Regional Fostering Services Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 1 Regional Fostering Services Ltd Regional Fostering Services Ltd The Atrium, 1 Harefield Road, Uxbridge, London, UB8 1EX Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Regional Fostering Services Limited is an independent fostering agency based in north-west London which provides foster care placements across London, the Home Counties and the Midlands. The agency offers a wide range of placements, including short- and long-term, respite, parent and child, bridging, placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, for children who have disabilities, and sibling groups. Some young adults are living in ‘staying put’ arrangements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At time of the inspection, the agency was providing foster care to 119 children in 81 fostering households.

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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: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusting and secure relationships with their foster carers. Children experience a sense of belonging through permanent arrangements with their foster carers, such as long-term fostering, Special Guardianship and Adoption.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children overall make good progress from their starting points. Children have developed entrepreneurial skills, with one older young person starting their own business, another older young person has overcome early adversity to attend university, and a child has written a book. The stability provided by foster carers helps children to develop and gain the skills and confidence to achieve their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy opportunities to engage in structured activities and outings organised by managers and staff. These include, ‘Picnics in the Park, child activity and community driven activities, and more recently completing an ‘Escape room’ experience with older children. These activities help children to engage socially and form meaningful connections with both their foster carers and other children in the fostering community. In addition, children have new experiences with their foster carers, with one child travelling abroad for the first time in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children overall, do well in their education. For one child with a disability, there was an example of good work between the school and the foster carer to ensure their educational needs were addressed. All children’s achievements are celebrated and communicated, the fostering agency newsletter providing one avenue. Children’s achievements are also recognised at awards events organised by managers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The role of the retention and support workers within the fostering agency, has been a significant factor in contributing to children’s positive outcomes. They complete direct work with both the foster carers and children to support placement stability. Children form trusting relationships with workers from this team. For some children this has been a source of considerable support, particularly during periods of change. The team have been instrumental in strengthening opportunities for children to share their experiences of being in foster care. An interactive online questionnaire “My Voice, My Views” has been developed to capture children’s views along with the establishment of a children’s voices group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For a smaller group of children living with foster carers, stability has been variable. These are children where they have had to be removed quickly from foster carers due to allegations, there were concerns regarding children’s own behaviours, or foster carers felt unable to meet their needs. Leaders and managers acknowledge that earlier recognition of issues with these children and foster carers, may have led to greater stability for these children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children need to move on from foster carers, there are good examples of effective and collaborative working between the fostering agency staff and the social Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 3 workers for the child. However, in one case, it had not been possible to implement the transition plan, despite the fostering agency’s efforts to work in partnership with the responsible authority. This created stress and anxiety for the foster carers and child. A key factor in this case was the absence of any planned preparation of the child for the move involving all those involved in trying to make the move a success.

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

Overall, children are protected by those who care for them. A survey undertaken by leaders and managers showed that 70% of children expressed a strong sense of belonging in their foster homes, described their foster carers as “kind and caring” and emphasized the love and security they felt.

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

Children have trusted adults that they can talk to if they have concerns or worries. Managers and staff respond effectively to concerns raised by children, working collaboratively and swiftly with local authority social workers, designated officers and police, to ensure children are protected from further harm.

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

Due to improved oversight and scrutiny by leaders and managers of concerns regarding children safety, there has been a marked increase in the frequency of notifications of significant events in the period. This has in several cases led to children being removed from foster carers to ensure their safety. Appropriate updates are provided to Ofsted. Managers and staff respond quickly to allegations of harm by foster carers. However, in one case, there has been a significant delay in bringing the foster carer back to the fostering panel to consider their suitability to continue fostering.

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

Leaders and managers monitor and continuously assess concerns regarding children’s safety through weekly meetings. This ensures that issues of ongoing concern in relation to children remain the focus of managers, staff and responsible authorities, prompting actions and interventions, to reduce risks.

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

Foster carers have access to training and learning to assist them in managing children's negative behaviours through appropriate, trauma based training and de- escalation techniques. One child said of their foster carer, ‘She helped me with my emotions, helped me to do well and helped me with my football career. They are very nice people, who correct me if I don't do the right things. They are kind to me. The retention and support team facilitate online sessions on subjects such as, emotional well-being, ‘coping strategies’, and ‘mindfulness’, which help children to manage stress and anxiety.

