Fostering UK

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering UK 1 Fostering UK Fostering UK Limited Maple House, Potters Bar EN6 5BS Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted on 6 December 2016 and is privately owned. It provides a range of placements, including emergency, bridging, respite, short-term, long-term, permanent, and parent and child placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of the inspection, there were 43 approved fostering households, and 68 children were receiving support from the agency’s approved foster carers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The registered manager has been in post for two years and is appropriately qualified.

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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: Fostering UK 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are receiving high-quality care and support. As a result, they are making good progress in terms of health, education, emotional well-being and overall development, despite their varied and complex needs. One social worker said about a child, ‘They have done amazingly well. I love to visit, as it is better each time.’ Foster carers know the children well and are committed to them. They speak with pride about their achievements. Over a third of the children currently living with their foster carers have done so for over a year. This contributes to building secure attachments and stability. Many of the children live with their brothers and sisters, which helps them maintain their sense of identity. Foster carers are also committed to promoting family time in whatever way meets the child’s needs and is safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and feel supported by their foster carers. One child said, ‘They (the foster carers) are always there for me, whatever the situation.’ Children engage in many different activities to help them develop their interests and form positive relationships in the community. This includes various sporting activities that promote their physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s social workers and other professionals recognise the positive contribution foster carers make to enhancing children’s outcomes and describe them as ‘child centred’, ‘strong advocates’, ‘a top foster carer’ and ‘welcoming, supportive, warm and affectionate’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well matched with their foster carers. Placements are well thought out and documented, with any gaps thoroughly explored. Children receive a personalised welcome pack with details about their foster carers to help them settle in. A dedicated placements officer attends end-of-placement meetings to gather information for the next placement. The agency works well with the child’s placing authority to prevent unplanned endings. They support a planned move, if possible, to avoid too much disruption for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency attempts to obtain the initial care planning documentation, but the follow up to obtain this requires further escalation. Formal minutes of children’s reviews and other important documents that lay out future plans of action are sometimes missing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation is a developing area. Children have recently been involved in improving the feedback form for foster carers’ annual reviews, and there are plans to engage them in further agency development. Children are encouraged to participate in local activities, and they enjoy mixing with other fostering families. They know how to raise a concern and have people who they can talk to about any worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Many foster carers who are new to the agency have transferred in. Improved systems have made the assessment and approval of these foster carers a more robust process. Most foster carers receive a responsive service according to Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering UK 3 schedule. However, on occasion, a lack of clarity and over-optimism have moved some prospective carers with clear vulnerabilities in their suitability to the next stage. This initial lack of diligence has resulted in a delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers are very positive about the agency. They feel well supported, listened to, valued and cared for. They value the support groups for males and single carers, as well as the face-to-face support groups in each geographical area, which provide opportunities for peer support. Foster carers and children receive recognition for their achievements. One foster carer said, ‘Our supervising social worker is brilliant. She is easy to talk to and understands the needs and complexities of our young person in placement. She provides us with excellent support, guidance and advice.’ Another said, ‘They (agency staff) have surpassed everything we hoped they would be. They’ve been amazing.’

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

There is a strong focus on safeguarding children throughout the agency. Policies and processes have been strengthened; regular safeguarding meetings, together with tighter compliance reporting, have improved senior leaders’ oversight of safeguarding concerns and notifiable incidents.

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

Thorough child-specific safer care plans and risk assessments are used to identify known or emerging risks, and these are updated if a situation changes. This ensures that they remain meaningful documents that can be used to mitigate risk and keep children as safe as possible.

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

Children do not go missing from their foster homes on a regular basis, and they do not engage in significant risk-taking behaviour. Should this become an issue, carers have appropriate training as well as access to the agency’s written guidance. They are also well supported by the agency’s social workers and the out-of-hours service. When there are concerns, the agency is proactive in working with partner agencies to ensure that the child and carers receive appropriate and coordinated support.

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

Any allegations or concerns about carers are responded to appropriately. A local authority designated officer confirmed that the manager has a good understanding of the role, cooperates, communicates fully, and carries out thorough and timely investigations. A person independent of the case carries out thorough investigations into standards of care and complaints.

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

Staff and panel member recruitment is robust and taken very seriously. The agency fully understands the importance of ensuring that anyone who has contact with children must be safe to do so.

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

Unannounced visits to foster carers’ homes are an important means for the agency to monitor all aspects of the household, including home safety. Every year, the agency aims to carry out at least one unannounced visit to foster carers, but this has not happened on every occasion. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering UK 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are at the heart of the service. Leaders, managers and staff know the children well and have high expectations for them. The agency is well led and managed. There has been a clear improvement agenda since the last inspection, providing a stronger and safer framework for service delivery.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is good, and there is a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Feedback mechanisms are strong. These include carer representatives and annual surveys.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and cared for. Regular team meetings, peer reflective supervision and professional supervision ensure that communication is clear and there is accountability for practice standards. Although staff generally receive regular supervision, there are some instances where this has not been the case. Staff have access to good-quality training, which enables them to offer effective support to the foster carers and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency staff build positive relationships with partner agencies and provide appropriate challenge when necessary. Professional partner agencies speak highly of the communication and responsiveness of the agency’s staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are creative and take action to ensure children have the services they need. This includes funding therapeutic services that are not normally the responsibility of the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers receive good training and supervision. Foster carer supervision is regular and supportive, as well as challenging. An independent fostering reviewing officer carries out thorough annual reviews, which adds a layer of objectivity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Bespoke training is made available to foster carers to help them develop the necessary skills and knowledge to meet children’s particular needs. Monitoring ensures that foster carers stay up to date with the mandatory courses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel provides appropriate challenge to the agency and acts as a critical friend. The administration of the panel is generally good, with prompt and accurate minutes provided to enable the agency decision-maker to make an informed decision. Strong and clear agency decision-making has enabled the agency to successfully tackle some difficult issues. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering UK 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should work with the responsible authority to ensure effective integration of information held in the agency’s case files and those of the responsible authority. This relates specifically to obtaining copies of the local authority’s minutes of children’s reviews. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 26.8)  The registered person should ensure that people who are interested in becoming foster carers are treated fairly, without prejudice, openly, and with respect. Enquiries should be dealt with courteously and efficiently by staff who have the necessary knowledge and skills. Prospective foster carers should be provided with timely and relevant information following their initial enquiry and be kept informed about the progress of any subsequent application for approval. This relates to adopting a more robust approach to initial enquiries to foster or transfer to the

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Recommendations

agency to ensure that any potential issues that may affect the suitability of that application are highlighted at an early stage. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that the foster home is inspected annually, without appointment, by the fostering service to make sure that it continues to meet the needs of foster children. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 20.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to support and advice and receive regular supervision from appropriately qualified and experienced staff. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 24.4)

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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: Fostering UK 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Fostering UK Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Maple House, High Street, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 5BS

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Inspector

Rosemary Chapman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering UK 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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