Be My Family Fostering Agency

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 1 Be My Family Fostering Agency Be My Family Fostering Agency Ltd 11 St. Albans Avenue, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 6RL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Be My Family is a small, private owned, independent fostering agency. It provides a range of fostering placements, including emergency, short term, long term and permanent, and parents with children. At the time of the inspection, the agency had 19 fostering households and 29 children in foster homes. Most of the children in foster homes were unaccompanied asylum seekers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The fostering agency and the manager were registered with Ofsted on 25 November 2009.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting, secure, and enduring relationships with those that care for them. Children have positive family experiences with foster carers. Children remain with foster carers through permanent and staying put arrangements. When children move on, in many instances, they remain part of the extended family of the foster carer. Consequently, the stability provided by foster carers means that children make considerable progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s religious, cultural, and linguistic needs are understood by foster carers. In many cases, foster carers come from similar backgrounds to the children they care for. When children live with foster carers of a different language, culture and religion, their foster carers embrace these differences and work hard to ensure that children’s needs are met. This helps children to settle in foster care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are either in education and doing well or being supported by foster carers to gain access to education. Foster carers, managers and fostering staff promote children’s education through effective liaison with schools and colleges. One foster carer used their professional experience in education to home tutor a child, while waiting for a school place. In the process, the foster carer was able to identify that the child had additional learning needs, leading to the responsible authority starting an Education, Health, and Care plan (EHCP) assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of leisure and free time activities, either independently or with their foster carers. This includes trips abroad, going swimming, walks in the park, going to play tenpin bowling and playing football. Children develop confidence in their social skills and build their self-esteem through such activities. Children’s achievements, however small are celebrated by foster carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints from children are not a feature of this agency. The children’s guides contain information regarding children’s rights and information about how to complain if they choose. However, leaders and managers have not reviewed the guides to make sure that these are accessible to all children, particularly younger children. In addition, the guides do not contain the contact details for the Children’s commissioner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional needs are understood by foster carers. Foster carers knowledge of attachment and trauma means that they understand how past experiences may influence children’s responses. Children receive sensitive parenting from foster carers which recognises children’s past trauma but equally the need for clear routines and boundaries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children talk positively about being able to spend time with their birth family. Several foster carers described the good relationships they have with birth parents. Children benefit from having foster carers who understand the importance of maintaining relationships with birth family, when this is in children’s best interests. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 3

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

Children are protected and kept safe from harm by those that care for them. Children say they feel safe. Foster carers know their children well and are attuned to signs that may suggest that children are not happy. Children trust their foster carers and can talk to them about any concerns that they may have. Foster carers listen to children and respond appropriately to concerns raised. As a result, the incidents of harm in the foster home or outside are minimal.

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

There is a particular focus by the foster carers and fostering staff on the vulnerabilities of children new to this country. This is to ensure that they can navigate themselves safely in the home and in the community. Children going missing, being at risk of child criminal exploitation or child sexual exploitation is not a feature of this agency.

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

Children are helped by foster carers to manage their own behaviour in line with their level of understanding. One foster carer was observed using a calming and non- confrontational approach to help a child become less excited when the inspector visited the home. Another foster carer described how her child explained that they had ‘messed up’ at school and as a result had lashed out. The foster carers response was to tell the child that ‘everyone messes up from time to time,’ but lashing out never made the mess better.

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

The fostering agency has processes in place to ensure that children are safe within foster homes. Supervising social workers conduct unannounced visits to foster carers homes and ensure that at regular intervals, children are seen alone. Regular health and safety checks take place in foster carers homes. Children live in safe and comfortable family environments.

