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good

The agency’s guides for children need to be updated.

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good

Good practices in respect of equality and diversity permeate all aspects of the agency’s work, such as recruitment, training and matching. Leaders, managers and staff ensure that foster carers can promote all aspects of diversity. As an agency, it is very aware of the rights of people who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or other identities.

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good

Both staff and foster carers have access to a comprehensive training programme. This includes a specific training course on parent-and-child placements. Staff and foster carers also benefit from good induction, support and regular appraisals/ reviews of their practices. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 5

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Recommendations

 Children are protected from abuse and other forms of significant harm (e.g. sexual or labour exploitation). (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 4.1) Specifically, the registered person should provide clear guidance and training to foster carers on how to protect children from the risks of child criminal exploitation.  The written report on the person’s suitability to be approved as a foster carer sets out clearly all the information that the fostering panel and the decision maker need in order to make an objective approval decision. The reports are accurate, up-to-date and include evidence-based information that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. The reports are prepared, signed and dated by the social worker who assessed the prospective foster carer and countersigned and dated by the fostering team manager or a team manager of another of the provider’s fostering teams.

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Recommendations

(‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 13.7) Specifically, the registered person should improve the quality assurance of the assessments to make sure that the assessments are more analytical, evaluative and incisive.  The number, skills, knowledge and experience of persons on the central list are sufficient to enable the fostering service to constitute panels that are equipped to make competent recommendations to the fostering service provider, taking into account the nature of the children and carers that the service caters for. (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 14.18) Specifically, the registered person should recruit an independent panel member who is currently registered as a foster carer for another fostering service.  The children’s guide includes a summary of what the fostering service sets out to do for children, how they can find out their rights, how a child can

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Recommendations

contact their Independent Reviewing Officer, the Children’s Commissioner, Ofsted if they wish to raise a concern with inspectors, and how to secure access to an independent advocate. (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 16.4) Specifically, the registered person must provide up-to-date information in the children’s guide.  The fostering service can demonstrate, including from written records, that it consistently follows good recruitment practice, and all applicable current statutory requirements and guidance, in foster carer selection and staff and panel member recruitment. This includes CRB checks. (‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’, 19.2) Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any gaps in employment are explained and that the explanations are recorded. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 6

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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: Parent and Child Fostering Service 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Parent and Child Fostering Service

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Continental House, 497 Sunleigh Road, Wembley, Middlesex HA0 4LY

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Abimbola Ladipo-Aridegbe

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: enquiries@parentandchildfostering.com

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Inspectors

Seka Graovac, social care inspector Christine Kennet, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Parent and Child Fostering Service 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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