Foster Care Associates South East

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 1 Foster Care Associates South East Foster Care Associates Limited Office 46, 100 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This privately owned independent fostering agency registered with Ofsted in 2004. The manager registered in April 2018.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency provides short-term and long-term care placements for children, including those who may need to live with their brothers and sisters.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, the agency had 86 approved foster families, caring for 109 children.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The inspectors spoke with some of the foster carers and children during this inspection.

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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: good

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good

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

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Summary of findings

Children receive good-quality care from committed foster carers. Effective matching, stable relationships and tailored support help children make good progress and achieve positive outcomes.

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Summary of findings

Children are safeguarded and feel safe. Leaders, managers and foster carers work effectively with partner agencies to promote children’s safety. However, improvements are needed to ensure that risks to children are consistently recognised, assessed and overseen.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers provide stable and effective leadership. Staff, foster carers and professionals value the support they receive. However, not all foster carers receive training to help them respond effectively to children’s behaviour and emotional distress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from foster carers who are committed to meeting their individual needs and helping them to make positive progress. Children enjoy stable and nurturing relationships with carers who understand their experiences and vulnerabilities. Foster carers work effectively with families and professionals to ensure that children get the support they need to thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identities are promoted. One child who had many questions about their family history benefited from direct work undertaken over a series of sessions, with local authority oversight. This ensured that complex family information was shared in a timely and age-appropriate way. Effective life-story work has helped the child develop a stronger sense of identity and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children with complex needs or disabilities are carefully matched with foster carers who have the skills, experience and commitment required to meet their needs. One child with physical disabilities and learning needs is cared for by experienced foster carers whose home has been appropriately adapted. The child benefits from a range of positive experiences, attends a specialist school and has been well supported when undergoing medical procedures. Strong partnership working with other professionals has ensured access to appropriate resources, including respite funding, enabling carers to continue to provide stable and effective care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain important relationships with their brothers and sisters or other family members through regular family-time arrangements. One child said that the initial challenge of moving away from their family has been helped by how lovely their foster carers are. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 3 Children make good progress from their starting points. They are supported to develop independence skills, access activities and enjoy a range of experiences that contribute to their personal development and wellbeing. Most children consistently attend school or college, and they have ambitions to achieve their careers of choice. The stability provided by foster carers has meant that some children remain in their care well into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are effective arrangements to seek and respond to children’s views. Children are encouraged to express their wishes and feelings through conversations with the agency’s social workers, participation activities and surveys. Feedback from children is overwhelmingly positive. Children say that they are happy, feel safe and value the care they receive from their foster carers.

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

Children say that they are safe living with their foster carers. They benefit from a culture where safeguarding concerns are responded to appropriately and information is shared with safeguarding partners.

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

Leaders and managers demonstrate a commitment to learning from incidents through management reviews, reflective discussions with staff and sharing of learning across the agency. These processes contribute to promoting children’s safety and reducing the likelihood of similar incidents recurring.

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

Leaders have invested in additional safeguarding capacity through the safeguarding and transformation lead role. This person provides consultation, training workshops and auditing activity to strengthen safeguarding practice and support the agency’s social workers and managers in responding to complex concerns. The role has increased the agency’s focus on children who may be at greater risk of harm and has enhanced professional discussion around safeguarding matters.

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

However, this practice is not consistently strong. Auditing and management oversight do not consistently identify weaknesses in records, risk assessments, safety planning or decision-making for children at increased risk of harm. In one example, a risk assessment did not sufficiently identify escalating risks or the actions needed to reduce them. As a result, managers cannot be assured that safeguarding risks are consistently recognised and responded to effectively. There is no evidence that children have been harmed because of these shortfalls. However, a requirement has been made to strengthen management oversight and quality-assurance arrangements.

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

Leaders and managers have identified some of these weaknesses and have begun to act. They recognise that a more focused and systematic approach is required, including targeted auditing, improved oversight of children at greatest risk and stronger integration of multi-agency safety planning in the agency’s records and risk assessments. These actions are meant to ensure that children get timely protection when concerns arise. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 4 Leaders and managers have developed positive relationships with safeguarding partners. Discussions with external agencies indicate that information is shared appropriately when concerns arise. Additionally, managers ensure that allegations and safeguarding matters are notified to the regulator in line with requirements. There have been no concerns raised by the local authority designated officer about

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

There are appropriate staff recruitment and vetting procedures, including obtaining overseas checks where relevant. This helps to ensure that adults working with children are suitable to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency benefits from stable leadership, with senior managers having been in post for many years. This provides continuity for staff, foster carers and children, and it supports the ongoing development of the agency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the agency’s strengths and challenges. They are reflective and open about areas requiring improvement and have implemented strategies to address these. In particular, leaders have focused on improving staff retention, strengthening management oversight and enhancing their approach to monitoring risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working for the agency and describe a supportive and child-centred culture. Staff report that they receive regular training, supervision and guidance that help them carry out their roles effectively. The agency’s social workers describe their workloads as manageable, enabling them to maintain regular contact with foster carers and children. Staff feel valued by leaders and appreciate the clear communication provided by managers. They consistently report that children remain at the centre of decision-making and that leaders promote an inclusive ethos, focused on achieving positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers are well supported by staff and value the relationships they have with the agency’s social workers and managers. Foster carers report getting good-quality training, regular supervision and opportunities to access peer support through meetings and support groups. They speak positively about the support available when caring for children with complex needs. However, not all foster carers receive training to help them understand and respond effectively to children’s behaviour. This limits managers’ assurance that carers have the skills and strategies needed to support children through periods of distress and reduce the likelihood of physical intervention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers also highlight the positive progress children in their care make. Inspectors saw examples of leaders and managers recognising and celebrating the contribution of long-serving foster carers, which helps foster carers to feel valued. However, some foster carers said that they are not always supported effectively to take breaks from their caring responsibilities. Managers are already aware of this and are looking at effective solutions. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 5 Leaders and managers actively seek and respond to the views of foster carers and children. The foster carer representative described positive and longstanding relationships with leaders and managers and highlighted the importance placed on ensuring that both carers’ and children’s voices influence the development of the agency. This ensures that everyone feels listened to and able to influence change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals are positive about the quality of care provided to the children. Local authority commissioners describe constructive and effective working relationships with managers and value their responsiveness when children require to be placed with a foster carer at short notice. Commissioners particularly praised the matching process, which ensures that children live with foster carers who can meet their needs effectively. They also recognised the agency’s strong retention of experienced foster carers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 6

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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 provider and the registered manager must, having regard to—

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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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have a good understanding of risks to children and that there is effective guidance to help foster carers keep children safe. 31 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all foster carers receive training in positive care and control of children, including training to help them understand and respond effectively to children’s behaviour. In line with the agency’s policy to use physical interventions when necessary to prevent harm, foster carers should receive appropriate training to help them do this safely and prevent injuries to them or children. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 3.8)  The registered person should ensure that foster carers are provided with breaks from caring as appropriate. These are planned to take account of the needs of any children placed. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 21.5)

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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: Foster Care Associates South East 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: Foster Care Associates Limited

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Independent fostering agency details

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

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: caroline.ellis@thefca.co.uk

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Inspectors

Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Angela Reid, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Foster Care Associates South East 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 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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