Perpetual Care/ Perpetual Fostering

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 1 Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering Perpetual Fostering Limited 31 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This fostering agency is privately owned. It was registered in April 2005. The service operates primarily in the north-west of England, but does have a number of fostering households in the Midlands. At the time of this inspection, 18 approved fostering households were providing foster placements for 23 children. The agency currently provides the following types of foster placements:  emergency  short term  long term  respite  parent and child

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager was registered with Ofsted in 2016.

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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

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. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 2 Date of last inspection: 12 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care that offers them a sense of permanence and belonging. They feel part of their foster families’ lives. The quality of the relationships supports children to overcome adversities that they have previously experienced in their lives. As a result, they make progress in all areas of their lives. This progress includes achieving in education, learning to sustain attachments and developing emotional resilience. A local authority social worker said of a foster carer: ‘I feel the carer really loves her and wants her to do well.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers receive a high level of support from supervising social workers. This support includes weekly calls, regular visits and structured supervision. Foster carers spoke highly of the help and advice they receive, and said that they feel valued by the agency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the matching of children’s needs to foster carers’ skills has improved. Children’s needs are carefully considered prior to placement and this positive experience has enabled children to quickly settle into their new homes. A local authority social worker commented: ‘The placement has gone from strength to strength.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy everyday family life. They are also given opportunities to experience new activities that may previously have been denied to them. These include camping, meals out and music lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers support children to manage their emotions and develop positive self- regard. They are patient with the children, develop trusting relationships with children and have positive working relationships with other professionals. This offers children holistic care that enables them to thrive with their foster families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and foster carers are at the centre of the agency’s activities. A particular strength of the agency is its team approach to meeting children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children receive services from other agencies in a timely manner. The manager has followed this up on behalf of children, but has not been successful in securing the services required. Some children have been waiting many months for some services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for adulthood by their carers. However, not all children who are eligible have an up-to-date pathway plan. This restricts children’s Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 3 understanding of the support and services they will receive once they reach adulthood.

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

Children who were spoken to said that they feel safe with their foster carers, and that they are supported to stay safe. They said that they feel listened to, and that their views are taken into account. One child commented: ‘I now wake up feeling happy and not sad.’

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

Since the last inspection, allegations and complaints have been appropriately dealt with by the managers. The agency makes suitable referrals to other agencies that are tasked with safeguarding children. Managers also follow advice from other agencies when conducting investigations.

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

Children are spoken to in private by the visiting supervising social workers. Children’s overall presentation and their views about their foster carers are regularly reported on.

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

Children are supported and encouraged to manage their emotions. They develop skills for resolving conflict and learn how to maintain positive relationships. Foster carers are open to receiving advice and support from professionals in order to improve the care offered to children.

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

Foster carers have appropriate, safe care policies in place that provide information about expectations and family rules. These documents are shared with children and this supports the children’s understanding of safety in the home. In addition, specific risk assessments are in place that provide advice for foster carers to enable them to keep children safe. The positive relationships that exist between children and their foster carers enable children to talk about any worries or concerns they may have.

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

Children and foster carers have been well supported through periods of national and local restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency has been flexible in its approach to maintaining contact and providing visits. It has embraced technologies to ensure that foster carers and children continue to receive timely support and children remain protected.

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

At the last inspection, a requirement relating to the safe recruitment of staff was made. This requirement has been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an in-depth knowledge of the foster carers and the children placed. She understands the plans for children and how the foster carers are providing care to support those plans. She is dedicated and passionate about the service, and is child centred in her approach. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 4 The manager makes herself accessible to the foster carers and ensures that supervising social workers are providing timely support. A particular strength of the agency is that foster carers feel listened to, and feel confident that their views are acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the manager, and receive regular supervision. In addition, reflective discussion improves practice and encourages professional development. Records of these discussions are clearly recorded, and any shortfalls identified are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has appropriate monitoring systems in place to ensure that the care offered is improving the lives of the children placed. Local authority social workers spoken to were very positive about the agency. One social worker said: ‘They are a very child-focused agency.’ Local authority commissioners were equally positive about their experience of dealing with the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A requirement made at the last inspection relating to the statement of purpose has been met. The latest copy is now available on the agency website, and has been submitted to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency has an experienced panel and panel chair in place. The panel membership provides diversity, experience and knowledge about the fostering task. Training was an identified area for improvement at the last inspection. This recommendation has now been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers have access to a range of mandatory and additional training courses. Any shortfalls in training or skills are quickly identified, and action is taken to address those shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recommendation made at the last inspection has not been met. This relates to foster carers recording the daily lives of children. Although improvement has been made with regard to this, it is not consistent across all foster carers. As a result, this recommendation has been restated. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 26.6)  The registered person should ensure that children’s physical, emotional and social development needs are promoted. This relates to the service challenging a placing authority, or a relevant person’s performance or response, to ensure that children receive services to meet their needs. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 6.1)  The registered person should ensure that children are prepared for moving into their own accommodation and know about entitlements to financial and other support after leaving care, including benefits and support from social care services. This relates to children having up-to-date pathway plans in place. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 12.1)

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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: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Perpetual Fostering Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 31 Chorley New Road, Bolton BL1 4QR

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: tahir.khan@perpetualfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Sarah Oldham, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Perpetual Care/Perpetual Fostering 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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