CFS Care Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 1 CFS Care Ltd CFS Care Ltd 93 Bradford Street, Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire BL4 9JY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This is a privately owned fostering agency that was registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency offers a range of foster placements, including permanent, long-term, short-term, parent and child, emergency and respite. At the time of this inspection, the agency has four recently approved fostering households who are caring for one child.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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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 since the fostering agency was registered with Ofsted. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency has been operating for almost one year. Although foster carer recruitment has been slow, the agency’s focus is to recruit high-calibre foster carers who have the skills, experience and resilience to care for the most vulnerable young people, such as teenagers. The agency has recently joined a regional local authority contract; this important achievement will help the agency to grow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency has one young person in placement and one young person who unfortunately left her placement in an unplanned way. The young person in placement enjoys a positive relationship with her foster family. This is reflected in what she told her social worker: ‘My foster carer has done more for me in two months than what anyone has done for me in my lifetime.’ The carer provides a high standard of care and she has shown tremendous skill, nurture and resilience in her care. She is a good advocate and empathetic and this is her first placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Whenever possible, children and young people move into their foster families in a planned way. However, when this is not achievable, the agency does try to ensure that the young person receives some helpful information about the family prior to the placement. The agency keeps foster carers’ profiles electronically, so that it is able to send these to placing social workers for them to share with children and young people prior to them meeting their new foster family. This helps to reduce their anxiety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers ensure that they actively promote the health and well-being of children and young people in their care. Children and young people are registered with health practitioners and benefit from attending routine health appointments, such as the dentist, and intervention from specialist services, such as child and adolescent mental health services and play therapy when necessary. However, the agency does not have copies of children’s and young people’s health assessment reports from their local authority to inform their own health plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A young person moved from her placement in an unplanned way despite the agency putting in additional support to maintain the placement. However, the agency did not challenge the placing authority when it failed to undertake a review of the young person’s care plan within the required timescale. Consequently, opportunities were missed for issues and concerns to be deliberated by all parties responsible for the young person’s care and future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel part of their foster families. They are involved in the usual family activities and events. Children’s individual interests and talents are also actively encouraged. Examples include swimming and dancing. These opportunities help to broaden children’s opportunities and develop their socialisation skills and peer relationships. The agency has planned activities for children and young people including go-karting, trampolining and bowling. They also have a family event planned for Halloween that children, carers and their families are invited to attend. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 3 Generally, matching is effective. Staff know the carers and their household members extremely well and use their in-depth knowledge to inform matching decisions. However, matching documents do not reflect this because they omit sufficient information to demonstrate that carers are able to manage individual risks for

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

children and young people to keep them safe from harm. Furthermore, matching documents do not demonstrate that sufficient consideration has been given to the potential impact a young person may have on existing household members, such as other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers and their families feel well supported from the start of their journey with the agency. Carers attend a ‘skills to foster’ course prior to assessment and their children attend a ‘my family to foster’ session to help prepare them for fostering. Carers benefit from regular supervision, training and support. The agency’s duty system ensures that carers have access to 24-hour support and guidance.

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

The need to safeguard and protect children and young people from harm is prioritised across all aspects of practice. A strong safeguarding culture ensures that leaders and managers and staff regularly update their knowledge and skills in keeping children and young people safe. Foster carers share this commitment and quickly identify any signs that a child or young person could be at risk of harm.

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

Children are happy, safe and secure in their foster homes. Staff and foster carers know how to identify and tackle risk. Foster carers follow detailed safer caring plans and risk assessments that include strategies for preventing or reducing risk.

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

When concerned about foster carers’ conduct, the agency seeks advice from relevant safeguarding professionals, such as the designated officer. This demonstrates that the agency works effectively with safeguarding professionals to maintain good standards of safeguarding practice across the service.

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

Through training, regular supervision and discussions with the foster carers, the agency monitors carers’ behaviour management approaches. This is to make sure that any measure of control used by the carers is neither excessive nor unreasonable. When there was a concern about the approach of carers to managing a child’s behaviour, the agency challenged this effectively with carers and provided them with appropriate advice and guidance.

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

There has been a demonstrable and significant reduction in risks to the safety and well-being of one young person during the time she has been living with her foster carer. For example, incidents of missing from home and the risk of child sexual exploitation have decreased. Strong partnership working between the carer, young person, agency, child’s social worker and the police has helped to achieve this.

