Foster Care Associates South Western

Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 1 Foster Care Associates South Western

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Suite 2, Forresters House, 41 Estover Close, Plymouth PL6 7PL

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This independent fostering agency operates from its main office in Plymouth. At the time of this assurance visit there were 153 fostering households caring for 182 children and young people.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Visit dates: 29 September to 1 October 2020

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:  children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We identified the following serious concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit: Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 2  Since the last inspection, there have been two serious incidents where children cared for by the agency have suffered serious harm.  Assessments of risk, and safer caring plans, are not comprehensive or individualised and lack detail about known risks and vulnerabilities. They do not provide foster carers with the strategies and guidance they need to safely manage risk and keep the children in their care safe.  Learning and actions arising from serious incidents have not been urgently implemented by leaders and managers.  Return-home interviews are not always promptly undertaken following an incident where a child or young person is missing. There is a lack of curiosity and scrutiny about where young people are going when they are missing,

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Findings from the visit

what they are doing and who they are with.  The agency fails to ensure that important documents, including placement plans, personal education plans and pathway plans are always available to foster carers. A very high proportion of carers did not have the documents they needed to inform the care of their children.  Identified shortfalls in practice found through the agency’s quality monitoring processes have not been acted upon and addressed by leaders and managers.

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The care of children

Too many children and young people do not have a current placement plan, personal education plan or pathway plan. This means that foster carers do not always have the information and guidance that they need to provide the safest and good-quality care for children.

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The care of children

Supervising social workers do not always sufficiently scrutinise the care children are provided with by their foster carers. For example, one baby was found to be sleeping in a travel cot with an ill-fitting mattress. Babies under six months old were not sleeping in the same room as the foster carer, as recommended in NHS guidelines, and were not being checked by their foster carer at appropriate intervals to ensure that they were safe and well.

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The care of children

Safer caring plans are generic and not specific to the child’s needs and specific risks they face. The format of the safer caring plan does not sufficiently focus on the specific needs of babies.

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The care of children

Parent and child assessed placements that were sampled showed that timescales have slipped, contributing to delay in decision-making for children. Supervision of the parents by the foster carer is referred to in the plans but is not sufficiently clear or detailed.

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The care of children

Foster carers reported mixed opinions about the quality of support that they received from the agency during COVID-19 restrictions. Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 3 Outcome trackers are not consistently completed by supervising social workers. It is not clear what progress, if any, children and young people are making and if foster carers are supporting them effectively so that they can achieve positive outcomes.

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The safety of children

There have been two serious incidents since the last inspection, when children have suffered significant harm. In both cases safer care plans were not sufficiently detailed or focused on the individual child’s needs or known risks they faced.

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The safety of children

One risk assessment was too focused on keeping a young person safe from COVID- 19 rather than detailing known risks and vulnerabilities and giving the foster carer strategies to keep the young person safe. This shortfall contributed to a serious incident occurring.

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The safety of children

In the cases sampled, written consent for children and young people to go on holiday was not obtained from the placing authority by the agency in writing, prior to a foster carer taking a young person on holiday. It is, therefore, not clear whether the local authority had been informed of, or approved, the arrangements made.

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The safety of children

The agency cannot be assured that children are being kept safe and are well cared for. Supervising social workers have not consistently been completing unannounced visits to carers, either face to face, or virtually, during the current COVID-19 crisis.

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The safety of children

Lessons learned from serious incidents are not promptly implemented. Following one serious incident, three months later, updated guidance incorporating NHS guidelines for the care of babies has not yet been disseminated to foster carers who are caring for babies.

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The safety of children

Return-home interviews are not routinely being undertaken by placing authorities to find out why a young person is going missing, where they are going, what they are doing and who they are with. The agency is not escalating this with placing authorities effectively to ensure that these visits take place.

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Leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have failed to provide sufficient support, challenge and scrutiny to staff and carers to ensure children consistently receive safe and good- quality care.

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Leaders and managers

Shortfalls identified by the agency’s own systems, for example, in relation to the lack of care plans for many children, have not led to improvements being made. A lack of organisation and consistency as to where information is stored makes management oversight difficult. For example, information is sometimes stored on the foster carer’s file and sometimes on the child’s files. Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 4 It has been a turbulent year for the agency. There has been no registered manager since before the previous inspection. Thirteen foster carers have resigned from the agency. The most recent manager was appointed in April 2020 and has submitted her application to Ofsted for registration. Although the staff spoken to during the inspection comment positively about her leadership, this visit identified serious shortfalls in senior leaders’ oversight of practice and the care of children. There is a

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Leaders and managers

lack of oversight, scrutiny and challenge of evident shortfalls. The agency’s offices have been closed since March 2020 and all staff are currently home-based.

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Leaders and managers

Staff turnover has been high in the last 12 months, leading to a lack of consistency and continuity for many carers. Although foster carers report that generally they have positive relationships with their supervising social worker, the supervision of foster carers is often superficial, and practice issues are not discussed, or practice challenged. Learning, reflection and guidance to staff is not fully reflected in team- meeting discussions.

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Leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have not taken prompt action to address any learning raised through the evaluation of serious incidents and the monitoring of records.

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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

11: Independent fostering agencies—duty to secure welfare

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Requirement Due date

The registered person in respect of an independent fostering agency shall ensure that —

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Requirement Due date

(a) The welfare of children placed or to be placed with foster parents is safeguarded at all times.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that risk assessments and safer caring plans for all children and young people are individualised and comprehensive, and detail risk management strategies and control measures for all of a child or young person’s identified vulnerabilities and risks.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (a)) 02/10/2020 Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 5 35: Review of quality of care

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

(a) monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at appropriate intervals, and

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Requirement Due date

(b) improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency.

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Requirement Due date

(2) The registered person must provide the Chief Inspector with a written report in respect of any review conducted for the purposes of paragraph (1) and, on request, to any local authority.

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Requirement Due date

(3) 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 fostering agency which is a voluntary organisation, it is also the placing authority).

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Requirement Due date

13: Behaviour management and children missing from foster parent’s home

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service must prepare and implement a policy, which is agreed with the local police, setting out – (a) the measures to be followed to prevent children placed with foster parents from going missing from their placement, and (b) the procedure to be followed when a child is missing from a foster parent’s home without permission.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that there are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the service. This includes the financial viability of the service, any serious incidents, allegations or complaints about the service and ensuring the quality of the service. (NMS 25.1) Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 6  Ensure that the foster carer is given a copy of the child’s placement plan as soon as this is provided to them by the responsible authority. If provision of the care plan by the responsible authority is delayed, the fostering service follows this up with the responsible authority. (NMS 31.2)  Ensure that children understand how their views have been taken into account and where significant wishes or concerns are not acted upon, they are helped to understand why. (NMS 1.2)

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Foster Care Associates Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspectors

Tina Maddison, Social Care Inspector Sarah Canto, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: Foster Care Associates South Western 7 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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Inspectors

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

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