Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd Pilgrims Corner Fostering Limited The Gathering Space, Highland Court Farm, Bridge, Canterbury CT4 5HW Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency offers short-term, long-term, emergency, and parent and child placements. It currently has 17 fostering households and 25 children living with foster carers.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children cared for by the agency benefit from stable, nurturing care with foster families where they feel happy, settled and are making progress. The agency has grown steadily since the last inspection, and most children have achieved permanency, which has contributed to their sense of security and emotional well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers provide high-quality care to children. They speak positively and with pride about the children in their care. They provide attuned, responsive care and ensure children have access to enriching experiences, such as clubs, activities and holidays. These are important opportunities for children to make new friends and build core childhood memories. Children are excited about upcoming plans with their foster families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers are proactive in meeting the cultural needs of children. They demonstrate creativity and commitment in helping children understand and celebrate their identities. The value that carers place on this helps children develop their confidence in expressing themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency promotes children having safe and meaningful time with family members. Carers and staff advocate strongly for children, including challenging placing authorities when necessary to ensure arrangements are in the best interests of the child. In one instance, this led to improved safety and management of family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children access education that is appropriate to their needs. However, the clarity of education plans varies, and gaps in children’s records limit the agency’s ability to monitor educational progress effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Participation within the agency is developing. A children’s council has recently been introduced, creating a platform for children to share their views, although it is still in its early stages. Staff actively seek children’s wishes and feelings, and there is evidence that individual voices are heard. The manager has not reviewed the children’s guide to ensure that this is accessible for all children to promote children’s engagement with participation.

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

Safeguarding incidents are rare, and overall practice is effective. Carers demonstrate a clear understanding of how to respond to safeguarding concerns and receive prompt, helpful advice from the agency, including through the out-of-hours service. When incidents do occur, staff work closely with partner agencies to manage immediate risks safely and notify the regulator. The manager maintains oversight of Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

all incidents and communicates effectively with local authorities and external professionals, ensuring appropriate scrutiny and guidance.

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

Allegations are managed effectively. The agency works collaboratively with placing social workers and the local authority designated officer. Where practice concerns are identified, these are addressed through standards of care assessments, and carers are returned to panel for a review of their approval status.

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

Carers receive training to manage children’s behaviour positively, using de-escalation techniques. Since the last inspection, there has been one incident involving physical intervention. Although the intervention was proportionate and promptly reported, there was no follow-up discussion with the carer or child, and managerial oversight did not identify the need for further support or further training in de-escalation strategies.

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

Safer caring plans are not effective. Plans are generic and are not regularly reviewed to reflect changes in the household or emerging risks. This has led to missed opportunities to capture relevant and helpful information. Additionally, the social work team lacks clarity regarding the agency’s safer care policy.

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

Risk management is inconsistent. In one fostering household, bedroom sharing arrangements did not align with agency policy or wider guidance and lacked consultation or agreement with the placing authority. In another case, known e- safety risks were not clearly identified, and carers were not provided with appropriate support or guidance. There is a reactive approach to safeguarding and a lack of professional curiosity. The absence of consistent, proactive safety planning means opportunities to mitigate against risks are missed. Despite these shortfalls, there is no evidence of harm to children.

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good

The manager demonstrates commitment to oversight through regular monitoring, which is effective in some areas, such as staff training. However, this oversight is not effective across the wider service. Gaps in recording, particularly in statutory documentation such as care plans and health and education reports, have not been identified or addressed. This has contributed to a culture of drift and a lack of urgency. Current escalation processes are ineffective and do not support timely resolution of concerns.

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good

The fostering panel consists of appropriately qualified and experienced members who make recommendations in the best interests of children. The agency decision- maker provides clarity and scrutiny and receives timely information from supervising social workers and managers, enabling informed decision-making. However, post- panel actions are not robustly monitored and are not always clearly understood or followed through by the social work team. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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good

The agency’s statement of purpose contains factual inaccuracies and lacks some required information. Although subject to regular review, the poor quality of internal quality assurance processes means that these issues have not been identified.

