TACT Fostering - Kent

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 1 TACT Fostering - Kent The Adolescent and Children’s Trust 26-27 The Hill, Northfleet, Gravesend, Kent DA11 9EU Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

On 2 May 2019, this agency was successfully registered by and incorporated into TACT Fostering, which is a registered charity. The process involved the retention of its established office base, some staff and foster carers and a number of panel members. It is currently linked with two other branches of TACT. A number of key functions are shared across these branches. At the time of this first full inspection, the fostering service had 30 foster carer households providing care for 28 children. The manager was registered on 2 May 2019.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Inspection dates: 16 to 19 December 2019

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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 requires improvement to be 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 is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: n/a

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: yes

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good

Following concerns raised about an individual child, Ofsted undertook a monitoring visit on 5 November 2019, and served a compliance notice under regulation 11. The agency’s response to this notice was explored at this full inspection. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 2

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are unable to assure themselves that all children are achieving to the best of their ability and realising their full potential. There are inconsistencies in how the agency sets out and monitors the support that it provides to children and their foster carers. Consequently, leaders have not assured themselves that all children receive good-quality care and support in line with their agreed plans.

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improvement to be good

New systems aimed at better capturing the children’s progress are being introduced but these are not yet embedded. Consultation processes are also variable. Some children are able to use independent advocacy services but not all children are routinely spoken with during home visits. This is a missed opportunity for agency staff to be certain of the children’s views and opinions about their care and experiences.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers make appropriate requests for referrals to specialist services on behalf of the children. However, those children with complex healthcare requirements do not have clear plans that identify their needs and how these will be met. Since the monitoring inspection in November 2019, some improvements have been made in this regard. More multi-disciplinary meetings are occurring, to consider and agree how best to support those children.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers demonstrate a strong commitment to providing loving and stable homes and experiences for the children. Children enjoy their position as a member of their foster family. They are routinely included in holidays and other family activities, which benefits their self-esteem, confidence and life skills. Foster carers also show a firm understanding of the importance of supporting children to spend regular time with their birth family members and friends.

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improvement to be good

Children access full-time education and make progress. The value of education is embraced by the agency, and foster carers describe receiving excellent support, advice and guidance that ensure that the children attend the education provision that meets their needs.

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improvement to be good

A good number of children are settled in long-term placements that frequently result in staying put arrangements. Such examples indicate a sense of continuity and belonging for those children. However, the agency’s monitoring arrangements are not sufficiently focused on assessing the quality of this permanence.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding referrals and consultations are not well monitored. This presents a risk of unnecessary delays for managers to ensure that all required follow-up actions are Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 3 completed in a timely manner. On occasion, there is a lack of clarity about who is responsible for what. These shortfalls detract from the prompt initial action that managers take when they are presented with safeguarding concerns. They make initial referrals and consultations to safeguarding agencies swiftly and there has been some valuable learning from internal investigations.

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improvement to be good

Not all risk management strategies are routinely updated in response to emerging or changing risks for children. In other examples, the strategies are clear and a number of children have been helped to take appropriate risks that teach them valuable life lessons.

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improvement to be good

The agency’s overall approach and training provision regarding behaviour management are not clear. Foster carers are therefore not reliably informed of the agency’s expectations around this aspect of childcare. However, some individual examples demonstrate foster carers receiving good support from agency staff to understand the reasons and triggers for a child’s behaviour. This, in turn, has helped the foster carers to support the children to develop better ways to cope with difficult situations.

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improvement to be good

Children say they have a trusted adult to confide in and seek help and advice from if they are worried or upset. Foster carers use their relationships with children to support them to understand risk and the impact of their decisions. This has had a positive impact, for example with children choosing not to go missing.

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improvement to be good

Leaders did not take the opportunity to review the continuing suitability of the panel members who transferred from the previous agency. Its recruitment practice for new staff, however, is sound and the matters taken to panel regarding carers who were transferring were well reviewed. The agency has not recruited any new carers since it was registered.

