CFS Care Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Limited 1 CFS Care Limited CFS Care Limited 146 Bolton Road, Atherton, Manchester M46 9LF Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This agency registered with Ofsted in November 2018 and provides a range of placements for children. It is responsible for the assessment, approval, training, supervision and support of foster carers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency currently supports 27 children in 17 fostering households.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

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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: 14 October 2019

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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: CFS Care Limited 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points because of the good-quality care they receive from their foster carers. This enables children to build and maintain trusted and secure relationships with the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are placed with foster families who can meet their individual needs. The agency carefully and sensitively considers the preparation and matching for children to live with carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers express trust in the agency staff, including their supervising social worker, the manager and support workers. The agency has a dedicated support worker whose role includes supporting foster carers with their training, support and development standards. Foster carers say that this helps to reduce any anxieties. It also ensures that new carers complete their training programme within 12 months of their approval.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs are understood and met well. All children are in education. This provides children with broader learning and educational opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are heard through a variety of forums. Children contribute to their carer’s annual review process and attend regular participation forums, events and celebrations. The agency continues to offer these opportunities face to face and virtually as this is what children and carers want.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placement stability is a strength of the agency and is supported by regular activities, such as trips to the theatre, enjoyable days out, meals out and parties, which are open to all children living in households. Staff ensure that events are accessible to everybody and routinely seek views and feedback from children and carers to ensure that they are beneficial.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Unplanned endings are extremely rare. When placements become fragile, the agency works well with placing authorities and carers to ensure that carers and children receive additional support and intervention at the right time. When placements have ended, staff work with the new placement and local authorities to enable a smooth, child-sensitive transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Following any placement breakdown, the agency manages a learning and reflection exercise which includes feedback from agencies involved with the child and is overseen by senior management. This reflection helps to identify any triggers, gaps in training or areas for improvement. One child’s local authority said that it is impressed with this piece of work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to enjoy positive family identities, with many children benefiting from being able to live with a sibling. In line with their care plans and in Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Limited 3 partnership with their local authorities, children are helped to keep in touch with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Assessments of foster carers are carried out in a timely way and are of good quality. They contain good social work analysis and exploration of strengths, as well as any vulnerabilities. Carers speak positively about their experience of the assessment process and say that all aspects of the assessment are explained to them in a supportive way. Carers say that staff and managers are easy to talk to and they find their responses helpful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to take part in new activities and enjoy experiences that were previously not available to them. This includes holidays, attending full-time education, learning to play a musical instrument and community-based activities. When English is not a child’s primary language, the agency translates key documents. This supports children’s heritage and identity.

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

Foster carers and staff understand the risks children face. Strong communication between children, their carers and the agency enables children to build positive and trusting relationships. The care children receive from their carers and the agency’s staff is supportive, sensitive and non-judgemental.

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

There is a range of training for foster carers that supports the safe care of children and increases their understanding and knowledge, particularly around safeguarding children. The chosen therapeutic model is embedded and complemented by the whole staff team.

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

Children are regularly seen by supervising social workers and support staff. Unannounced visits to carers take place at appropriate intervals but are not always recorded in a timely way.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are extremely rare. When children go missing, foster carers and staff respond in an appropriate and well-coordinated manner.

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

Risk assessments are in place for children. However, they are not all reviewed, signed or updated regularly. For some children, risk management arrangements are not clear. These shortfalls in recording and oversight prevent systems being put in place to help support children’s safety.

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

Managers respond appropriately to any allegations made by children and work well with other agencies to ensure that they are dealt with appropriately.

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

Recruitment of foster carers and staff follows robust safer recruitment procedures, which ensures that children are not cared for by adults who may pose a risk to their safety and well-being. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Limited 4 Despite the agency having systems in place to monitor and review children’s medical conditions and medication, the information recorded for one child is inaccurate. The child’s health condition, medication and symptoms were not recorded or known by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and responsible individual are committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and they prioritise children’s needs. Staff and foster carers said that they feel supported by leaders and managers and staff morale is high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency is fully staffed and there is a good mix of skills and knowledge. Staff feel empowered to be creative in the ways they support foster families and build relationships with children. Managers make child-centred decisions when matching children with foster carers, including considering the needs of other children already living with the carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers speak highly of the advice and support they receive from all staff. Foster carers and children have direct access to therapeutic support when they need it. Foster carers say that the agency has a family feel. This contributes to the high retention of foster carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency’s fostering panel promotes safe, secure and stable placements through engaging with the fostering agency. The panel is diverse and members have the necessary knowledge and expertise to support the agency decision-maker to make effective child-centred decisions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are shortfalls in the monitoring and reviewing of children’s key records. Furthermore, there is no escalation by the agency when statutory documents are not provided by the placing authority. Effective systems for monitoring and auditing are not yet embedded. This prevents the agency from having access to essential information that may help foster carers to keep children safe and well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency staff and foster carers receive regular supervision, which is reflective and meaningful. Discussions focus on the children. However, supervision records for supervising social workers do not have timescales for actions to be completed by, which has led to drift.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency works well with other professionals. The high-quality care provided by foster carers and the positive impact this has on children’s lives is highly regarded by children’s social workers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Limited 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, The 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 maintain and keep up to date the records specified in Schedule 2. In particular, the registered person must ensure that records kept by the agency contain relevant, up-to-date information and records are signed and dated. (Regulation 22 (1)) 30 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all records kept by the service are regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with the service’s policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.2)  The registered person should ensure that children’s safety and welfare are promoted in all fostering placements. In particular, they should ensure that children’s individual risk assessments consistently give foster carers clear strategies to manage and reduce risks, and that the registered manager’s oversight of case records is clearly evidenced. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.1)

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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: CFS Care Limited 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 146 Bolton Road, Atherton, Manchester M46 9LF

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Inspectors

Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Nicola Clements, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: CFS Care Limited 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

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

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