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

The training offered to foster carers by the fostering agency includes subjects such as safeguarding, safer caring, children missing and child protection. In addition, training is offered in understanding the effects of trauma and impact of multiple transitions for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Consequently, foster carers can respond effectively to ensure that children are kept safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering agency is managed by an experienced manager who is ably assisted by the responsible individual. Leaders and managers, including the fostering panel chair and agency decision maker have a wide range of experiences in childcare and children looked after settings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have followed safer recruitment procedures in recruiting suitably qualified staff to conduct the task of supporting and supervising foster carers. Two new members of staff are newly qualified social workers and are being appropriately supported to understand and practice as social workers in a fostering Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 4 setting. Testimony from foster carers is that despite changes in personnel, the quality of support offered to them has not diminished.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided. The quality-of-care reports completed by leaders and managers show that they can effectively review the impact the fostering service is having on support to carers and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, in this inspection an accumulation of shortfalls identified, showed that there is a lack of effective oversight of the day-to-day activities of the fostering agency by leaders and managers. For example, the system for monitoring when statutory checks of foster carers are due is not effective. Inconsistences were found in specific safety plans for children, foster carer supervision records and safer caring plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel operates effectively when it sits, as an independent quality assurance process in the approval and reapproval of foster carers. Panel members have a range of experiences and backgrounds, which enables them to make clear recommendations. However, the review of foster carers which are not presented to the fostering panel have not been completed in accordance with statutory guidance for a significant period. In addition, panel members have not been appraised in the timescales set by national minimum standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers carry out regular supervision sessions with staff. There is a clear focus on children and the support needed by their carers. Fostering staff value the quality and style of supervision provided. Induction, training, and development opportunities for fostering staff are good and enable them to carry out their roles effectively. Fostering staff report that they are well led by leaders and managers, one member of staff describing the manager as ‘empowering’. Fostering staff feel that they can operate autonomously, but know that if they need advice, support, or guidance, this is available to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong emphasis by leaders and managers on creating an environment for success. Decisions regarding linking children with potential foster carers are child centred, considering the needs of children, the skills and abilities of foster carers, and the resources within the agency to support foster carers. Foster carers report that they receive sufficient information to make decisions regarding consideration of children. However, foster carer profiles for children are not child friendly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers receive regular support and supervision to carry out their fostering role. Foster carers describe their experience of being a foster carer within the agency as, ‘like being part of a family.’ Foster carers feel supported and are confidence to do their job effectively, despite the challenges. Foster carers report that the agency advocates on their behalf to ensure that children’s needs are met. An extensive online training programme is available for foster carers to help them meet the needs of children. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 5 A culture of high expectations and aspirations for children has been developed by leaders and managers and this is demonstrated in the success stories of children. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 6

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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 review the approval of each foster parent in accordance with this regulation.

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Requirement Due date

If the fostering service provider decide, taking into account any recommendation made by the fostering panel, that the foster parent and the foster parent’s household continue to be suitable and that the terms of the foster parent’s approval continue to be appropriate, they must give written notice to the foster parent of their decision. (Regulation 28 (1)(6)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the decision maker is responsible for deciding whether a person and their household remain suitable to foster, and whether the terms of approval remain suitable, following each review of the foster carer’s approval. 10 February 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that foster carer profiles contain information (photographic where appropriate) about the foster carer and the foster home in a format appropriate to children’s age and understanding. (‘Fostering services: National Minimum Standards’, 11.3)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is regularly reviewed, is in a format that is accessible and includes details of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Fostering services: National Minimum Standards’, 16.4)  The registered person should ensure that fostering panel members have their performance individually and formally appraised at least annually. (‘Fostering services: National Minimum Standards’, 24.6)  The registered person should ensure that they regularly monitor all records kept by the service to ensure compliance with the service’s policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends. Immediate

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Recommendations

action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. This includes the status of statutory checks for foster carers, the quality and content of supervising Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 7 social worker records and safety plans for children. (‘Fostering services: National Minimum Standards’, 25.2)

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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: Be My Family Fostering Agency 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Be My Family Fostering Agency Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 11 St. Albans Avenue, Feltham, England TW13 6RL

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: mail@bemyfamilyfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Colin Bent, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Be My Family Fostering Agency 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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