Foster Care Associates South Western

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 1 Foster Care Associates South Western Foster Care Associates Limited Unit 1, Delamore Park, Cornwood, Ivybridge PL21 9QP Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted in December 2023. Its statement of purpose states that it provides a service for looked-after children and young people of all ages whose needs have been assessed by the responsible local authority as being best met by a foster carer.

p.1

Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, the agency had 107 foster carers, with 99 children placed.

p.1

Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2020 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The independent fostering agency provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the independent fostering agency contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 2

p.1

outstanding

Most children do exceptionally well and make significant progress while living with their carers. The agency has thoroughly embedded therapeutic approaches to the care of children. They have a skilled therapist who supports every aspect of the agency’s work, from pre-application courses to stabilisation meetings. Foster carers say that their support is invaluable in helping them develop practical, bespoke strategies that make a positive difference to how they respond to children and support them. The therapist’s support is visible throughout children’s records, and members of staff, foster carers and external professionals say this is making a measurable difference to children’s outcomes.

p.2

outstanding

Children spoken to were very positive and said they have no worries and that they know who to talk to if they have any concerns. Children said, ‘She’s my rock’ and ‘I can be me because of [name of carer].’ Overall, plans for children are comprehensive, individualised and reviewed regularly. In most case files, records are written to the child, using the child’s words, and are strengths based. An exceptional example was seen of a carer’s log for a nonverbal child with complex health needs.

p.2

outstanding

Carers quickly establish routines and boundaries for children that help them thrive. Carers use carefully thought-out strategies to help children express their emotions and find healthy ways to manage distress. Two siblings, whose relationship had been harmful when they moved to their carer, now have a healthy sibling bond. The foster carer said that the support they received from the therapist helped them develop parenting strategies that both children responded to well.

p.2

outstanding

Carers are fierce advocates for the children they care for and speak with genuine warmth and affection. There are many children who have been in long-term placements and ‘staying put’ arrangements with the same carers who have remained committed to their care through periods of distress. Carers speak about the value of the therapeutic guidance they receive in supporting children through these periods. The agency makes effective use of stability meetings to minimise unplanned endings with a strong focus on therapeutic and multi-agency collaboration.

p.2

outstanding

An enthusiastic and child focused participation lead arranges opportunities for children to engage with the service. The agency offers children and families a wide range of activities to join in. Children and carers said that they enjoy these activities as they provide opportunities to have fun days out and meet old and new friends. Children contribute to activity planning.

p.2

outstanding

Education is highly valued and promoted across the agency. All children are meaningfully engaged in education, training or employment. Children do well in education, and foster carers advocate strongly for them when their educational needs are not being met. There are dedicated education specialists who have dual roles which focus on addressing barriers to education, such as having appropriate Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 3 support in school alongside providing bespoke individual interventions to children. The agency offers comprehensive opportunities for children and young people to achieve vocational qualifications in a wide range of areas. This supports children who have struggled to engage with mainstream education to build self-esteem and progress their skills.

p.2

outstanding

Children’s health needs are being met consistently. They have access to universal health services. When dentists are not available, the agency pays for private appointments until an NHS dentist is available.

p.3

outstanding

The agency provides comprehensive training and development for foster carers. This means that foster carers are knowledgeable and skilled in child development and trauma-informed approaches to parenting. Foster carers directly relate the progress children make to the specific training they have received and are encouraged to reflect on their learning by their supervising social workers.

p.3

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

Carers understand risk, and children are protected from harm. When there are safeguarding concerns, including children who are missing from home or at risk of exploitation, carers are involved in multi-agency safety plans to respond to risk. When children are missing from home, carers follow safeguarding procedures and remain in contact with the agency or the local authority as appropriate.

p.3

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

Plans to reduce risk are regularly updated to include the most recent information about incidents and the views of relevant professionals. The agency helps carers follow safeguarding procedures when there is an incident or concern. Actions taken by the agency to safeguard are robust, and there is effective oversight of incidents. Carers are supported by a well-organised and responsive out-of-hours service when the office is closed. The agency has developed a thorough strategy for identifying and monitoring children who may be at risk of child sexual exploitation.

p.3

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

Carers encourage children’s independence through age-appropriate decision-making and safe risk taking. Carers have sensitive conversations with children about social media, mobile phones and unsupervised time away from home.

p.3

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

The agency approaches allegation management in a robust way, consistently following a clear process and maintaining oversight of each allegation. The registered manager ensures clear communication with foster parents subject to an allegation. All foster parents subject to an allegation have a foster talk referral made to offer independent support to the family. Management oversight is evident in all records, with clear outcomes and reasons documented for each decision made.

p.3

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

There are well-structured systems in place to monitor any safeguarding concerns. Dedicated managers are involved in tracking concerns to ensure effective safeguarding responses. There are well-thought-out processes in place to learn from events and incidents. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 4 For two children there are more significant concerns about their safety. The agency ensure safeguarding concerns are identified and there are robust responses to support children. However, leaders and managers have not taken all possible action to escalate concerns when there are gaps or shortfalls in the wider multi-agency network.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers in this agency are aspirational and model a child-focused therapeutic approach to staff. They promote innovative approaches to caring for children and support the team in developing their skills and knowledge in all areas.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The agency has a stable team of staff who have been in post since the last inspection. Feedback from staff is incredibly positive about the management team and the wider organisation. Staff report being well supported and encouraged to progress in their roles. They have access to a wide range of training and learning materials, and time is provided for them to make the most of these opportunities. Staff say this helps them improve their practice and develop new and innovative ways of supporting carers and children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision is prioritised, and staff feel supported and valued by the organisation and managers. Supervision sessions are held monthly and involve a combination of personal, career-development and case discussions.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Support and retention are high priorities, and, as a result, carers report feeling valued by the agency. The agency has several foster carers who have been with the service for many years. Carers speak extremely highly of the support from the agency in times of need. Carers have commented on the visibility of approachable managers and a strong sense of belonging to the agency.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have high expectations for the quality of their assessments of new carers. A dedicated and experienced assessment manager focuses on the assessment process and the need for timeliness and transparency for all applicants. This has ensured that potential applicants are fully aware of the expectations of being a foster carer and are supported in the early stages of their application to be fully prepared for fostering.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A passionate and knowledgeable chair leads the fostering panel. The panel arrangements have recently changed to a regional service shared between agencies in the wider organisation. This provides the agency with greater flexibility through more frequent panels. The panel minutes are well recorded, and reports submitted to the panel are quality assured and consistently graded to be of a high standard. Fostering assessments are good quality and cover all the main issues.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The panel chair, adviser and agency decision-maker all hold relevant experience and subject knowledge, making them well placed in their respective roles. A further strength of the panel lies in the diversity offered through panel membership. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 5 Improvements are underway to fully incorporate the views of children and carers into the panel process.

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings are taken into account, unless this is contrary to their interests or adversely affects other members of the foster care household. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 1.1)  The registered person should ensure that the fostering service works effectively in partnership with other agencies concerned with child protection, such as responsible authorities, schools, hospitals and general practitioners, and does not work in isolation from them. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.7)

p.5

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: Foster Care Associates South Western 6

p.5

Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Foster Care Associates Limited

p.6

Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

p.6

Independent fostering agency details

Email address: Naomi.Pollard@thefca.co.uk

p.6

Inspectors

Penelope Kutz, Regulatory Inspection Manager Stacey Pellow, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South Western 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

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

p.7