Impact Fostering Limited

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 1 Impact Fostering Limited Impact Fostering Limited St Paul’s Centre, 405B Belchers Lane, Birmingham, B9 5SY Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Impact Fostering Limited is a small independent fostering agency. This is the agency’s first inspection after registration on 22 January 2025. The agency provides a range of fostering services, including short-term, long-term, sibling, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and parent and child placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, there were 7 fostering households caring for 6 children.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

There is a permanent registered manager in post. The manager is social work qualified and registered with Social Work England.

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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 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: not applicable

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good

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

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers provide nurturing, welcoming homes, where children feel safe and valued. Children describe their foster families as ‘wonderful’ and ‘love’ their foster carers. Positive relationships extend to foster carers’ birth children. Some children refer to one another as brother and sister. This sense of connection helps children to feel accepted and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Proactive foster carers act to ensure children access education without delay. Foster carers make enquiries and secure school places before children move in. Children who had not yet started primary school were able to start promptly. This prevents disruption to learning and supports a smooth transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is currently unable to attend school. Foster carers are providing them with structured support at home. The child said their foster carer is helping them learn in ways they had not experienced before.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers support children to celebrate cultural events that are important to them. Even when these events differ from the foster carers’ own cultural beliefs. Carers show sensitivity and respect for children’s backgrounds. They ensure that children maintain their identity and cultural traditions. At Christmas, some children visited a German market and enjoyed a Christmas party. Some children were able to give gifts to their family members; this was important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children make good progress in a short period of time. One social worker described the ‘change’ in 3 children as ‘a miracle’. Children who had delayed speech are learning new words and starting to talk more. Several children are presenting as happier and more settled. They are increasing in confidence because of the care and support they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers are diligent, when meeting children’s individual health needs. One foster carer identified that children had not been receiving their prescribed medication. This was for a specialist health condition and prior to when they moved in. The carer took immediate action to address this, preventing any adverse impact. As a result, there are now significant improvements in the children’s health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers are not always fully informed about a child’s needs before they move in. It is unclear whether foster carers receive enough background information. Some foster carers may not be fully prepared to meet children’s needs. This has potential to compromise stability for children. One inexperienced foster carer is caring for a child with complex needs. The agency is providing the child and their foster carer with support. The responsible individual has completed a thorough learning review, which provides appropriate recommendations. However, they are not yet embedded in practice. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 3 Records of foster carer supervision and children’s records are of good quality. They provide a detailed overview of children’s experiences, their safety and overall development. However, they do not always illustrate that children are seen and

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

The registered manager is also the agency’s supervising social worker. They understand their safeguarding role and responsibilities. Since registration, safeguarding incidents have been rare. There has been no complaints or allegations. There has been one incident when a child went missing. This was for a short time; the child was located quickly and returned home.

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

Foster carers have a clear understanding of children’s risks and behaviours. Overall, they are effective in keeping children safe. Children can talk to their foster carers if they have any worries or concerns.

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

Foster carers follow the agency’s policies and procedures to address any safeguarding concerns. Children have individualised safer care plans and risk assessments. They detail guidance for foster carers to address any areas of risk or vulnerability. However, one child’s risk assessment was not updated after a significant incident. This did not impact on their safety but had potential to.

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

Foster carer assessments are comprehensive and thorough. Assessment reports provide clear analysis of foster carers strengths and areas of vulnerability. They consider realistically any measures to mitigate vulnerability and any areas of concern. For example, when there is little information known about foster carers’ previous relationships. The agency seeks to verify this through different sources.

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

The agency promotes a trauma-informed approach to children’s behaviour. Foster carers receive training in attachment and embracing therapeutic parenting. The manager is collaborative and has strong links with professionals in the community. They use these links to ensure children receive access to services they need, such as support with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

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

Recruitment of foster carers, staff and panel members is strong. There is clear management oversight of recruitment. This ensures that only safe adults provide care and support to vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 4 The registered manager and responsible individual are ambitious and have a clear vision. The agency has a strong core value base that supports and influences the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the children and their foster carers well. They prioritise the needs of children and advocate for foster carers. Foster carers feel supported and that their views are listened to and respected.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel has appropriately qualified and experienced members, including an independent chair. The panel is diverse and provides thorough oversight of foster carer assessments. Panel applies a strong level of scrutiny and evaluation of assessments. This provides the agency with valuable insight, which informs ongoing development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A rigorous quality assurance process takes place prior to panel. This is completed by a qualified independent social worker. This further enhances the clarity, consistency and overall quality of assessments. As a result, panel members receive well ‑ prepared, high ‑ quality reports. This supports effective scrutiny and well- informed decision ‑ making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good monitoring systems in place. This allows them to maintain good oversight of children and their foster carers. These systems enable managers to track children’s progress effectively. Managers also have good oversight of the assessment process. This ensures that assessments complete within timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most foster carers receive relevant training. They also have access to in ‑ house and online learning. However, some foster carers are not trained in relation to children’s health needs. Online advice does not give foster carers sufficient knowledge. This gap presents a potential risk to children’s safety and wellbeing

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager receives regular supervision. This is with a highly experienced and qualified independent social worker. Supervision provides them with opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities of their dual role. There is a good level of scrutiny to ensure independency of each role. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 5

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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, 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 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 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) (3))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that foster carers are involved in the decision-making process that takes place prior to children moving in. Foster carers should receive all relevant information about children to enable them to make an informed decision and to assist with care planning.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, foster carers should be provided with relevant training in relation to the needs of the children they care for, such as an ongoing health condition. 20 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records detail when children are seen and spoken to. In addition to their views, wishes and feelings. In particular younger children and those with communication needs. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 1.3 and 1.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s risk assessments are updated after significant incidents and that they provide foster carers with detailed Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 6 guidance and information in relation to monitoring the safety of children. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.2)

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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 Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Impact Fostering Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: 90 Stechford Lane, Birmingham B8 2AN

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: info@impactfostering.co.uk

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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Impact Fostering LTD 8 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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Inspector

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