Bespoke Fostering Agency

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 1 Bespoke Fostering Agency Bespoke Fostering Agency NWES, Beacon Innovation Centre, Beacon Park, Gorleston-on-Sea NR31 7RH Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This independent fostering agency was registered with Ofsted in March 2024 and is a private provider. The agency is able to provide short-term and long-term fostering, and parent and child placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency currently has 7 foster carers across 6 fostering households providing foster placements for 9 children.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024. This is the agency’s first inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 2

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improvement to be good

The agency first approved a foster carer in May 2025. Additional foster carers have been approved since then. Therefore, some children who have moved in with their carers have not been known by the agency for very long. Two children were spoken with as part of this inspection.

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improvement to be good

There are some shortfalls in the help and protection of children and leadership and management which have limited the judgement. However, overall, children do receive good care and are making progress from their starting points.

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improvement to be good

The manager and foster carers know children well. Despite children and carers only recently becoming a part of this agency, children said they feel listened to and well supported by the agency. A child said: ‘I didn’t know my previous agency supervising social worker, it was like we were just there. Since I am one of the first children in Bespoke I get to see everyone grow at the same time as me.’ This is helping children to achieve a sense of belonging with this agency.

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improvement to be good

Children are attending school. For children who have recently moved in with their foster carers, the carers and manager worked closely with the local authority social worker and virtual school lead to ensure that a suitable education placement was provided. This is now in place for the January term. This helps to ensure that when children move in with foster carers, they do not experience unnecessary delays in accessing education in their local area. In addition, carers support children to have learning opportunities through other activities if they are out of school.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to participate in enriching activities. Children are part of after-school clubs and attend sports clubs and activities, such as swimming or gymnastics. Children spend time on holiday with their carers and some children have been abroad on holiday. This helps children to explore new things and different cultures. In addition, children are encouraged to go on school trips abroad and have the same experiences as their school peers. The manager arranges group activities across the year for all children with the agency. This has included events such as the circus, pantomime, crazy golf and Halloween events. Overall, the manager prioritises positive relationships and activities for children.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers advocate for children’s individual health needs and ensure that children attend necessary appointments to support their overall health and well-being. One carer has ensured that children receive urgent dental hygiene support.

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improvement to be good

No children had moved out of their foster homes at the time of this inspection. Children who move in are welcomed with written information about their foster carer, including photos. The manager has been present to support some children’s moves into the home. A social worker said, of their child’s recent move into their Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 3 home: ‘How truly amazing I think [carer] is, and some of the fantastic things he’s doing to help [their child] settle.’ A child said of their experience with their foster carers: ‘It’s actually really great, they really care about me.’

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not yet have safer recruitment processes in place for new staff, independent social workers or panel members. Although some initial checks are in place for staff, not all recruitment checks have been completed. This does not help the agency to assure themselves that the people working for them are safe to work with children, or assure them that people are suitable to be part of their fostering panel. In addition, it is not clear if people working for the agency have undertaken relevant safeguarding training that would support them in their safer decision-making. This does not help to keep children safe and undermines some of the work already completed by individuals working with the agency who do not have full checks or training.

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improvement to be good

Safer caring plans for families are in place but are not always individualised to children and their needs within a family. Some household members have not been considered as part of these safer caring plans. Some plans are yet to be updated when new children move into the home. This does not help to keep all family members safe and to understand what their role is while being part of a fostering family.

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improvement to be good

This agency has started supporting a small number of children and carers in the last 6 months. Many safeguarding mechanisms remain untested. Children are settled living with their carers and there are very few risk-taking behaviours. At the time of this inspection, no children have been missing from home, children have not needed to be held by their carers, there have been no unplanned endings for children and there have been no allegations made against foster carers.

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improvement to be good

Carers know their children well. They understand their needs, behaviours and vulnerabilities and explain the ways in which they are helping to keep children safe. For example, carers understand children’s vulnerabilities online and take suitable steps to keep children safe in line with their ages and stages of development. Carers can also explain the ways in which they explore positive behaviour with children and how they support children to learn new ways of managing their feelings.

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good

At the time of this inspection, the agency’s registered manager was also acting as the supervising social worker for foster carers. The boundaries of these two roles are unclear and this does not enable the manager to have good oversight of decision- making overall. There is no independent oversight at this agency of foster carer recruitment and assessment. Currently, the agency decision-maker has supervised Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 4 the registered manager through the periods of foster carer assessment. This involvement does not provide independent oversight for the review of foster carers’ approval at panel or any subsequent annual reviews. The agency is growing and there are insufficient staff employed to ensure transparency and independent oversight for these different regulatory tasks.

