Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust

Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust Bradford Children and Families Trust Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Sir Henry Mitchell House, 4 Manchester Road, Bradford BD5 0QL Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

Bradford Children and Families Trust (the Trust) is a community interest company limited by guarantee and wholly owned by Bradford Council to deliver children’s social care services within Bradford Metropolitan District. Adoption for Bradford (the agency) is a voluntary adoption agency which sits within the Trust. Some elements of the adoption service are undertaken by a regional adoption agency, specifically, the recruitment and assessment of adopters, adoption panel, family finding and post-adoption support. Other elements of the adoption process, such as the completion of child permanence reports, are undertaken by social work teams from Bradford Children and Families Trust. Foster carer approval and support are overseen by the independent fostering agency, which also sits within the Trust.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

The voluntary adoption agency is responsible for:

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

 Permanence planning, including early identification and tracking of a child requiring adoption, support to social work teams on the adoption process, preparation of child permanence reports and agency decision-maker for ‘should be placed for adoption’ decisions.  Matching and placement, including visiting potential families, agency decision- maker for matching prospective adopters and child, placement planning, adoption support planning, life-story work and independent reviewing of the child’s plan, as well as agreement to lodge an adoption application.  Adoption support, including assessment, and administration of financial support, including adoption allowances.

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Information about this voluntary adoption agency

The responsible individual has overseen the work of the agency since it was registered with Ofsted in April 2023. There has been a new manager since the last inspection. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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good

How well children, young people and adults are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The voluntary adoption agency provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 15 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children’s care plans for permanence through adoption are robustly overseen by leaders and managers. Children’s adoption plans progress in a timelier way compared with practice seen at the last inspection. Children are now having improved experiences, with more children considered for early permanence placements or fostering to adoption. As a result, most children are well matched to their adopters with whom they build trusted and secure relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Most children are introduced to their prospective adopters in a sensitive and carefully planned way. For a very small number of children moving to early permanence placements, the process is not coordinated with management oversight as effectively as it could be. In addition, some children wait for decision-making by social workers and managers when their foster carer expresses interest in becoming their adopter. These children experience a short delay in securing permanence.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Adopters are proactive in seeking information to understand the current and potential future needs of their children. For example, adopters speak to medical staff when children are transitioning from hospital to an early permanence placement or with the medical adviser prior to children moving in with adopters. This helps children to receive the best care throughout their childhood.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children maintain appropriate relationships with their birth family where this is in their best interests. Adopters arrange for children to meet with their brothers and sisters to take part in fun activities. This helps children to develop positive relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

All children now have life-story books at the point of their adoption. Social workers are creative in producing books which children enjoy referring to over time to understand their histories. Social workers also prepare later life letters. One letter read by an inspector contained a factual inaccuracy. Other letters were written using language which could be difficult to understand and therefore misunderstood. Leaders addressed the inaccuracy during the inspection and are aware that there is more work to do to ensure that the quality of later life letters is consistent.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children are encouraged by their adopters to access a range of social, educational and recreational opportunities in their local community. One child told inspectors how important this was to make friends and meet other children who are adopted.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

A very small number of children have ended their adopted placements in an unplanned way. Social workers consider, as a priority, the child’s well-being, which includes children returning to live with their previous foster carers at the point of their adoption breakdown. This provides children with a consistent carer while care planning takes place. Leaders have robust mechanisms to review the circumstances Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

around the adoption breakdown. Leaders identify lessons learned, which are appropriately considered and disseminated by the agency.

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Overall experiences and progress of service users: good

Children’s voices and the views of adopters are not yet effectively sought to inform the development of the service. Although the agency has taken steps with the regional adoption agency to engage with adopters at the point of an adoption order, this has not yet provided any feedback. There are missed opportunities for the agency to engage more creatively to seek the views of children and their parents to help develop services further.

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good

Leaders from the agency work collaboratively with the regional adoption agency to ensure that child-centred decisions are made for children who have a plan of adoption. Children are matched with suitable families who can meet their current and anticipated future needs.

