Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency

Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 1 Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited One Angel Square, Angel Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN1 1ED Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

The agency prepares, trains, assesses and approves adopters. The agency also provides stepparent adoption services, post-order support to adopters and special guardianship carers, and additional services including birth records counselling. The agency has two teams. One team provides assessment and pre-order support. The second offers post-adoption and special guardianship support to children, families and adults.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

At the time of the inspection, there were 16 approved adoptive households waiting to be matched with a child. The agency had 7 adoptive households who were also approved to provide early permanence placements. Post-adoption support was being provided to 63 adopters and special guardianship carers.

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good

How well children, young people and adults are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The voluntary adoption agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 31 January 2022

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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 voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 2

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Adoptive parents are trained to use therapeutic parenting and foundations for attachment to help them parent and support children through their stages of development. Therapeutic interventions are also used to tailor transition plans or meet the developing needs of children. This, along with good partnership working, successfully supports children to progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Prospective adopters receive a warm and professional welcome. Prospective adopters say that they are given as much information as possible. This enables them to make an informed decision about whether adoption is right for them and if any further work is needed before registering an interest. One adopter said;

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

 ‘From the beginning we had ample information to proceed. Our social worker was very open and honest, and we have felt able to be very open and honest with them as a result’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Relationships between social workers and adopters are generally positive and effective. This is captured in some of the comments made by adopters, which include,

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

 ‘We have confidence that our social worker is experienced and knowledgeable. They are preparing us in the right way to succeed’  ‘From the beginning our social worker has been brilliant, I couldn’t sing her praises anymore, if we need anything from her, she's a text or call away’.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Post-adoption support is a real strength of this service. It is consistently valued by all adoptive parents. The work completed by staff is child focussed and details children’s wishes and feelings well. Support provided is not time limited and is responsive to specific needs. Adoptive parents give consistent positive feedback about the impact of the service provided by the post-adoption team.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

 ‘We have had brilliant support from post adoption. It’s been easy to access’  ‘It’s the best thing we’ve done. We have been so supported and we are so lucky’  ‘We have felt listened to throughout’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Two children spoken with said their experience of post adoption support was overwhelmingly positive. They had been carefully supported to spend time with a sibling after a long period of no communication. They said;

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

 ‘I love it, it’s helped me a lot’ Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 3  ‘It’s good, I’m very happy now’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Careful consideration is given to matching children with adoptive parents. Introductions are child-focused and well-paced. During the assessment process, adoptive parents’ other children are well considered. Overall, this helps children to develop positive relationships and experience long term stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The agency does not currently have a robust enough system to enable it to have oversight of and gain feedback from adopters of their experience of the adoption process. Whilst there have been creative attempts to meet this need, such as the use of QR codes to anonymise feedback, these do not appear wholly driven by adopters. As a result, some adopters noted elements of dissatisfaction with the agency’s inflexibility in timing of training and the procedural element of navigating the system.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The agency is currently working to develop their feedback from children. There are some processes in place which are driving further developments such as a regional children’s group. The impact of these is yet to be fully realised. As such, children’s views do not currently inform the agency as fully as they could do.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Staff generally write up visits with adopters and children well and timeously. However, there have been some records which have not been written up and some assessments are not as analytical as they could be. This has resulted in further information being requested at a late stage and a few adopters feeling pressured and rushed to provide this quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

 ‘We have only been contacted to answer specific questions rather than for any support. This has led us to feel a bit like we are treated like numbers rather than people’

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

The agency provides access to birth records for adopted adults in a sensitive manner. Staff assist adopted adults to gain some understanding of their early life and birth family. One adopted adult said, ‘without the support I would have really struggled’.

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good

There are strong safeguarding arrangements throughout the service which ensure that children are protected from harm and their well-being is promoted. Leaders, managers and staff have a thorough understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children. The agency ensures that all adoptive parents, staff and panel members are recruited safely and there are processes in place which allow management to maintain a consistent oversight of children’s emerging vulnerabilities. Joint working and collaboration between adoption workers and social workers based within Northamptonshire Children’s Trust childcare and child Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 4 Since the last inspection, managers have taken a proactive and imaginative stance in working with other agencies and professionals to enhance children’s lives. There is excellent working with partner agencies and social work teams, which improves

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good

the quality of service offered to children and adopters. The agency is highly committed to this effective joint working. This results in well-planned and supported adoptions for children.

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good

The leadership and management of the agency is particularly strong and ambitious. The manager and responsible individual are very experienced in adoption. They are driven by a real passion to make a positive difference to children. Together they protection teams allows for a dynamic and shared understanding of risks and emerging vulnerabilities for children.

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good

Case supervision is regularly updated by managers and visible on the new computer system. Senior management also ensure consistent oversight of more vulnerable children within the service where there are potential risks such as exploitation, children going missing and other vulnerabilities which may heighten children’s risks. This consolidated and consistent approach to risk within the service keeps children safe.

