Blossom Fostering Services Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 1 Blossom Fostering Services Limited Blossom Fostering Services Limited Unit 28 Future House, Marsh Farm, Moakes, Luton LU3 3QB Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted in 2022 and is owned by a private company. It offers a range of placements for children. These placements include respite, emergency and long and short-term foster care placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of the inspection, the agency had 7 fostering households, and 7 children were being cared for.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Foster carers and children were spoken to during the inspection.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from foster carers who understand their needs. However, there are some gaps in the recording of the managers analysis of matching decisions. Records do not consistently capture the full details of discussions held with carers and professionals, limiting the evidence of how placement decisions are evaluated and overseen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a welcome guide before moving into their foster carer’s home. The documents are child-focussed and include photographs of the home and family, helping children to understand where they will be living and who will be caring for them. This approach supports children’s sense of familiarity and helps them feel more secure as they settle into their placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager, staff and foster carers are strongly committed to promoting stability for each child. Children are fully welcomed into their foster families and quickly develop a sense of belonging, which helps them feel safe, valued and supported. As a result, children experience stable placements and make sustained progress across all areas of their lives, benefitting from consistent care and positive family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children experience challenges in their home, the agency demonstrates effective multi-agency collaboration to identify and implement support strategies. Foster carers are supported to access specialist training and guidance from partner agencies, particularly to meet children’s emotional and mental health needs. Safety plans are developed with the input and oversight from relevant specialists, and carers show a clear understanding of each child’s risks and vulnerabilities, ensuring that children are safeguarded and well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making positive progress in their education. Staff and foster carers work closely with partner agencies to source support and to help the children’s engagement with learning. One child, who had previously been out of education for a significant period, has been supported to reintegrate into a mainstream school, with attendance gradually increased to a full timetable. As a result, the child is now attending regularly, enjoying their learning, and has successfully established a new network of friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers maintain records of children’s experiences; however, the level of detail is variable. The manager is aware of the inconsistency in these recordings and is reviewing additional training options to strengthen and align the quality of recordings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers said that the training provided by the agency is valuable and enhances their ability to meet children’s needs. Feedback from new carers indicates that the training programme helped them feel well-prepared for their role. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 3 Foster carers shared that they could request additional or specific training at any time, and the agency ensures that these requests are promptly accommodated. This supports ongoing professional development. However, one foster household had not completed the training, support and development standards within the timeframe set out in regulations. These foster carers did not have a clear improvement plan in place.

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

When children raise concerns about foster carers, appropriate and timely action is taken. The fostering agency works in collaboration with the social worker to undertake investigations, to ensure that the child is safe and foster carers are supported. Incidents are shared with the local authority designated officer which ensures additional professional oversight of the incident and the actions taken.

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

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are understood by foster carers who take appropriate action to ensure their safety. However, for one child, a comprehensive risk assessment and support plan was implemented by a mental health team, but the fostering agency did not have a copy of this document to work from. This does not promote effective partnership working.

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

Foster carers help children with managing their feelings. They are trained to support children if they become overwhelmed or distressed. There have not been any significant behavioural incidents for the children currently placed.

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

There has been one recorded instance of a child going missing from their home. The foster carer received appropriate support from the agency in their efforts to locate the child. Relevant professionals were informed as required. Following the child’s return, staff spoke with the child to understand the reasons for their absence, ensuring that their experience was considered and used to inform future safeguarding arrangements.

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

The agency carries out regular visits to fostering households. Foster carers benefit from guidance and support during the visits which helps them to reflect on their practice and address any emerging issues promptly.

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

The introduction of a separate children’s discussion within the supervision visits, provides children with a safe space to share any worries or concerns and ensure that their needs are closely monitored.

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

Feedback from professionals is consistently positive and reflects effective support from the agency. Professionals identify a strong focus on meeting children’s needs, supported by maintaining effective partnership working. Leaders and managers are described as proactive in advocating for children and foster carers, which contributes to positive outcomes for children.

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

The manager has not informed Ofsted of three incidents as required under Regulation 36. This minimises opportunities for the regulator to have oversight of Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 4 serious incidents involving children. Managers have accepted this and understand why they need to notify Ofsted.

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good

The registered manager is experienced, resilient and determined. However, the manager’s oversight has been affected by pressures of time and limited resources. This has impacted his ability to maintain consistent oversight of the service. The manager recognises these challenges. He has a clear plan to strengthen his oversight and further develop and grow the agency.

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good

Foster carers have experienced changes in their allocated supervising social workers. The manager was aware of the changes and took steps to reduce their effect on carers and children. Despite changes, foster carers are very happy to be part of the agency and praise the support they receive. Foster carers are confident that if they need help, their questions will be promptly responded to. They value the small size of the agency and the family feel.

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good

Systems used to record and store required information are not effective. Information is held across multiple locations and in varying formats, which limits staff accessibility. As a result, staff cannot always locate essential information promptly. This creates a risk that staff and foster carers do not have timely access to information they need to support children safely and effectively. The manager is aware of this shortfall and is taking steps to implement a central recording system for staff and foster carers.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision that prioritises the experiences of children and foster carers. Supervision for the registered manager is in place; however, it does not include a reflective component. Consequently, opportunities for the registered manager to reflect on his decision-making, oversight of practice and the overall quality of the service, is missing.

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good

On most occasions, the registered manager has undertaken assessments of prospective foster carers. While the reports have generally been suitable, some analysis has required improvement. There has been no quality assurance or review of these assessments prior to panel.

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good

Fostering panel members are suitably experienced and qualified. The fostering panel chair is suitably experienced. There is a positive relationship between the panel members and the agency staff, and this supports improvement in practice. The fostering panel functions effectively and applies proportionate scrutiny before making its recommendations. However, some of the detailed conversations taking place within the panel are not recorded in the minutes therefore, professional challenge, scrutiny and rationale for decision making is not clearly set out.

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good

The quality-of-care report contains inaccurate information. In addition, the report does not include the information as set out in regulation 35. Leaders and managers Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 5 have not yet established effective auditing systems to review and evaluate the care provided to children. As a result, this limits assurances that leaders have a clear and reliable oversight of practice. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 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 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. (Regulation 8 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that records are stored in an accessible place that can be reviewed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, fostering assessments should be quality assured to ensure they meet regulation prior to panel. When panel review fostering assessments, their decision making should be clearly set out in the panel minutes.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should review the impact that social worker retention has on the fostering agency.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should be provided with reflective supervision to support their learning and development.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that plans are in place to support foster carers to meet training expectations within timescales. 2 April 2026

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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 2 April 2026 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 7 improving the quality of foster care provided by the fostering agency.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide the Chief Inspector with a written report in respect of any review conducted for the purposes of paragraph (1) and, on request, to any local authority. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2))

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Requirement Due date

If any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 7 takes place in relation to a fostering agency, the registered person must without delay notify the persons or bodies indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table. (Regulation 36 (1)) 2 April 2026

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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: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Blossom Fostering Services Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Unit 28 Future House, Marsh Farm, Moakes, Luton, Bedfordshire LU3 3QB

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Shahzeb Adil Khan

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered manager: Jiji Thannikuzhippil Joseph

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: info@blossomfostering.co.uk

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Inspectors

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Blossom Fostering Services Limited 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

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

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