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good

On most occasions, the registered manager has undertaken assessments of prospective foster carers. While the reports have been suitable, there has been no quality assurance or review of these assessments to assure leaders and managers that these reports are thorough and provide all the necessary information panel would need to make a suitable recommendation. In addition, the fostering panel is not yet providing consistent feedback to the agency about reports.

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good

Some foster carer assessments have been completed by independent social workers. The registered manager has not supervised these independent social workers as part of their assessment of foster carers. This does not help the registered manager to have oversight of the assessment process and to understand carers’ suitability and the subsequent recommendation from panel. This does not help professionals to be reflective or curious about their practice and decision-making.

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good

Training for staff and panel members is not clearly identified. Induction plans for panel members are unclear and do not account for when they were assessed as suitable. Panel members have not completed relevant training within the recommended timescale. This does not assure leaders and managers that panel members have the right skills and knowledge to be making safe decisions about foster carer approvals. A new supervising social worker has been employed in December 2025 and the manager is developing an induction plan for new staff moving forward.

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good

Foster carers do not have a clear induction training plan. This does not help leaders and managers identify the skills and development needs of foster carers. Leaders and managers do not yet have good oversight of foster carer training logs and do not have clear plans in place to reach carers who may not have completed relevant training yet, including the foster carer training standards. However, the agency does have a dedicated online platform for foster carer training to support carer development.

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good

Despite some challenges in the policies and processes of setting up this new agency, the registered manager had already devised a development plan for 2026 which sought to rectify a number of the shortfalls raised. The registered manager at the time of setting up the agency focused on the quality of relationships with carers, children and professionals. This is a strength of the agency.

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good

The majority of foster carers shared their views as part of this inspection. All carers were resoundingly positive about the support they have received from the manager, with one carer calling the support ‘tremendous’. Another said: ‘Overall, I feel fortunate and proud to be with Bespoke. I would recommend Bespoke to anybody Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 5 who is a prospective foster parent.’ A third foster carer said: ‘It was honestly the best move I have made as far as fostering care goes.’

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good

A social worker and independent reviewing officer for a child were impressed by the dedication and commitment shown by the registered manager to supporting children and their foster carers. A professional said: ‘Everything was so child focused, it impresses me about Bespoke fostering.’ Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 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

The fostering service provider must ensure that there is a sufficient number of suitably qualified, competent and experienced persons working for the purposes of the fostering service, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the need to safeguard and promote the health and welfare of children placed with foster parents. (Regulation 19 (1)(a)(b)) 31 March 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. (Regulation 17 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that foster carers attend the training that the agency has identified as mandatory, including first aid and induction training (TSD). 30 June 2026

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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

This paragraph applies to any person who is employed, other than by the fostering service provider, in a position in which that person may in the course of their duties have regular contact with children placed by the fostering service. 12 December 2025 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 7 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

has the qualifications, skills and experience necessary for the work they are to perform,

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must take reasonable steps to ensure that any person working for a fostering service who is not employed by the fostering service, and to whom paragraph (2) does not apply, is appropriately supervised while carrying out their duties. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(b)(c) (4))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the written report on the person’s suitability to be approved as a foster carer sets out clearly all the information that the fostering panel and decision-maker needs in order to make an objective approval decision. The reports should be accurate and up to date and include evidence-based information that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third- party information. The reports should be prepared, signed and dated by the social worker who assessed the prospective foster carer and countersigned and dated by the fostering team manager or a team manager of another of the provider’s fostering teams. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 13.7)  The registered person should ensure that panel(s) provide sufficient quality assurance feedback to the fostering service provider on the quality of reports being presented to panel. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 14.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, volunteers and the registered person are properly managed and supported and understand who they are accountable to. The registered person should ensure that staff receive regular supervision that directly relates to the role that they are carrying out. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 24.2)  The registered person should ensure that each person on the central list is given induction training which is completed within 10 weeks of joining the central list. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 23.9)  The registered person should ensure that appropriate training on safer caring is provided for all members of the foster household, including young people of Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 8 sufficient age and understanding, and ensures that foster carers understand how safer caring principles should be applied in a way which meets the needs of

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Recommendations

individual children. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 20.9)  The registered person should ensure there is a good-quality learning and development programme, which includes induction, post-qualifying and in-service training, that staff and volunteers are supported to undertake. The programme should equip them with the skills required to meet the needs of the children, keep them up to date with professional, legal and practice developments and reflect the policies, legal obligations and business needs of the fostering service. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 23.1)  The registered person should ensure that management of the service ensures that all staff’s work and all fostering activity are consistent with the 2011 Regulations and national minimum standards and with the service’s policies and procedures. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.3)

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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: Bespoke Fostering Agency 9

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Bespoke Fostering Agency

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Beacon Innovation Centre, Camelot Road, Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth NR31 7RA

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: hello@bespokefostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Bespoke Fostering Agency 10 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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Inspector

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