Fostering Together - for children with disabilities

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 1 Fostering Together - for children with disabilities Fostering Together Ltd The Old Granary, Penstock Hall Farm, Canterbury Road, Ashford, Kent TN25 5LL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This fostering agency has been registered with Ofsted since August 2020.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency specialises in caring for children with disabilities, including physical disabilities, complex medical needs, learning difficulties and/or autism. The agency offers short- and long-term placements and supports children and carers to have planned breaks. The agency has become a shared lives provider to support continued care for children moving into adult services with their carers. There are currently 28 fostering households with 33 children placed with foster carers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The independent fostering agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2023

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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 Together - for children with disabilities 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers provide care to children that is individual to them and meets their health, social and emotional needs. There is a collaborative response from staff, leaders and support workers to ensure that children receive good-quality care that helps them to make progress from their unique starting points. Examples of progress include improved education outcomes, increased physical independence and being able to manage complex health procedures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency provides individualised support to children and their carers. Supervising social workers provide support to families in a timely manner and according to need. In addition, staff have forged positive links with partner agencies to ensure that children receive comprehensive support that is particular to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have opportunities to make memories through shared and individual activities with their carers. Children receive tangible recognition for their accomplishments. Certificates and fridge magnets are sent from the agency and proudly displayed in the children’s homes. This ensures that children’s efforts are recognised and celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are well considered. Staff and managers use unique ways to gather children’s views and opinions. Children have been involved in determining future events as a result of staff gaining their individual feedback. This ensures that children are happy with the annual planned events, which are carefully designed to meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to access and attend activities that they enjoy. Activities and hobbies such as pony riding, playing guitar and baking are promoted. One child said, ‘I have enjoyed being the DJ at the annual Christmas party and taking my microphone along.’ This ensures that children are having opportunities and are involved in various pursuits that bring them joy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and supported to grow in their independence. Children who are moving on from their carers are supported to learn and develop new skills. Staff have provided workshops on budgeting, meal planning and using public transport. This ensures that children are gaining the support that they need to develop essential life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers build strong, caring and loving relationships with children, who are at the centre of carers’ families. The agency has registered as a shared lives provider, making continued care possible for children who transition to adult services to remain in their family home. One carer said, ‘Knowing that the agency has developed a service to ensure long-term security for young people to stay with their families is a testament to how [the agency] go over and above.’ Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 3 Most foster carers support family time arrangements, and family members can visit children in their homes when appropriate. If not appropriate, agency staff support children to meet their families in the community, and they oversee these interactions. Consequently, this ensures that children spend valuable time with the people they love.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers new to the agency feel that managers and staff are friendly and inclusive. They feel welcomed and well prepared to carry out their role as foster carers. One carer said, ‘Staff know all the children. They are inclusive in providing events and little gifts to all children within the fostering household.’

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

Carers know how to respond when children’s health deteriorates. Children’s emergency plans are followed, and children receive immediate medical attention when needed. The quick responses of carers ensures that children receive the necessary healthcare that they need to stabilise their conditions.

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

Carers receive appropriate training to understand the risks associated with the children in their care. Carers are up to date with their training. This ensures that their knowledge is current and in line with best practice.

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

The agency is responsive to carers’ requests for specialised training to meet the health and behavioural needs of the children in their care. Consequently, this has increased carers’ confidence in providing care to children and managing their behaviours.

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

Supervising social workers develop good relationships with children and see them on their own during visits to families. Children have opportunities during these times to share their views or to raise any concerns that they may have. Children have established positive relationships with their support workers, who also visit weekly. Children feel that they can also talk to them if they have a problem. Consequently, this means that children are seen by various workers who know them well and can recognise signs and behaviours that may be a cause for concern.

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

Initial safer recruitment procedures are followed for new staff. However, insufficient efforts have been made to verify the reasons for staff leaving all previous roles where they have worked with children or vulnerable adults. Additionally, records of which original documents have been seen as part of the recruitment process are not retained. Managers could not confirm which checks had been completed in all cases. Managers have acknowledged these shortfalls and plan to make changes to their recruitment processes.

