Red Kite Fostering

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 1 Red Kite Fostering Red Kite Fostering Limited The Old Surgery, The Meads, Kington, Herefordshire HR5 3DQ Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This agency is operated by a private limited company. It provides a range of fostering placements, including long-term, short-term, emergency and respite placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency provides foster placements in England and Wales. At the time of the inspection, the agency had six fostering households in England providing care for seven children.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

There have been two changes of manager since the previous inspection. The last registered manager left in August 2024. A new manager was appointed but left before having their suitability assessed. Another new manager has recently been appointed, and they have applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The independent fostering agency is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 2

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improvement to be good

The judgement for this area has been affected by the judgement for leadership and management.

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improvement to be good

Children receive sensitive, individualised care from their foster carers. Children were spoken to during the inspection, and they said that they are happy where they live and that they like their foster carers. One child said that their foster carers help people, and they like being able to make ‘foster friends’. They thoroughly enjoyed an agency-arranged camping trip with other foster families and said that the agency staff work really hard.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to do well with their education. When necessary, children are supported in moving schools, where they settle in quickly and enjoy school life. Children are encouraged to attend after-school clubs, which also helps them make new friends.

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improvement to be good

Children are accepted as part of foster carers’ families and enjoy a range of activities individually and as part of the family. Children attend sports clubs, Scouts and Rainbows, and many enjoy family activities and holidays. Two children are grateful for all the new activities they have been able to do, such as going to the cinema, climbing a mountain and going to the park.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to maintain their health. Foster carers encourage children to expand their diets and to try new and healthy foods. When children are unwell, foster carers are quick to seek medical advice, and they receive good support from the agency. Due to the quality of the care they receive, two children have made significant progress towards meeting their health needs. On one isolated occasion, a child did not receive their medication quickly after it was prescribed, and the agency addressed this with the foster carers appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported in maintaining relationships with people who are important to them. The agency and foster carers facilitate family time, and a family support worker is available to provide additional support where needed. The agency has facilitated the reunification of seven children with their families, in line with their care plans.

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improvement to be good

The agency provides support to foster carers and children to enable them to be part of its family culture. Foster carers enjoy good peer support and positive relationships with other carers. This provides comfort and practical support when difficulties arise. The agency organises a range of events to help foster these positive relationships, including bowling, picnics and camping, which foster carers and children thoroughly enjoy. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 3 Most children currently placed with the agency are young and have only recently moved to live with their foster carers. All the current children settled into their new homes quickly. However, managers and staff were unable to provide evidence of the decision-making process regarding the foster carers’ ability to meet the children’s needs. There is no evidence that foster carers’ skills and training have been

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improvement to be good

considered. Additionally, there is a lack of evidence regarding the consideration of the needs of other children in the household and whether placing authorities were consulted about children who are already living with the carers. There is no evidence of how children’s transitions into their new homes have been managed.

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improvement to be good

The agency mainly provides placements for younger children who present with very few high-level risks. As a result, the agency has very few incidents. When incidents occur, they are managed appropriately to ensure that children remain safe.

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improvement to be good

Children said they feel safe and know who to talk to if they are worried. One child reported not being completely happy living with their carers, and this was explored by the supervising social worker so that the child’s views could be fully understood and acted on.

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improvement to be good

When carers’ practice fails to meet expectations, the agency carries out an early annual review and presents the review findings to the panel for consideration. In one case, carers did not follow the child’s care plan and overstepped their responsibilities as foster carers. There were multiple concerns, and this resulted in their approval being terminated. This process helps ensure that only suitable people remain as foster carers.

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improvement to be good

The quality of risk management plans is mixed. There have been no incidents where children have been missing. The agency does not consistently have missing-from- care protocols for all children, and when they are in place, they are not fully completed. As a result, they would not assist the police or other agencies if the child did go missing. In addition, there is no consideration of the potential risks of bedroom sharing and no record of consent from the children’s placing authority.

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improvement to be good

A concern about staff practice was not managed robustly. A blurring of appropriate professional boundaries posed potential risks to children and staff. The previous manager was aware of and had agreed to the practice. A new manager identified the concern and quickly reported the matter to the relevant local authority designated officers. Despite the matter being identified as a practice issue, very limited action was taken by managers to address this. There was no consideration of whether any disciplinary action was needed, and no additional training was provided to ensure that the member of staff understood appropriate professional boundaries and basic safeguarding principles.

