By the Bridge North West

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 1 By the Bridge North West By the Bridge North West Limited The Barn, Beech Farm, 122 Hollin Lane, Styal, Cheshire SK9 4LD Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This agency is privately owned. The agency provides long-term, short-term and emergency foster placements. At the time of this inspection, the agency was providing foster care for 168 children in 123 fostering households. The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in stable and secure foster families. For children whose plan is long-term fostering, these strong and nurturing relationships provide them with a sense of belonging throughout their childhoods. The social worker for one child said: ‘He has absolutely thrived since being with his foster carers. This is his lasting home now.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A number of children remain living with their foster families as they move into adulthood under ‘staying put’ and ‘shared care’ arrangements. Children from one family have remained with their foster carers under special guardianship orders. These permanence arrangements help children to move into adulthood with the ongoing care and support of their foster family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not consistently receive written or visual information about their foster carers or their foster home before they move in. Welcome letters sent by the registered manager to each child are not always sent in a timely manner and do not take into consideration the age and cognitive needs of children. Children for whom English is not their first language are not provided by the agency with written information in their preferred language. As a result, some children do not have access to information that would help to reduce their anxieties about moving in with their foster families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live with foster carers who have the skills and experience to meet their individual needs. A social worker said: ‘Effective information-sharing between the agency and children’s local authorities helps children to have positive experiences of foster care and prevent further disruption to children’s lives.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a strong, embedded culture of therapeutic practice. Therapeutic practitioners employed by the agency work with foster carers from the point of initial training to develop their understanding of children’s trauma and build their skills and knowledge to enable trauma-informed care. Foster carers value the additional support they receive from the therapists and the insight this gives them about the emotional needs of the children in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational progress and attainment are supported by the agency’s specialist education and learning staff, who work with foster carers to advocate on behalf of children. This ensures that children have the resources they need to succeed in their education and their moves into further learning or employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can take part in a range of activities arranged by the agency. These activities give children the opportunity to meet other children living in fostering families and they enable them to have new experiences and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The involvement of children in a ‘shadow’ panel where they devise questions for new applicants with the panel chair ensures that the fostering panel makes child-centred recommendations. The fostering panel chair said: ‘Children’s involvement in panel Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 3 really enriches the process. Children provide some really good questions and challenge to panel.’

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

Children are kept safe and say they feel safe in their foster families. Assessments and safer care plans are comprehensive and support foster carers to understand and respond to children’s needs. However, these plans are not always shared with children in ways that are helpful for them. Although this has not impacted on safeguarding practice, this is a missed opportunity to inform children and include them in decision-making about their care.

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

Foster carers are provided with a written therapeutic plan from the agency’s therapists. These plans provide foster carers with information and guidance to help them care for children in a consistent way that supports their emotional and physical safety in the light of children’s past trauma.

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

Regular home visits and telephone calls from supervising social workers, alongside support from the in-house therapists, provide carers with frequent opportunities to discuss strategies to provide further support to children.

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

The number of children who go missing from their foster homes is low. When children do go missing, foster carers have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They work in partnership with the police, and other professionals, to ensure that children are located and returned home safely.

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

The agency holds weekly safeguarding meetings that are attended by leaders, managers and staff from across the agency. These meetings are used effectively in order to ensure that any safeguarding concerns are addressed and children are kept safe.

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

Foster carers are supported by a stable and skilled team of supervising social workers. Social workers have capacity within their workload to provide carers with a good level of support and oversight which is responsive to their immediate needs. Foster carers who provided their views during inspection were, for the most part, extremely complimentary about their experiences as foster carers for the agency and particularly valued the focus on therapeutic care.

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

Foster carers receive a good level of support from the agency’s out-of-hours staff. Foster carers say the availability of these staff at times of crisis or uncertainty helps them to respond to the immediate needs of children and lessens their worries.

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

There is timely sharing of information about safeguarding incidents with children’s placing authorities and, where appropriate, the police and other agencies. This information is also shared with Ofsted in line with regulation.

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

Allegations against foster carers are dealt with swiftly and appropriately. There is effective working with the local authority designated officer. The fostering panel is Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 4 used effectively in order to review the ongoing suitability of foster carers when concerns have been raised.

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

Staff and foster carer recruitment processes are thorough. The necessary checks are undertaken to satisfy managers that those employed are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children, foster carers and staff benefit from the agency’s stable leadership and management. The registered manager joined the agency last year following the previous registered manager’s promotion to the role of responsible individual. This transition was well organised and provided continuity in the leadership of the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are well-established mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating practice through both face-to-face meetings and regular audits of carers and children’s records. However, opportunities to demonstrate children’s achievements and outcomes have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice across the agency is driven by the needs of children. Staff build positive relationships with all adults involved in children’s care. This ensures that children’s needs remain central to decision-making. Staff say they are well-supported by their manager. They receive regular, good quality reflective supervision which supports their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency has good working relationships with the placing authorities who commission its services. Feedback received from commissioners and children’s social workers during inspection was overwhelmingly positive. When placing authorities do not provide children’s statutory information in a timely manner, the agency’s escalation process is ineffective. This means that foster carers have prolonged periods of time without key information such as children’s care plans and placement plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel and agency decision-maker make timely and considered recommendations and decisions about people’s suitability to foster. The agency benefits from a knowledgeable and experienced fostering panel chair. The independent panel members bring a range of personal and professional skills and expertise which inform the work of panel. The makeup of the panel does not yet represent the cultural or ethnic diversity of the community it serves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Quarterly meetings that include the panel adviser, agency decision-maker, panel chair and registered manager provide an opportunity for discussion and challenge and the identification of areas for further development. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that unless an emergency placement makes it impossible, children are given information about the foster carer before arrival, and any information (including where appropriate, photographic information) they need or reasonably request about the placement, in a format appropriate to their age and understanding. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 11.3)  The registered manager should ensure that the service has the facilities to work with children for whom English is not their first language. Written information should be made available in the language of the child. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.12)  The registered person should ensure that children are supported to understand and be involved in their safe care plans. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.1)  The registered person should ensure that foster carers receive the child’s care plan

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Recommendations

and placement plan from the placing authority and should actively seek these documents if they are not provided in a timely manner. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 31.2)  The registered person should ensure that as far as is practicable, panel membership reflects the issues under consideration, and so should as appropriate, reflect the diversity of the local community. (‘The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 4’, Section 5.8)

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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: By the Bridge North West 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: By the Bridge North West Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Pamela Talbot-Leake

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered manager: David Demetriou-Smith

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: pam.talbot@bythebridge.co.uk

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Inspectors

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Zillah Brooks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: By the Bridge North West 7 inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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