Alliance Foster Care

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 1 Alliance Foster Care Alliance Foster Care Limited 04249271 3b Maple Court, Ash Lane, Collingtree, Northampton NN4 0NB Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

Alliance Foster Care is an independent fostering agency based in Northamptonshire. It is a standalone company that is part of the National Fostering Group. The agency provides a wide range of fostering placements, including emergency, short-term, long-term, bridging and parent and child placements.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of the inspection, the agency had 60 households and 73 children under their care.

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2023

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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: Alliance Foster Care 2

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Summary of findings

Children are at the heart of the agency’s practice and benefit from stable and nurturing foster homes where they feel valued. Children made good progress in education, emotional wellbeing and independence. Children’s views are actively sought and influence service development. Foster carers and staff advocate effectively for children and work well with partner agencies to promote safety and positive outcomes. Managers provide strong and visible leadership, supporting a stable workforce and fostering community.

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Summary of findings

While safeguarding measures responses are generally effective, improvements are needed in record-keeping, risks assessments, child friendly communication and consistent implementation of agency procedures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are at the heart of the agency’s practice and foster families. Foster carers provide nurturing and caring homes where children feel respected and valued. This strong sense of belonging helps children to develop secure relationships and make positive progress. As a result, children experience stability and remain living with foster carers for many years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills that are tailored to their age and individual needs. This learning is embedded naturally within daily family life and is promoted through everyday experiences and routines. The agency uses creative approaches to help children develop practical life skills, such as award-based programmes where children can work towards certificates and celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are gathered regularly through daily interactions, formal consultations and feedback opportunities. Children’s voices are central to the development of the agency. Feedback provided by children is reviewed by managers, who carefully evaluate feedback. Where issues are identified, these are explored promptly and appropriate action is taken to ensure children feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Foster carers feel supported by the agency, enabling them to provide good care for children. Many carers value the agency’s strong ‘family feel’ and several have remained with the agency for many years. One foster carer shared the support they get from their social worker is ‘incredible’. The agency promotes supportive relationships through initiatives such as a buddy system, from assessment through to experienced fostering. However, some carers report that support they receive has not been as consistent compared to previous years. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 3 Children are making progress while living with their foster carers. Children benefit from homes where their individual needs are understood and promoted. All children are engaged in education that meets their learning needs. Children’s emotional wellbeing is prioritised, with access to specialist support if required. Children actively

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

take part in a wide range of hobbies, interests and community-based activities to reflect their preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When unplanned endings occur, staff and foster carers support children through difficult times. Staff advocate effectively for children and work closely with carers to ensure that any decisions made are in children’s best interests. Management completes thorough reviews of unplanned endings, involving staff and foster carers, to reflect on the reasons for breakdowns and identify learning to inform future practice.

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

When children raise concerns about foster carers, the agency generally responds swiftly to safeguard children. Relevant professionals are informed and there is effective multi-agency oversight. However, in a few cases, concerns relating to foster carers were not followed up fully in line with the agency’s policy. Actions arising from investigations were not always completed in a timely manner. Despite these shortfalls, no children were left at risk of harm as a result.

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

Children are informed of actions taken in response to their concerns. This supports children feeling valued and listened to. However, letters to children are often lengthy and not presented in a child-friendly way, which can make it difficult for some children to fully understand.

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

When children go missing from home, foster carers take appropriate action to promote their safe return. When children go missing out of hours, carers are proactive in contacting on-call professionals to receive appropriate advice and guidance. Relevant professionals are informed in a timely manner, and where required, managers convene meetings with partner agencies to review risk and strengthen safety planning.

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

Foster carers have a solid understanding of risks to children and support them effectively to develop the skills needed to keep themselves safe. Foster carers and staff take appropriate and timely action when concerns about children’s welfare are identified. Management reviews all incidents of concern. However, risk assessments are not always routinely reviewed and updated to reflect children’s changing and evolving needs.

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

Foster carers support children effectively during times of crisis and use de-escalation strategies to help manage difficult situations. Physical intervention is used only as a last resort, for the minimum time necessary, and only when appropriate. However, children are not always spoken to following these incidents as outlined in the agency’s policy. This means opportunities to reflect with children and check on their welfare following these incidents are not consistent. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the management team work cohesively and share a clear ambition for the agency. This consistency of approach enables members of the management team to deputise effectively in the absence of the registered manager or team manager to ensure continuity of decision-making. The members of the management team are visible and accessible not only to staff but to foster carers too.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management places a strong emphasis on staff learning and development, ensuring that staff are supported to enhance their skills and practice. Staff report that they feel well supported by managers, which contributes to positive morale. As a result, the agency benefits from a consistent and stable staff team, which supports continuing care for children and foster carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Case records provide a clear account of children’s journeys and the work carried out with them. Records relating to children are thoughtfully written with the child in mind. However, records relating to children are not always consistently readily available on file.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Panel functions effectively and applies well-reasoned scrutiny before making recommendations. Panel members are well trained and demonstrate a good understanding of their roles. There is a suitable central list, which reflects diversity of members bringing a range of backgrounds. Assessments presented to panel are of a good quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings that prioritise the experiences and needs of children and foster carers. These forums provide opportunities for reflection, enabling staff to consider and improve their practice. As a result, staff are better supported to identify how to most effectively meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency benefits from an independent and skilled agency decision-maker. The decision-maker carefully considers panel recommendations and ensures that decisions are robust and well evidenced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management and staff are strong advocates for children and work persistently to ensure that their needs are understood and met. Foster carers highly value this support and describe the agency as being child focused. One carer commented that the agency ‘fights for every child’ and has a ‘strong ethos of every child matters’. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 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 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that risk assessments are routinely updated and reviewed to ensure they remain current to children’s needs. 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The fostering service provider must prepare and implement a written policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children placed with foster parents from abuse or neglect, and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of any allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure under paragraph (1)(b) must, subject to paragraph (4), provide in particular for—

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Requirement Due date

written records to be kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect, and of the action taken in response. (Regulation 12 (1)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all concerns are dealt with appropriately and actions from investigations are followed up. 7 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children can take up issues in the most appropriate way with support, without fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Children receive prompt feedback on any concerns or complaints Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 6 raised and are kept informed of progress in a way that they will understand. (Fostering service: national minimum standards, page 9, paragraph 1.6).  Staff, volunteers, panel members and fostering households understand the nature of records maintained and follow the service’s policy for the keeping and retention of files, managing confidential information and access to files (including files removed from the premises). There is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record-keeping and take action when needed. (Fostering service: national minimum standards, page 52, paragraph 26.2)

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Recommendations

 All foster carers receive training in positive care and control of children, including training in de-escalating problems and disputes. The fostering service has a clear written policy on managing behaviour, which includes supporting positive behaviour, de-escalation of conflicts and discipline. The fostering service should ensure that children are spoken to following incidents of physical intervention as outlined in policy. (Fostering service: national minimum standards, page 13, paragraph 3.8).  All foster carers have access to adequate social work and other professional support, information and advice, to enable them to provide consistent, high- quality care to the child. (Fostering service: national minimum standards, page 42, paragraph 21.6)

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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: Alliance Foster Care 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Alliance Foster Care Limited 04249271

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: admin@alliancefostercare.co.uk

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Inspectors

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Alliance Foster Care 8 regulates and inspects 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

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