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

Carers and staff have a good understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities. These are captured in risk assessments and safety plans that are personalised and kept up to date. This helps to ensure that children are protected from harm and receive safe day-to-day care. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 4 The agency has had no complaints or allegations until this inspection period. The agency is currently managing one live complaint and one live allegation. The agency is collaborating with the appropriate professionals to assist investigations. It is also managing the complaint in line with its internal policies and procedures. There are assurances in place that confirm the provider is taking necessary actions to keep the children safe. This includes moving some children on from carers in an unplanned way. However, the agency has managed this well, ensuring that children are

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

supported through this process and that they have moved to carers who can meet their physical and medical needs.

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

Leaders and managers are inconsistent in ensuring that they are kept informed by local authorities when safeguarding investigations are taking place, regarding the practice by other agencies who also provide care to children in the foster carer’s own home. This means that they are not fully informed regarding the impact of these investigations on the carer or the child.

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good

Leaders and managers are approachable and show consideration for the views of those they work with. They are inclusive in their vision for the future of this agency. Foster carers say that they feel part of a family.

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good

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions for children when matching children to foster carers. Managers ensure that the voices of foster carers are heard, and they advocate for support packages that are realistic to meet children’s needs. One social worker stated, ‘I genuinely am so happy with this agency that is not only knowledgeable about disability but puts the foster children in the centre of all their decision-making.’

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good

The panel is chaired by an experienced and knowledgeable independent chair. The agency decision-maker offers clarity and scrutiny to decision-making. However, on one occasion, they did not take effective action to address concerns. As a result, a standards of care investigation was not initiated promptly. This caused delay in addressing practice issues and affecting the implementation of the child’s care plan.

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good

Staff are provided with supervision and training to enable them to support their carers. Staff report that they feel supported and that their case loads are manageable. However, leaders and managers have not given sufficient thought to the volume and complexity of work allocated to the student social worker, which led to a change of worker on one occasion.

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good

The manager’s internal monitoring system has not been effective in making sure that they follow up and provide updates to safeguarding notifications. In addition, there has been a lack of oversight in ensuring that matching documents and supervision records for carers are completed in a timely way and signed off by the Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 5 manager. There is no deputy in place to assist with the day-to-day monitoring of the agency.

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good

Leaders and managers regularly attend foster carer support groups. These provide a forum to discuss the needs of carers, children and their families. Carers’ suggestions have been considered, and this resulted in the agency’s purchase of a portable mobile changing unit. This means that children and young people have access to a suitable facility when attending agency events. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 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

In considering what recommendation to make under paragraph (1), the fostering panel—

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Requirement Due date

must consider and take into account all of the information passed to it in accordance with regulation 26, 27 or 28 (as the case may be). (Regulation 25 (2)(a)) 24 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the agency has all records of the recruitment and suitability checks that have been carried out for foster carers and those working, including as volunteers, for the fostering service. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 19.3)  The registered person should ensure that there are clear and effective procedures for monitoring and controlling the activities of the service. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.1)  The registered person should ensure that investigations into allegations or suspicions of harm are handled fairly, quickly and consistently in a way that provides effective protection for the child, and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation. The fostering service should follow the framework for managing cases of allegations of abuse against people who work with children as set out in ‘Working together to safeguard children’.

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Recommendations

(‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 22.9)  The registered person should ensure that all social workers and other specialists (such as medical, legal, educationalists, psychologists and therapists) are professionally qualified and, where applicable, registered by the appropriate professional body. They should be appropriately trained to work with children, their families and foster carers and have a good understanding of foster care and the policies and purpose of the fostering service. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 23.4) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 7

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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.

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Information about this inspection

The inspection started on 12 May 2025. The inspectors returned on 8 and 9 July 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Fostering Together Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: The Old Granary, Penstock Hall Farm, Canterbury Road, Ashford, Kent TN25 5LL

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Inspectors

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Fostering Together - for children with disabilities 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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