Foster Cares Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 1 Foster Cares Ltd Foster Cares Limited Foster Cares Ltd, 7 Fern Court, Bracken Hill Business Park, Peterlee, County Durham SR8 2RR Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Foster Cares Ltd is a medium-sized, family-run independent fostering agency. It consists of a main branch based in Durham and an office that operates from Warrington. The agency registered with Ofsted in 2003.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

There are seven supervising social workers and one recruitment social worker across the two offices. There is administrative support in both offices. The agency also employs independent social workers to carry out the assessments of the prospective foster carers. Other independent social workers undertake the foster carers’ annual reviews.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency offers placements for children from birth to 18 years old. There are a number of ‘staying put’ arrangements for young adults.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The range of services offered includes short-term and long-term placements, as well as mother-and-baby and bridging placements. The service looks after children who have disabilities and a small number of children who are unaccompanied asylum seekers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency currently provides foster care to 92 children with 69 fostering families. There are currently another three prospective foster carers being assessed.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency has its own in-house respite care arrangements for providing fostering families with breaks, holiday support and short-term care in the event of an emergency.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 2 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: 23 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children’s experiences of living with their fostering families are very positive. Children spoken to say that they are happy and feel that they are treated like a family member. A child commented: ‘I feel so happy that I came to live here. I do not look at my carers as being foster carers, they are my family. I love them and they love me. It’s the best thing that could have happened to me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good matching of the children to foster families helps the children to build trusting relationships with their foster carers. Many children have lived with their foster families for several years. For some children, they remain living with the foster families under ‘staying put’ arrangements. This reinforces children and young adults’ sense of safety and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s religious, ethnicity and cultural needs are very well understood by the agency. Consideration is given to the children’s diverse range of needs prior to them moving in with their foster families. This supports the children’s routines that maintain their sense of identity, helping them to flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency provides foster carers with suitable training for the role, regular supervising social work visits, and supervision. An effective out of hours service means that foster carers can speak to a supervising social worker any time of day should this be needed. The level of support that foster carers receive helps to reduce the number of placement breakdowns and helps maintain placement stability for children. Children make good progress because of this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s overall health and emotional well-being are actively promoted with the support from foster carers, universal services, as well as any specialist services identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education for children in supported well. The children’s education plans are individualised to meet their education needs. This helps the children to get the right level of support to help them to reach their learning objectives. Children spoken to say that they recognise their own progress in their learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s contact with the agency has been maintained well during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency has been creative in how it engages with children, for example running competitions, sending regular newsletters and resources, and celebrating special achievements. Children’s participation helps them to be involved in decisions that affect their lives and helps to improve their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency is committed to making children feel special and valued. Children’s creative talents, such as their impressive story writing and poetry, are nurtured, celebrated and rewarded by the agency. The agency has captured the mix of the children’s impressive skills and published some of their work that has been disseminated within the agency. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 4 Children are supported well to spend time with their birth family and other people that are important to them. This promotes the children’s cultural identity as well as their overall well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency is proactive at encouraging foster carers to join support groups. These forums provide the foster carers with opportunities to receive updates about the agency, changes to policy, as well as offer peer support. Foster carers say that this is beneficial and supports their confidence and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers value the support provided by the agency. A foster carer said: ‘I think that they are fantastic. Because the agency is quite small, they all know me and my situation. There is nothing too big or too small for them to help me with. They are there 24/7 should I need them. They are just amazing. They are like a family and put children and carers at the centre of everything that they do.’

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

Children become increasingly safe as their risks are identified, understood and managed in line with their safety plans. Individual safe care policies provide the foster carers and the children with guidance about the expectations, as well as the arrangements for keeping safe in the home. Additionally, foster carers receive regular supervision that enables them to discuss the risks to children and the strategies to help keep the children safe.

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

Allegations against foster carers and staff are managed appropriately by the agency. Prompt referrals and notifications have been made to the relevant organisations, including the designated officer in the local authority and Ofsted. Swift responses taken by the agency ensure that children are better protected.

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

There are clear guidance and protocols in place for when the children go missing from home. The foster carers follow the agency’s missing-from-care protocol to aid the safe return of children. The agency recognises that the children should be provided with opportunities to speak to an independent adult on their return home. In most incidents, this does happen. However, this did not happen on one occasion. It is unclear from some of the children’s documents if they have spoken to an independent adult on their return home. The lack of recorded information limits the manager’s ability to update children’s risk assessments with any new information, and prevents them from evaluating children’s experiences in this area.

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

The agency supports foster carers to manage the children’s challenging behaviours effectively, particularly when children are in crisis. The agency does not promote the use of physical intervention unless it is a means to help safeguard a child. De- escalation techniques are a preferred use of behaviour management. Children benefit from this support and are better helped to regulate their emotions.

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

Children live in safe homes, as the agency takes the health and safety of children and foster carers seriously. Health and safety matters are considered and addressed Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 5 as part of the foster carers’ home visits and reviews. Unannounced visits include supervising social workers speaking to children. This strengthens the safeguards in place for the children, as they are able to express any worries or concerns that they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the leadership and management of the agency remains proactive, responsive and supportive to the staff, foster carers and children. Good communication between the agency, foster families and external agencies ensures that foster families continue to receive the support and services that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses the records of staff supervision well. She evaluates the effectiveness of foster carers’ practice in improving the experiences and progress for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is proactive in developing the service. It has appointed a quality and compliance officer who supports the development of research and participation to improve the service and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency is in the process of recruiting new panel members to ensure that there is a diverse representation on the panel to consider children’s diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced professional chairs the fostering panel. The minutes from this demonstrate that the quality assurance processes are consistently met. These minutes provide a clear appraisal of panel business, which informs the agency decision-makers’ deliberations. This ensures that the children are cared for by suitable adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervising social workers speak positively about working for the agency. They feel well supported and receive regular supervision from their manager to ensure that their practice is suitably appraised. The agency does not have a high turnover of staff. Supervising social workers say that they remain working for the agency because of the good level of support that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report that they have very good working relationships and communication with the agency. A professional commented: ‘The matching process is excellent. The agency is fantastic. The only thing that I would suggest changing is that more children get to experience this level of care and support, as the agency and its carers cannot be faulted.’ This demonstrates that external agencies have confidence in the agency’s ability to provide good standards of care and protection to the children. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a consistent approach to children speaking to an independent person when returning from missing-from- home incidents. (‘Fostering Services: National minimum standards’, 5.9)

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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: Foster Cares Ltd 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Foster Cares Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Foster Cares Ltd, The Old Hall, Byers Green, Spennymoor, County Durham DL16 7PS

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Inspectors

Jacqueline Tate, Social Care Inspector Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Cares Ltd 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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