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

Managers and staff ensure that safer caring is promoted by foster carers. Safety plans are updated when new concerns regarding children arise. Leaders and managers, wherever possible, promote the participation of children in discussions about their safety. One such initiative is the ‘Looking after me safely plan’, an interactive workbook that children can complete in consultation with foster carers and social workers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 4 Unannounced visits to foster carers occur and children are seen and spoken to separately. Annual health and safety checks take place as part of foster carers annual reviews. Fostering staff visits address any issues of safety in the household. This ensures that children’s living environment promotes their health and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recent changes in senior management within the fostering agency have been positive, providing greater oversight and scrutiny of day to day practice and safeguarding concerns. During these changes, stability has been provided by experienced and knowledgeable team leaders. The current registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are developing effective processes to monitor the quality of care provided to children. There is a clear motivation to embed a culture of learning and reflection in the fostering agency. This includes listening to the views of foster carers and children, reflecting on unplanned endings for children in foster care, and reviewing responses to safeguarding children. Discussions to ensure regulations and standards are being adhered to occur regularly in meetings. However, leaders and managers have not submitted a report of the quality of care to Ofsted within the stipulated timeframe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the main, plans for children are understood by leaders and managers. Positive relationships are reported in respect of the working relationship between social workers from placing authorities which supports collaborative working. Leaders and managers challenge and escalate concerns regarding children’s plans where necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Outcome trackers completed by fostering staff are regularly reviewed by leaders and managers. These provide evidence of the progress of children and their outcomes and the difference that the service has made to children’s lives. There is a clear culture of high expectations and aspirations for children

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of foster carer logs is variable. Leaders and managers recently asked a former care experienced person who had accessed their in-care files, to deliver training on the importance of recording and writing to the child. This will help to reinforce the importance of reflecting the daily experiences of children in records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The versions of the children’s guide and statement of purpose revised by leaders and managers have not been provided to Ofsted. All areas identified for improvement at the last inspection, apart from the children’s guide, have been achieved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and supportive supervision which focusses on children and foster carers needs. Support to staff is enhanced by clinical group sessions, facilitated by a newly appointed therapist. A supervising social worker forum has been created and fostering staff have access to a comprehensive programme of training. Staff overwhelming report that they feel supported both professionally and personally by leaders and managers. Managers are available, visible and involved. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 5 Foster carers say that they receive regular supervision which not only focusses on children and their plans, but the well-being of foster carers, their own development and the fostering household. The process of annual reviews for foster carers has been refined, to ensure that these occur within timescales and effective quality assurance is in place. A dedicated training and development officer oversees the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

delivery of a wide range of training and development opportunities for foster carers. A foster carers birth children forum is available to provide a voice for these children. A strength of the fostering agency is the good working relationships between fostering staff and foster carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment of foster carers is focussed on meeting the increasingly complex needs of children. Recruitment aims to attract foster carers from many diverse communities. Leaders and managers acknowledge that more targeted work needs to be done in respect of recruiting respite carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A small number of foster carers have not completed the training, support and development (TSD) standards within 12 months of approval. The foster carers in this category had their approval terms changed at their first annual review to increase the number of children they can care for. In one case, a foster carer had only been approved for six months and was working towards completion of the TSD. They had limited fostering experiences with which to demonstrate their skills and abilities at this point. Despite this, the number of children they were approved to care for was increased following them being presented to the fostering panel. Inspectors were informed that the foster carer was subsequently struggling to manage the needs of the children living with them, with the potential for the arrangement to end. While the completion of the TDS standards does not guarantee success in fostering, this is an important benchmark to consider skills and ability. Managers had considered the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

carers experience, but this could have been strengthened by the carer completing the required TSD standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers had considered this short period of caring when making the decision. Inspectors agreed with managers that completion of the TSD does not guarantee automatic success for foster carers and matching is also as important.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel acts as an effective independent quality assurance mechanism in considering recommendations presented. The central list contains panel members from a wide range of experiences and knowledge. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 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, 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

keep under review and, where appropriate, revise the statement of purpose and children's guide,

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Requirement Due date

notify the Chief Inspector of any such revision within 28 days, and

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Requirement Due date

if the children's guide is revised, supply a copy to each foster parent approved by the fostering service provider, and to each child placed by them (subject to the child's age and understanding). (Regulation 4(a)(b)(c)) 31 October 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children are leaving the foster family, they are helped to understand the reasons why they are leaving. Children are supported during the transition to their new placement. This specifically relates to the role of foster carers and social workers, particularly where children are resistant to engaging in transition plans. ('Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards', 11.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that foster carers are able to evidence that the Training, Support and Development Standards have been attained within 12 months of approval. This specifically relates to increases in numbers of children for foster carers, who have not completed the Training, Support and Development Standards as a minimum benchmark of skills, knowledge and experience. The registered person should ensure that they are satisfied that foster carers in these cases have demonstrated the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to support this change. ('Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards', 20.3)

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Recommendations

 As soon as possible after an investigation of a foster carer is concluded, their approval as suitable to foster is reviewed. ('Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards', 22.8) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 7  The registered person should ensure that reports made under regulation 35 and NMS 25 are submitted at least annually to Ofsted. ('Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards', 25.7)

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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. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Regional Fostering Services Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: The Atrium, 1 Harefield Road, Uxbridge, London UB8 1EX

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: faraz@regionalfostering.co.uk

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Inspectors

Colin Bent, social care inspector Matilda Clode, social care inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Regional Fostering Services Ltd 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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