Cornerstone North East Fostering Service

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 1 Cornerstone North East Fostering Service Registered provider: Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service 1st Floor, Mattersey Hall Training Centre, Retford Road, Mattersey, Doncaster DN10 5HD Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted in March 2006. It offers a range of foster placements, including short breaks, permanent, long-term, short-term and parent and child arrangements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, the agency had 13 fostering households providing care for 16 children and young people.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager has 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 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

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: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 2

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from stable and nurturing foster placements. They receive good- quality care that meets their individual needs and supports their sustained progress. Many children have lived with their foster carers for several years, which provides them with a strong sense of permanence, belonging and emotional security.

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improvement to be good

All children are in education. Foster carers work closely with schools to support children’s learning, resulting in good levels of attendance and positive educational outcomes. However, personal education plans are not recorded in some children’s files. This limits the agency’s ability to monitor educational progress effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are generally well met. Foster carers ensure that children attend routine and specialist healthcare appointments and receive the support they require. Despite this, not all children have up-to-date health assessments recorded on their case files. As a result, the agency is unable to fully evidence how children’s health needs are being monitored over time.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers speak positively about the agency’s programme of events for foster families. These events offer valuable opportunities for children and carers to engage in enjoyable activities and form supportive relationships with other fostering households. They also help strengthen connections between families and the agency’s staff.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers speak positively about the assessment and preparation process. They value the skills and confidence gained through fostering training. The agency has strengthened the assessment process to ensure that it is more evaluative. This provides a clearer understanding of carers’ strengths and areas requiring further development.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers report feeling well supported by their supervising social workers. They recognise that the agency is undergoing a period of development and improvement. The introduction of the carers’ forum has been well received and provides carers with an effective platform to express their views and influence service development. The carers’ forum expresses confidence in the direction established by the new leadership team.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding arrangements are not consistently effective. When children make allegations or disclosures, child protection procedures are not always followed. In some cases, when allegations have been made against foster carers, supervising social workers have not carried out visits within the appropriate time frames. These Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 3 delays fail to ensure that children are protected effectively and may place them at risk of harm. The management team has recognised these shortfalls and is taking steps to address them.

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improvement to be good

Some foster carers do not fully understand their responsibilities in reporting incidents or disclosures made by children. This lack of awareness means important safeguarding information is not always shared promptly with the agency. Leaders and managers have identified this shortfall and have introduced new systems and oversight arrangements to prevent a reoccurrence.

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improvement to be good

Not all children benefit from well-considered matching decisions. For some placements, there is no evidence on file demonstrating how carers’ skills and experience have been assessed against the child’s needs. The absence of clear matching documentation means that the agency cannot demonstrate that decisions are safe, well informed and in children’s best interests. This also limits carers’ understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of children placed with them.

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improvement to be good

Risk management and safe care plans are not consistently up to date for all children. This undermines the agency’s ability to demonstrate that risks are well understood, monitored and managed.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out planned and unannounced visits to ensure that children are safe, settled and well cared for. These visits take place at a frequency that reflects the needs of children and foster carers. When safeguarding concerns are known, leaders and managers share information appropriately with external safeguarding partners. Recruitment practices for staff, foster carers and panel members are safe and robust.

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good

Since the last inspection, there has been a significant change in the agency’s leadership. The previous manager, the responsible individual and the chief executive officer have all left their roles. The registered manager post has remained vacant since April 2024. Although senior leaders acted promptly to address gaps in operational management, two newly appointed managers left or moved positions before registering with Ofsted. A permanent manager has now been appointed and is in the process of registering. This lack of stability has affected the quality and consistency of management oversight.

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good

Recent staff turnover, along with leadership and management changes, has affected the quality of relationships between some foster carers and the agency. Despite this, most foster carers remain committed and continue to work positively with the service.

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good

There have also been several changes in the fostering panel, including a change of panel chair and turnover of panel members. The new chair is taking steps to Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 4 strengthen the quality of panel minutes and improve the recording of panel discussions and recommendations.

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good

Systems are in place to identify when statutory documents have not been received from placing authorities. However, these systems are not effective in ensuring that missing documentation is subsequently obtained. Therefore, leaders and managers cannot be certain that supervising social workers and foster carers are adhering to the most recent plans for the children.

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good

There is little evidence of management oversight, evaluation or decision-making recorded in children’s case files. This makes it difficult to understand the rationale behind decisions, assess the quality of practice or track children’s progress over time. The absence of recorded managerial input reduces accountability and undermines the clarity of professional reasoning.

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good

Feedback from other professionals is generally positive, although some have reported that communication could be strengthened.

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good

Staff report feeling well supported by their managers. They benefit from regular training opportunities, team meetings and supervision sessions, all of which contribute to their professional development.

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good

The new responsible individual and manager have begun to identify areas for improvement. They have produced a comprehensive action plan to drive change. However, these developments are still in their early stages, and their impact cannot yet be demonstrated. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint an individual to manage the fostering agency.

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Requirement Due date

an organisation, it must not appoint the person who is the responsible individual as the manager. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)) 27 March 2026

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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)) 27 March 2026

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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. (Regulation 11 (a)) 27 March 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: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 6

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 1st Floor, Mattersey Hall Training Centre, Retford Road, Mattersey, Doncaster DN10 5HD

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Jennifer Simpson

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: office@cornerstonenortheast.co.uk

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Inspector

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Cornerstone North East Fostering Service 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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