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

When a young person goes missing from home, foster carers follow reporting procedures and take appropriate action to ensure a quick and safe return home. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 4 Additionally, any reasons behind the young people going missing are understood and addressed, for example wanting to spend time with family. On one occasion, with the agreement of the placing authority, changes to a young person’s family contact were introduced, which in turn reduced the young person’s missing incidents. However, the agency has not challenged the placing authority when it has not provided a young person with an independent return home interview as required.

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

Safer recruitment practice at the agency is not sufficiently robust. For example, the checks required in regulation have not all been completed, such as documentary evidence of any relevant qualification and a professional reference from the person’s most recent or current employer.

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

The agency implements systems for ensuring that foster carers provide safe and comfortable homes for children and young people to live in. These include health and safety assessment checks of the carers’ home. However, a foster carer has not provided the agency with an electrical safety certificate despite this being raised with the carer several times. The carer has assured the agency that the certificate will be provided within the next seven days.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency has highly visible and approachable leadership throughout the service. The leaders and managers are inspirational and forward-thinking, and are effective managers. They are dedicated to improving the lives of the children and young people in the agency’s care. Furthermore, they continue to take measures to drive the service forward, which has resulted in the continued progress and development of the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency has positive relationships with those commissioning its services, who report that communication with staff is good, and feedback from others about the agency was universally positive. One commissioner commented, ‘Our experience with this agency has been excellent; they went above and beyond to prevent a young person’s placement breaking down. Additional support was offered from a fostering support worker and play therapist.’ A foster carer’s feedback about the agency was extremely positive. The carer spoke highly of the agency and the support that she receives. She said that she feels valued and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose is a detailed and comprehensive document that accurately outlines the aims and objectives of the fostering service. The children’s guide provides useful information about what young people can expect from the agency and how to complain. These documents are provided to children and interested parties to ensure that they have a clear understanding and expectations of the agency from the start. However, the statement of purpose is not on the agency’s website for others to access and the children’s guide is not accessible to children of different ages and reading ability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and managers have identified carer recruitment, participation and consultation with children and young people as agency priorities. The agency has a robust development plan that includes plans to recruit new carers through Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 5 community events as well as their current social media platforms. They have several activities and events planned for carers and children and young people and are planning to develop consultation with children and young people through mobile phone applications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The panel chair is knowledgeable about fostering and the role of the panel. There is a good range of expertise among the panel membership and they provide strong oversight. The panel is professionally curious and confident to question staff and carers. This helps to ensure that this is an agency with highly competent and skilled carers, motivated to provide the highest standard of care to children and young people. However, the panel chair and members have not been provided with an induction to the agency in line with fostering national minimum standards. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 6

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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 not—

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Requirement Due date

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. This paragraph applies to any person who is employed, other than by the fostering service provider, in a position in which that person may in the course of their duties have regular contact with children placed by the fostering service.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work for the purposes of a fostering service unless that person—

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Requirement Due date

is of integrity and good character, has the qualifications, skills and experience necessary for the work they are to perform, 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. (Regulation 20 (1)(2)(3)(4)) 28/11/2019

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Recommendations

 If a child is absent from the fostering home and their whereabouts are not known (i.e. the child is missing), the fostering service’s procedures are compatible with the local Runaway and Missing from Home and Care (RMFHC) protocols and procedures applicable to the area where each foster home is located. (NMS 5.6) In particular, the fostering service should understand and implement the statutory guidance for children who are missing from care. They should ensure that children receive an independent return home interview following a missing incident. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 7  The fostering service only suggests foster carers to local authorities as a potential match for a child if the foster carer can reasonably be expected to meet the child’s assessed needs and the impact of the placement on existing household members has been considered. Where gaps are identified, the fostering service

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Recommendations

should work with the responsible authority to ensure the placement plan sets out any additional training, resource or support required. (NMS 15.1)  The fostering service has a clear statement of purpose which is available to, and understood by, foster carers, staff and children and is reflected in any policies, procedures and guidance. It is available to the responsible authority and any parent or person with parental responsibility. (NMS 15.1)  Each person on the central list is given induction training which is completed within 10 weeks of joining the central list. (NMS 23.9)  The fostering service contacts the responsible authority to request statutory reviews or visits if these are overdue for any child, or if a review has not already been arranged by the responsible authority and a change in the care plan is needed, there has been a significant change in arrangements for the child’s care or a major action (e.g. a change of placement) which is not in the care plan

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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: CFS Care Ltd 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: The Vicarage, 93 Bradford Street, Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire BL4 9JY

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Inspectors

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Marina Tully, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Ltd 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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