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good

The training of adopters is informed by research which provides them with an enhanced understanding of the impact of early childhood trauma and the need to parent their children therapeutically. Adopters learn about early childhood adverse experiences and the potential impact these may have on children as they get older. This ensures that children are placed with adopters who understand their needs and can see beyond presenting behaviours.

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good

Since the previous inspection, there has been a significant investment in staff’s professional development. All staff now have annual mandatory safeguarding training. Additionally, all social workers within the adoption agency are trained to at least dyadic developmental practice level 1. Staff also have access to extensive training around areas such as contextual safeguarding. The agency has recently linked in with a new exploitation team initiative within the wider Children’s Trust. This helps staff to increase their understanding of current and emerging safeguarding themes.

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good

The long-term stability of children is good. There has been one adoption breakdown since the last inspection. Leaders and managers were responsive following this breakdown and completed learning within the service which led and developed practice.

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good

Staff and adoptive parents are aware of the complaint’s procedure. Any complaints are investigated thoroughly, and with compassion. Learning is swiftly actioned and implemented appropriately when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 5 ensure that the culture of the agency is characterised by high expectations and aspirations for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Senior managers are innovative and are at the forefront of regional and national developments in adoption. Since the last inspection, senior managers have implemented a new practice framework, worked alongside the University of East Anglia to implement a research-based model and driven the modern adoption agenda with tenacity and care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The agency has taken the lead role in early permanence for children within the wider regional adoption agency (RAA). This has helped children to develop stability and achieve permanence within above average timescales. With one child having been adopted before their first birthday.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Senior managers are aspirational and have a clear oversight of the strengths and areas for development within the agency. They know their service well and have been able to develop coherent plans to address shortfalls proactively. This is evident in the quality assurance systems in place for panel and social work staff. Excellent monitoring and oversight enable the agency to deliver good services to children and adopted families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The agency is a learning organisation. Managers and staff reflect on things that have not gone so well to improve practice. There is a culture of collaboration and working alongside staff to improve practice. This is evident in the organic nature of some improvements such as ‘learning lunches’ and ‘staff support surgeries’, both of which were developed following staff feedback. Staff spoke of feeling worked alongside, rather than ‘to’. Staff morale appears high as a result and the challenges faced in terms of recruitment of staff have been proactively addressed at the time of the inspection. Consequently, Social workers say they feel well supported and valued by the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

 ‘I can honestly say that in the last three years I have seen the most improvement overall in the development of the service and in its culture. We feel supported, understood and appreciated. ‘I am proud to be a part of this Voluntary Adoption Agency’.  ‘Since the 2022 inspection the pressure is less, upstairs are less stressy and the stability is permeating’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All social work staff have monthly supervision. These are generally regular, although one member of staff had missed three supervisions. Managers within the agency pride themselves on their ethos of high support and high challenge. Staff supervision does not consistently evidence this value base. Staff report that these sessions are reflective and comprehensive. However, this is not always comprehensively documented in supervision minutes .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Panel members bring a range of experience of adoption, both personal and professional. The panel chairs are suitably experienced and knowledgeable. The Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 6 adoption panel provides a robust quality assurance function, while being sensitive to the applicants attending panel. Panel members provide feedback to the agency on a regular basis on the quality of reports and presentation of social workers. This enables managers and staff to address any issues swiftly. Panel members attend regular face to face training events with staff. This helps to ensure that panel members keep up to date with changes in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has met two of the three recommendations and the one requirement from the last inspection. One recommendation has been re-stated. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they take feedback and consider the wishes, feelings, and views of children to help them improve their service. ('Adoption: national minimum standards', page 11, paragraph 1.6)  Staff have access to support and advice, and are provided with regular supervision by appropriately qualified and experienced staff. ('Adoption: national minimum standards', page 71, paragraph 24.4)  The registered person should ensure that the adoption agency maintains clear records of all activity. ('Adoption: national minimum standards', page 78, paragraph 27.4)  Preparation courses are held and made available to all prospective adopters, including foster carers who wish to adopt the child for whom they are caring. Preparation courses fit within a framework of equal opportunities and anti- discriminatory practice and are organised to encourage and facilitate attendance by prospective adopters, for example by including convenient times and venues.

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Recommendations

The effectiveness of preparation received is evaluated and reviewed annually. ('Adoption: national minimum standards', page 78, paragraph 10.8)

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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 Voluntary Adoption Agencies and the Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003, the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005, any other relevant legislation, and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption Agency 8

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider: Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider address: One Angel Square, Angel Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN1 1ED

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Email address: Tracy.Morton@NCTrust.co.uk

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Inspectors

Majella Russell, social care inspector Rosemary Chapman, social care inspector Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency - Northamptonshire Children's Trust Adoption 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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