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good

Leaders make timely decisions to widen family finding activity when necessary to reduce delay for children seeking permanence. Leaders are creative in their approach, for example using social media as a platform to share a child’s profile. Leaders have high aspirations for children by matching inter-agency and intercountry where this is in children’s best interests. This supports children living with adopters who can meet their individual and diverse needs.

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good

More children and their adopters are now receiving post-adoption support at the right time compared with practice seen at the last inspection. Where children are waiting, leaders review their circumstances and progress to assure themselves that there are no safeguarding concerns. Agency leaders have improved links between the regional adoption agency and the Trust’s integrated front door and early help services. As a result, adopted children can be stepped up if their level of need increases instead of continuing to wait to receive post-adoption support.

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good

The new manager has been safely recruited to the agency.

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good

Adopters understand safeguarding arrangements and how to report safeguarding concerns. There were no safeguarding concerns identified for the agency by inspectors.

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good

Adopters know how to raise issues, and most are satisfactorily resolved, resulting in a decrease in complaints within this inspection period. For the one complaint received, leaders have identified lessons learned which have been cascaded throughout the agency and Trust. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency is managed effectively by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified responsible individual and manager. As agency decision-maker, the responsible individual appropriately challenges practice to ensure that decision- making is considered and proactive for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual demonstrates that she knows the agency well. She has now established a collaborative audit process and learning is considered within the agency and Trust. A comprehensive service plan has ambition as well as addressing the areas highlighted for development at the last agency inspection. Progress has been made in some areas, such as how leaders understand the quality and impact of services commissioned from the regional adoption agency. Other areas, including gathering feedback, have not yet been progressed effectively to understand the experience of children and their adopters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual is passionate in her creation of a learning culture within the agency and Trust. The roles of adoption champions and court officers contribute to social workers becoming more confident in helping children through the adoption process. Adoption panel chairs report an improvement in adoption practice over the last 12 months, particularly the quality of child permanence reports completed by social workers. This is attributed to leaders who are committed to working collaboratively with the regional adoption agency to improve skills through report writing training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency manager has sufficient seniority to influence practice within the Trust. As a result, all children are now receiving life-story books in a timely way. The oversight of practice by leaders within the agency and managers within the Trust is not always as effective as it could be. Children’s plans for early permanence or through fostering to adoption are not always coordinated well, resulting in a very small number of children experiencing short delays in having their permanency placements confirmed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual is already addressing areas where adoption practice could be improved. She has secured funding to deliver training in relational and trauma informed practice to improve how social workers write later life letters. She has also produced a leaflet in partnership with the regional adoption agency to inform foster carers considering adoption. These actions confirm leaders’ commitment to children having the best outcomes through adoption. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they take feedback and consider the wishes, feelings and views of children to help them improve their service. (‘Adoption: national minimum standards’, page 11, 1.6)  The registered person should creatively seek feedback from service users on the adoption process and on the post-adoption support received. (‘Adoption: national minimum standards’, page 45, 15.6)  The registered person should ensure that the adoption agency has a clear statement of purpose which is available to and understood by staff and is reflected in any policies, procedures and guidance. This specifically relates to ensuring the statement of purpose details how the adoption agency oversees work by social workers from the independent fostering agency and Bradford Children and Families Trust to support and safeguard children when they move into early permanence placements or when foster carers express an interest in

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Recommendations

becoming adopters for the child. (‘Adoption: national minimum standards’, page 53, 18.1)  The registered person should ensure that they work with the children’s social work teams within Bradford Children and Families Trust to ensure that there is effective quality assurance of children’s records and life-story work during the adoption process. In particular, this refers to ensuring that information is correct and accurately written in later life letters and that management oversight of decision-making is clearly recorded. (‘Adoption: national minimum standards’, page 78, 27.2)

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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 Voluntary Adoption Agencies and the Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003, The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005, any other relevant legislation, and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Registered provider address: Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Sir Henry Mitchell House, 4 Manchester Road, Bradford BD5 0QL

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Voluntary adoption agency details

Email address: amandip.johal@bradford.gov.uk

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Inspectors

Jo Warburton, Social Care Inspector Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for voluntary adoption agency – Adoption for Bradford, Bradford Children’s and Families Trust 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

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