Children Of Colour Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 1 Children of Colour Ltd Children of Colour Ltd 102 to 116 Windmill Road, Croydon CR0 2XQ Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted in 2004 and is located in the London Borough of Croydon. It provides short- and long ‑ term foster care for children aged 2 to 18 years.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, 23 approved fostering households were providing care for 22 children. The service does not currently have any households offering ‘staying put’ arrangements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2004 and is suitably qualified.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers provide good care, and children achieve positive outcomes. Most children have lived with their foster families for long periods, often several years, helping them develop secure attachments and providing a strong sense of stability. Foster carers and staff consistently describe the agency as ‘like a family’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into their foster homes are well planned wherever possible. The agency matches foster carers’ skills and experience to children’s needs to support positive outcomes. For example, an unaccompanied child lives with a foster family who have extensive experience supporting children with similar backgrounds and also provide a partial cultural match. The child has settled well and is making very positive progress in all areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Unplanned endings for children are rare. However, when an unplanned ending occurred, agency staff did not follow up with the child to help them understand their experience. Furthermore, agency staff have taken limited steps learn about the circumstances of this ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access the health services they need. Foster carers advocate strongly for children’s health needs and secure timely support. They work closely with healthcare professionals to understand each child’s needs and how best to meet them. When children have complex needs or significant trauma histories, the agency provides carers with additional training and support. This helps the child and the foster carer understand each other’s lived experiences more fully, enabling safe and trusting care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers advocate strongly for children to ensure that they attend a school that best meets their needs. As a result, children make progress in line with their abilities and peers. Children’s attendance and attainment are consistent, and foster carers and agency staff celebrate children’s achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

No children have made complaints. The children’s guide clearly explains children’s rights and provides information on how to raise a concern if they wish to do so. The guide is available in different formats to meet each child’s age, level of understanding and communication needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of leisure activities that reflect their individual interests and hobbies. These include go ‑ karting, basketball and visiting historical sites. Foster carers support these activities, assisting children in developing their social skills, boosting their confidence, and promoting their health and wellbeing.

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

Children are protected and kept safe from harm. Children say they are safe with their foster families. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 3 The manager has continued to implement the lessons learned from a serious incident that occurred a few months before the last inspection in 2021. The introduction of a reviewing officer role has added to oversight of the care children receive. The reviewing officer meets with children, visits foster carers, and challenges practice where necessary, including referring matters back to the panel to support foster carers. This has strengthened and sustained safeguarding practice. A quality assurance manager has recently been appointed, and the impact of the role is not yet embedded. The intention is for the role to support safeguarding practice.

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

Professionals have reported no concerns about the children currently placed with the agency or about the agency’s practice. They praise how the agency successfully works with partners to safeguard children.

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

Risk assessments and safer care planning are carried out in collaboration with foster carers and social workers. The manager has some oversight of these plans, but this is not consistently recorded and evidenced.

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

There has been one incident since the last inspection where concerns arose about foster carers’ care of children. The manager contacted the local authority and used the standards of care processes appropriately to ensure that children are cared for safely.

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

Children generally do not go missing. On the few occasions this has happened, foster carers have followed the steps outlined in each child’s risk assessment to reduce risk and support their safe return. Most foster carers have received training from the local police to reduce risk to children when they are missing. Foster carers speak confidently about how this training has strengthened their practice.

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

Foster carers attend training regularly, and the agency provides a programme that covers a wide range of safeguarding topics, including exploitation and online safety. As a result, children’s risks reduce over time. Carers speak confidently about what they have learned and how the training helps them provide safe care.

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

Supervising social workers carry out unannounced visits to foster carers’ homes and ensure that children are seen alone at regular intervals. They also carry out routine health and safety checks. As a result, children live in safe, comfortable homes. Foster carers speak very highly about the support they receive from supervising social workers and value the supervision, which is focused on safeguarding as well as children’s needs and progress.

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good

The registered manager is passionate about helping foster carers support children in achieving positive outcomes. The manager is an integral part of the agency; foster carers and social workers say they feel well supported by them. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 4 There have been several changes in the leadership team. A business partner has left, and there have also been changes to the panel chair and responsible individual roles. While leaders have made progress in embedding learning from the serious incident in 2021, they have not fully addressed all the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection.

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good

Shortfalls remain in the agency’s compliance with the required standards and in overall quality assurance. The annual review of the quality of care for the previous 12 months was not submitted to Ofsted within the required time frame, and earlier reviews have gaps in the reporting periods. Children with complex needs who require medication do not have individual health plans. Both issues were raised at the last inspection but have not been sufficiently addressed. While some information about children’s health needs is recorded, it is unclear and has not been updated in line with children’s changing needs.

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good

Foster carers’ personal development plans reflect the agency’s annual training programme rather than their individual learning needs. Two carers’ plans have not been updated since 2024 to account for their ongoing development, without effective managerial oversight to identify and address this gap.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. Children and safeguarding are at the centre of these discussions. Social workers’ practice is supported by measurable timescales to guide their development. Staff receive appraisals, although the registered manager’s appraisals are not carried out annually.

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good

Recruitment practices are not yet embedded. There is no evidence that gaps in employment histories for new staff have been explored or recorded. Furthermore, staff do not receive an effective induction into the service.

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good

The agency’s fostering panel and decision-maker are independent of the agency. They provide quality assurance and regular feedback to the agency, assisting in the tracking of progress being made. Assessments to the panel are not consistently provided within timescales; therefore, some information is not up to date. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour 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, 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 person must maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

The system must provide for consultation with foster parents, children placed with foster parents, and their placing authority (unless, in the case of a fostering agency which is a voluntary organisation, it is also the placing authority). (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (2) (3))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that stakeholders are consulted and their feedback is reflected in the report. Reports must be sent to Ofsted as required.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 29 May 2026

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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. 29 May 2026 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 6 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. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) 2 3(a)(b)(c)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any gaps in staff employment histories are explored and recorded.

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must ensure that all persons employed by them—

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Requirement Due date

receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal. (Regulation 21 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must receive an annual appraisal, and all new staff members must complete an induction to the agency. 29 May 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must promote the health and development of children placed with foster parents. (Regulation 15 (1))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is a healthcare plan for children with complex health needs who require medication. 29 May 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should regularly monitor all records kept by the service to ensure compliance and identify any concerns. Action must be taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. In particular, the registered manager should review safer care plans to assess their effectiveness. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.2)  The registered person should ensure that the fostering panel makes its recommendation on the suitability of a prospective foster carer within eight months of receipt of the prospective foster carer’s application to be assessed. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 14.4) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 7  The registered person should ensure that when children are leaving the foster family, they are helped to understand the reasons why, even when the ending is unplanned. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 11.5)

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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: Children of Colour Ltd 8

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Children of Colour Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Children of Colour Ltd, 102 to 116 Windmill Road, Croydon CR0 2XQ

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Independent fostering agency details

Responsible individual: Mary Griffith-Jones

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: info@childrenofcolour.com

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Inspector

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Children of Colour Ltd 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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