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improvement to be good

Staff recruitment is not carried out safely. For example, significant gaps in employment histories have not been identified or explained. This shortfall was also Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 4 identified at the last two inspections. The agency has not provided any additional training on safer recruitment. A manager check of recruitment files has been introduced; however, this has not identified the shortfalls. The current manager has not received safer recruitment training, which limits their ability to oversee the safe recruitment process effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management of the agency has been very inconsistent since the previous inspection. There have been three different managers. There was a two-month period with no manager while recruitment processes were taking place. The responsible individual failed to act quickly enough to address the management issues. This has meant that the only social worker in the agency at this time was left unsupported despite at the time been qualified for less than a year. This person has remained with the agency and was recently appointed as manager and will have their suitability assessed in due course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The agency has a very small team of staff who work very closely together with the aim of providing good care for the children in placement. When new managers have joined the agency, this has caused tension, and staff have not welcomed new ways of working. As a result, the previous manager left before they registered. Carers appear unaffected by the management changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight is weak. No management monitoring has taken place since the registered manager left a year ago, and issues identified in the last report have not been resolved. The responsible individual is aware of this, but it has not been addressed. The agency carries out audits of children’s and carers’ records, but these are quantitative, so they do not assess the quality of the work being carried out. The new manager has identified the shortfalls in monitoring and has started to develop new templates, but these are yet to be implemented. As a result of the poor monitoring, leaders and managers were unaware of the extent of the shortfalls identified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s report about the quality of care is poor. There is little evidence of consultation and no analysis of the agency or identified areas for development. The new manager acknowledges this issue, has recently attended training, and intends to make improvements to future reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual lacks effective oversight of the agency’s management. Although they are present and have regular discussions with staff and managers, they only carry out a basic quarterly audit as required by Care Inspectorate Wales. They do not carry out any regular audits of the service related to the agency’s registration with Ofsted. They review some documents on the computer system; however, this is not enough to ensure that the agency is being managed well. No clear processes exist to ensure that the responsible individual oversees important matters, and complacency is hindering effective leadership. For example, the responsible individual was unaware of a complaint to Ofsted, as the manager did not Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 5 inform them about it. They were also unaware that appraisals have not been taking place frequently enough or that there are shortfalls in staff recruitment files.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Ineffective quality assurance processes have led to an assessment being presented to the panel when improvements were required. References had not been sought for an applicant’s voluntary work with children, financial information was unclear, and there was a lack of exploration when a family member was not supportive of the applicant fostering. The agency decision-maker (ADM) believed there was sufficient information to reach a decision; however, they highlighted the weaknesses in the assessment and gave appropriate advice to the agency. No action has been taken to follow up or reflect on the advice given.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Reviews of foster carers’ approval do not always take place within required timescales. One foster carer did not attend their first annual review because the panel administrator was not at work, and there is no contingency plan in place. Leaders and managers are also unclear on the timescales required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Foster carer agreements are not always accurate or complete. One does not state the type of fostering that the carer is approved to provide, and another has not been updated since the carer’s approval has changed. This lack of attention to detail means that foster carers’ records do not always reflect the care that they are approved to provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The standard of panel minutes needs to improve. Although there is a space for ADM outcomes from the previous panel, the record does not set out whether the recommendations were upheld or not. In some cases, there is a lack of evidence of how decisions are reached. The minutes have been checked by the panel chair, and this has not been identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have not followed up on advice following an appeal to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). The IRM panel found that the agency has failed the carers in several ways. This was reviewed by the ADM, who upheld the deregistration decision but advised the agency to carry out an internal review to learn from the matter. This has not taken place, and there is no evidence of reflection about the agency’s practice. Some of the areas highlighted are reflected in this report.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not always receive regular supervision. The supervising social worker was qualified for less than a year at the time, and they were the only social worker in the agency. During this time, there were gaps between their supervision sessions, and the support available to them was inadequate. The manager is currently receiving supervision and support from the ADM. Due to the potential for a conflict of interest with their decision-making role, they are not providing detailed practice guidance, but there is no other support in place for the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff and panel members have received an annual appraisal. Panel member appraisals were last carried out two years ago, and the panel chair has not received an appraisal for several years. The manager has not received an annual appraisal and experienced a three-year gap between appraisals, despite being a newly Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 6 qualified social worker during that period. Issues were raised in one of their appraisals about lack of support, but no action was taken. This highlights that management arrangements have been weak for some time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Foster carers value the regular supervision and high level of support they receive from their supervising social worker. Records indicate a lack of focus on learning and development, which affects the social worker’s ability to oversee foster carers’ learning from courses and progression with required training. In addition, actions are sometimes set that are repeated for several months without being addressed. This means that required actions can drift.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback about the agency is very positive. Foster carers feel very well supported. They like the responsiveness of the agency staff and feel confident that someone will always be there to support them when needed. Professional feedback is also positive. The social worker spoken to is very happy with the care children receive. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 7