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good

The actions taken by leaders and managers in response to a compliance notice were explored at this inspection. Sufficient action has improved the experiences for the child concerned. While the compliance notice is met, there is further and wider learning for the agency to do to satisfy itself that all children receive good-quality care that is responsive to their needs.

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good

Leaders and managers did not anticipate the challenges of incorporating a previous agency into this organisation, such as incompatible recording systems and a different style of management. Consequently, these factors have impacted on operational tasks and staff morale.

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good

Leaders and managers have completed a review that has identified areas of strength and weakness. They recognise the need to target the inconsistencies in how the progress and experiences of children, and the quality of care that they receive, are documented and monitored. However, the resulting local strategic plan lacks clarity, for example regarding success criteria and timeliness. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 4 Children’s case records do not always contain all the required information. This will potentially hinder some children’s ability to understand their past experiences in the future. Managers have started to improve their recording of case decisions, but this process is not yet embedded.

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good

Staff and foster carers can access online training to equip them for their roles, but the oversight and monitoring of this are not clear. There is no clear audit trail to demonstrate that those delivering training are qualified to do so. Leaders and managers recognise that the induction process for staff moving into the new organisation was weak and did not help them to feel confident about their place in the organisation.

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good

Not all staff receive supervision regularly, in line with the agency’s policy guidance. Its actual content does encourage staff to be reflective but there is a lack of exploring staff’s welfare and well-being.

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good

Panel arrangements have undergone change and the organisation now operates a centralised panel for the region, including two other agencies within the organisation. There is an extensive diverse panel that applies scrutiny to the matters brought to it. The agency decision-maker provides an additional layer of oversight to matters and records clear evidence of the rationale used to make decisions. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 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 registered provider and the registered manager must, having regard to— (a) the size of the fostering agency, its statement of purpose, and the numbers and needs of the children placed by the fostering agency, and (b) 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)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must provide a copy of the children’s guide to the Chief Inspector, to each foster parent approved by the fostering service provider, and to each child placed by them (subject to the child’s age and understanding). Subject to paragraph (6), the fostering service provider must ensure that the fostering service is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 3(4)(5)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 11(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency. The system referred to in paragraph (1) must provide for consultation with foster parents, children placed with foster parents, and their placing authority (unless, in the case of a 01/03/2020 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 6 fostering agency which is a voluntary organisation, it is also the placing authority) (Regulation 35(1)(b)(3))

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Recommendations

 Foster carers meet children’s individual needs as set out in the child’s placement plan as part of the wider family context. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standard 2.3)  Staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standard 24.4)  The manager regularly monitors all records kept by the service to ensure compliance with the service’s policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standard 25.2)  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

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Recommendations

recruitment. This includes CRB checks. All personnel responsible for recruitment and selection of staff are trained in, understand and operate these good practices. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standard 19.2) Specifically, the agency must satisfy itself of the continuing suitability of transferred panel members.  Foster carers should take reasonable precautions in assessing the degree of risk, making informed judgements about when to allow a child or young person to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. They should be provided with training to ensure that they are able to assess risks appropriately, within the expectations of the fostering service and the responsible authority. (The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 4, 3.64)  The placement plan forms part of the child’s care plan and must be drawn up before the child is placed, or if this is not possible, within five days of the start of

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Recommendations

the placement (regulation 9(2) of the 2010 Regulations). The foster carers should play an active role in agreeing the contents of the child’s placement plan and must have a copy of the child’s placement plan (standard 31). An effective placement plan will ensure that the foster carer receives essential information about the child, including his health, educational and emotional needs, how these may affect the child day to day, and appropriate strategies for responding to these needs. This will include information about any behaviour which was of concern in a previous placement. (The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 4, 3.7) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 7

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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: TACT Fostering - Kent 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: The Adolescent and Children’s Trust

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: The Adolescent and Children’s Trust, 303 The Courtyard, Hither Green Lane, London, Kent SE13 6TJ

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Inspectors

Amanda Maxwell, HMI designate Maire Atherton, HMI Lee Kirwin, regional inspection manager Inspection report for independent fostering agency: TACT Fostering - Kent 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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