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good

Carers complete a range of training to support their role, and regular peer support groups provide an additional layer of guidance. Managers maintain good oversight of training compliance to ensure carers meet agency mandatory standards. However, carers are not consistently provided with additional training tailored to the specific needs of children in their care. Where carers request further training, there are significant delays in the sourcing and delivery of this.

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good

Staff are up to date with mandatory training, and the manager ensures any delays are addressed promptly. The mandatory offer has recently been strengthened with training in professional curiosity and trauma-informed approaches. However, the overall training package for staff does not support ongoing professional development.

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good

Children’s records contain gaps in required information. Where information is recorded, it is not consistently written in a way that would be meaningful or helpful to children should they wish to access their files in the future. Staff do not use child- centred recording practice and this contributes to the wider concerns around oversight and quality assurance. Failure to ensure accurate, complete and reflective records limits the agency’s ability to fully monitor progress and provide children with a coherent narrative of their care experience.

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good

Staff and the manager receive regular supervision and appraisals in line with company policy. The manager benefits from external supervision by a suitably qualified practitioner. Supervision sessions and team meetings provide opportunities to reflect on practice, discuss children’s progress and support team cohesion.

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good

Relationships between staff, carers and managers are a strength of the agency. Carers report feeling well supported, including those living at a distance, and value the availability of known staff members. Feedback from external professionals is positive, highlighting good communication and effective information-sharing. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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 compile a written statement in relation to the fostering service (“the statement of purpose”) which consists of—

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Requirement Due date

a statement of the aims and objectives of the fostering service, and

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Requirement Due date

a statement as to the services and facilities (including any parent and child arrangements) provided by the fostering service.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must produce a written guide to the fostering service (“the children’s guide”) which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a summary of the procedure (the representations and complaints procedure) established—

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an independent fostering agency, under regulation 18(1),

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Requirement Due date

the address, including email address, and telephone number of the Chief Inspector.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that the fostering service is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 3 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(i)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the children’s guide should be prepared in a manner that is accessible for all children, Including, where appropriate, using suitable alternative methods of communication. 30 January 2026 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must prepare and implement a written policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children placed with foster parents from abuse or neglect, and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that policies intended to safeguard children are implemented consistently across the service and are known and understood by the staff. This includes policies covering bedroom sharing and unannounced visits. 30 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must provide foster parents with such training, advice, information and support, including support outside office hours, as appears necessary in the interests of children placed with them.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must take all reasonable steps to ensure that foster parents are familiar with, and act in accordance with the policies established in accordance with regulations 12(1) and 13(1) and (3).

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that, in relation to any child placed or to be placed with a foster parent, the foster parent is given such information, which is kept up to date, as to enable him to provide appropriate care for the child, and in particular that each foster parent is provided with a copy of the most recent version of the child’s care plan provided to the fostering service provider under regulation 6(3)(d) of the Care Planning Regulations. (Regulation 17 (1) (2) (3))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the provider assures themselves that the foster carers are familiar with their responsibilities to report any changes in circumstances, including safeguarding concerns, and can and will act in accordance with the agency’s safeguarding policy to keep children safe. This includes taking immediate actions where safeguarding concerns are emerging and that training is provided to carers to meet the children’s current needs. 30 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for— monitoring the matters set out in Schedule 6 at appropriate intervals, and 30 January 2026 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there are efficient and robust processes in place so that the agency has access to children’s placement plans, care plans, annual health assessments, review minutes, delegated authority, medical consent and education, health and care plans.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s health is promoted in accordance with their placement plan and that foster carers are clear about what responsibilities and decisions are delegated to them and where consent for medical treatment needs to be obtained. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 6.5)  The registered person should ensure they follow up with the responsible authority any gaps in the information provided to them on the child or the child’s family, which may hinder the foster carer in providing a safe caring environment that meets the child’s needs and enables them to keep the child, other children in the fostering household and the foster carer him/herself safe. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 15.2)  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

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Recommendations

now or in the future. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 26.6)

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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: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: The Gathering Space, Highland Court Farm, Bridge, Canterbury, CT4 5HW

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Susan Bartholomew

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: admin@pilgrimscorner.co.uk

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Inspectors

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector (lead) Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Pilgrims Corner Fostering Ltd 9 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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