Compass Fostering East

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 1 Compass Fostering East Compass Fostering East Limited First Floor, Suite 2, Trident Business Village, Kilverston, Norfolk IP24 2RL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This agency is privately owned and is part of a large national company that recruits, assesses, approves, trains and supports foster carers. The provider registered the Compass Fostering East branch in March 2021.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, the agency had 112 fostering households and 121 children living with foster carers. The agency provides a wide range of foster care arrangements, including parent and child.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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: Compass Fostering East 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children become part of their foster families, and this offers them a sense of permanence. Many children call their carers ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’. Carers build positive relationships with children, and this has allowed children to feel safe and comfortable in their care. Several children have stayed with their families into adulthood. This is promoted and supported by the agency staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency’s dedicated education team makes sure that all children have education offers suited to their needs. The foster carers ensure that children’s attendance is high and they are well supported. Consequently, children make good progress, and their attainment in exams such as GCSEs is above their counterparts nationally. The agency values the importance of education for children, and this is helping children to develop goals for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers ensure that the children are core members of the family and are passionate about taking children away on memorable holidays with them. One child visited Japan last year, while another child travels to Turkey each year with their carers. These shared experiences help children build positive memories and stronger connections with their foster families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers say they receive very good support from the agency. There is regular communication between the agency staff and foster carers. Foster carers seek support when necessary, and the agency promptly responds. Foster carers value the ‘very supportive’ out-of-hours service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency facilitates a range of support groups for foster carers. There are groups for new carers and solo carers, which are well received. There are online forums which offer a range of ways for carers to have their voices heard. The agency acknowledges that certain carer groups located in particular geographic areas are not as strong as others and is working to strengthen them. The agency arranges days out for families where everyone is welcome. Children speak about how much they enjoy these. Some experienced foster carers have taken on ‘ambassadors’ roles. Sharing their knowledge and experience benefits new carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency celebrates children's achievements in various ways. The agency staff send letters, vouchers and certificates to children to acknowledge their achievements. This helps to build children’s self-esteem and supports carers to feel proud of children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The assessment process for new carers is thorough. The evaluative and proportionate assessments highlight the strengths and vulnerabilities of new carers. The agency staff ethos is to look for ‘potential, not perfection’. This can be seen throughout fostering assessments in which new carers’ strengths and potential vulnerabilities are carefully considered. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 3 The agency social workers know their carers well and carefully consider the whole fostering family when considering referrals and supporting the initial stages of children moving in with their carers. This allows children to move into homes with carers who can meet their needs. The agency staff work well with local authorities to ensure that children’s needs are met. Partner professionals commented on how well children are doing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought by agency staff, and their involvement is continuing to grow. The participation lead is responsible for developing strategies to engage children in the service, and the size of the children’s group is increasing. The agency has a quarterly newsletter that offers good insights into what is happening for children and how they can get involved in new agency initiatives. The children’s guides are child friendly and informative.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of foster carer recording varies. Some foster carers’ logs lack detail. This makes it difficult for children to understand their life story should they wish to read their records in the future.

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

Children’s individual support plans written by the agency social workers are very clear. They give good insight into each child and how the people around them can best support them. Safer caring plans are tailored to each child and household. These plans cover information that is important to the child and family and offer clear expectations and boundaries. The manager maintains good management oversight of these plans.

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

The agency has a very strong therapeutic offer. Foster carers receive training in therapeutic parenting as part of their induction. There is a range of bespoke therapeutic support that carers and children can access from a dedicated team. Carers value this service, and it is helping to promote stability for children.

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

Foster carers occasionally hold children to ensure their safety. They only hold children as a last resort, and these incidents are rare. The agency has a specific lead who offers carers bespoke support and training in this area if needed. Families who have needed to hold children to manage difficult situations are also provided with increased therapeutic support.

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

The required recruitment checks for agency staff are meticulously carried out. This helps to ensure that the right people are employed in their roles.

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

Allegations are generally well managed. Local authority designated officer (LADO) referrals are made, and there is strong working alongside professionals such as social workers to ensure children’s immediate safety. However, there have been some occasions when allegations have been reviewed in isolation due to a lack of professional curiosity and thematic oversight. On one occasion, agency staff failed to follow up on agreed LADO actions with a carer during supervision. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 4 The agency has appropriately managed difficult situations and allegations, making LADO referrals when necessary. However, the agency has not always made appropriate notifications to Ofsted. While this has not posed any safeguarding concerns for children, it does potentially undermine regulatory oversight.

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

A small number of children have been missing from home. Foster carers have acted appropriately to ensure children’s safe return. However, records of these incidents do not always show if children have been spoken to about this and what their views are. This is a missed opportunity to understand risk and explore how to keep children safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency operates under the leadership of an experienced and dedicated registered manager. She has just completed her level 5 diploma. She is supported by a team of operations managers, and they work together effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team morale is high, and social workers gave positive feedback on the registered manager and the support they receive. Social workers often work remotely, but there are several meetings each week that help social workers feel connected and help create a team identity. The manager runs development workshops every week, and social workers value these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The induction process for new social workers is good. New social workers feel this is well paced, giving them time to meet families and get to know their role before building their caseloads. Social workers said caseloads are manageable. Their successes are celebrated, and they feel valued and proud of their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a positive relationship between the agency and commissioners, and, as a result, the commissioners value the agency. Commissioners said the agency staff help children settle and feel stable and secure. Commissioners are particularly impressed by how well the agency has supported unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes for carers with respect to the management structure and supervising social workers. This has now settled. Managers were aware of these changes and took steps to reduce their effect on carers and children. Carers are very happy to be part of the agency and praise the support they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some foster carers have not always received supervision as frequently as they should. Regular, good-quality foster carer supervision is important for ensuring that carers can meet children’s changing needs while feeling empowered and confident in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency offers a range of relevant training to foster carers. However, not all foster carers have completed the agency’s specified mandatory training within the required timescales. This was a requirement at the last inspection and will be restated. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 5 Leaders and managers are creating a learning culture. They have been open and transparent and can identify their strengths and shortfalls. They have various forums to gather all stakeholders’ views, and they are committed to continuous improvement. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 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 provide foster parents with such training, advice, information and support, as appears necessary in the interests of children placed with them. (Regulation 17 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that foster carers attend the training that the agency has identified as mandatory. This requirement restated. 1 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 7 takes place in relation to a fostering agency, the registered person must without delay notify the persons or bodies indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table.

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Requirement Due date

Any notification made in accordance with this regulation which is given orally must be confirmed in writing. (Regulation 36 (1)(2)) 1 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they 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 action should be taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.2)  The registered person should ensure that information about the child is recorded clearly and in a way that will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 26.6)  The registered person should ensure that each approved foster carer is supervised by a named, appropriately qualified social worker who has meetings them. Meetings have a clear purpose and provide the opportunity to supervise the foster carer’s work, ensure that the foster carer is meeting the child’s needs, taking into

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Recommendations

account the child’s wishes and feelings, and offer support and a framework to assess the carer’s performance and develop their competencies and skills. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 21.8) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 7  The registered person should ensure that written records kept by the fostering service where a child goes missing include any reasons given by the child for running away from the foster home and any action taken in light of those reasons. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 5.10)

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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: Compass Fostering East 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Compass Fostering East Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: katy.oreilly@compassfostering.com

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Inspectors

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Compass Fostering East 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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