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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 registered provider and the registered manager must, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

the size of the fostering agency, its statement of purpose, and the numbers and needs of the children placed by the fostering agency, and

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Requirement Due date

the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children placed by the fostering agency, carry on or manage the fostering agency (as the case may be) with sufficient care, competence and skill.

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must undertake from time to time such training as is appropriate to ensure that they have the experience and skills necessary for managing the fostering agency. (Regulation 8 (1)(a)(b) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that any concerns about staff practice are addressed robustly and that the need for further learning is considered.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, they must ensure that if the agency is directed to carry out further actions by the ADM or anyone else, these are addressed promptly so that further learning can be identified.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient monitoring tools in place and that those tools are used effectively to provide leaders and managers with good oversight of the agency and that action is taken on any shortfalls identified through the monitoring. This specifically relates to quality assurance of assessments, carer supervision records, foster care agreements, panel minutes, transition records, and risk management plans. 3 October 2025 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 8 In addition, the responsible individual must ensure that they carry out sufficient monitoring so that they can oversee the service and promptly address any shortfalls.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, the registered provider must ensure that there are consistent management arrangements in place and that action is taken swiftly when any disruptions to management occur. Managers must be supported in undertaking training to enable them to carry out their roles effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at appropriate intervals, and

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Requirement Due date

improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (1) must provide for consultation with foster parents, children placed with foster parents, and their placing authority (unless, in the case of a fostering agency which is a voluntary organisation, it is also the placing authority). (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the review report provides analysis of the agency’s performance, together with consultation and reflection on how the feedback is used to make improvements. 3 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must review the approval of each foster parent in accordance with this regulation.

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Requirement Due date

A review must take place not more than a year after approval, and thereafter whenever the fostering service provider consider it necessary, but at intervals of not more than a year. (Regulation 28 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they fully understand the regulatory expectations so that all foster carers’ approval is reviewed within required timescales. 3 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that all persons employed by them—

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Requirement Due date

receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. (Regulation 21 (4)(a)) 3 October 2025 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 9 In particular, the provider must ensure that all staff and managers receive regular, good-quality supervision that supports their development. In addition, they must ensure that all staff and panel members receive an appraisal of their work at least annually.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person in respect of an independent fostering agency must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

the welfare of children placed or to be placed with foster parents is safeguarded and promoted at all times, and

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Requirement Due date

before making any decision affecting a child placed or to be placed with a foster parent due consideration is given to the child’s—

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Requirement Due date

wishes and feelings (having regard to the child’s age and understanding). (Regulation 11 (a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that before making decisions about whether to place a child, they have fully considered the needs of all children living in the household, as well as consulted children and their respective placing authorities where relevant. 3 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must not—

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Requirement Due date

employ a person to work for the purposes of the fostering service unless that person is fit to do so, or

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Requirement Due date

allow a person to whom paragraph (2) applies, to work for the purposes of the fostering service unless that person is fit to do so.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is not fit to work for the purposes of a fostering service unless that person—

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Requirement Due date

is physically and mentally fit for the work they are to perform, and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to that person in respect of each of the matters specified in Schedule 1. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that recruitment checks are thorough and that any gaps in an applicant’s employment history are identified and explained. Any person involved in carrying out or overseeing recruitment checks must have sufficient knowledge of safer recruitment. 3 October 2025 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 10

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that each child over the age of three has their own bedroom in the foster home. If this is not possible, the sharing of a bedroom should be agreed by each child’s responsible authority. Before seeking an agreement for children to share a bedroom, the fostering service provider should consider the potential for bullying, any history of abuse or abusive behaviour, the wishes of the children concerned, and all other pertinent facts. The assessment and decision regarding bedroom sharing should be recorded in writing. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 10.6)

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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: Red Kite Fostering 11

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Red Kite Fostering Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Rhos House, Old Radnor, Presteigne, Powys LD8 2RP

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: info@red-kite-fostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Red Kite Fostering 12 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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