All4u Fostering Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 1 All4u Fostering Ltd All4u Fostering Ltd Wood Farm, Burlings Lane, Knockholt, Sevenoaks TN14 7PF Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This is a privately owned, not-for-profit fostering service that has been in operation since 2017. The service currently has 57 children placed in 47 fostering households. It provides a range of fostering placements for children from birth to 18 years. In addition, 'staying put' and 'shared lives' arrangements are in place for young people to remain with their carers beyond their 18 th birthday.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2025.

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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: 11 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 2

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Summary of findings

Children experience warm and nurturing care which promotes a sense of belonging and supports them to feel safe. Foster carers are well equipped and supported to understand and respond to children's individual needs. Safeguarding practice is effective and there are timely responses to concerns. Partnership working is strong and there is an emerging culture of learning. Staff feel supported, appropriately trained and motivated. This all contributes to consistently high-quality care which promotes positive outcomes for children. Two requirements have been made, regarding the model of care and ensuring that foster carers have up to date information. Five recommendations have also been made. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships are at the heart of what the agency does well. Relationships between carers, staff and partner agencies demonstrate respectful communication and collaboration. Foster carers talk positively and fondly about children and are proud of them and their achievements. Carers provide children with attuned care and positive experiences, including access to clubs, activities and holidays, supporting socialisation and creating core memories for children. As a result of this, children feel part of the family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school and there is evidence of children progressing academically. Attendance at school is good and children are rewarded for their efforts. These efforts are supported by a dedicated education lead worker. Their work is central in ensuring that children have the right support and are accessing the right provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support children with complex needs well. They match them with foster carers who have the relevant skills and experience to meet their needs. Supervising social workers go above and beyond to ensure that the network of professionals involved in the child's care work together to meet and support children's needs. As a result, children's needs are well understood and there is evidence of some children thriving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive life story work from trained and experienced workers to support them to make sense of their identities. This work has been key in supporting children to understand their histories. The agency also commissions therapy on a needs-led basis to further strengthen this work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The agency promotes therapeutic approaches to children and their care. However, there are inconsistencies in foster carers' knowledge and understanding of the agency model of care. While principles of these approaches are visible, the model is not fully embedded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support care planning for children. However, staff do not consistently ensure that up-to-date care plans are available for all children. These are obtained when children move in with their carers, but they are not routinely followed up or escalated when necessary. Approaches to delegated authority are similar; tools are completed when children move in, but they are not reviewed when children's needs change or develop. This means that staff working with foster carers and children do not have access to full and current information to inform their ongoing care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Participation across the agency is an area of identified development. The agency arranges activities for both foster carers and children, which they look forward to and enjoy. However, children's involvement in decision-making regarding activities and how the service is delivered is not yet taking place. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 4 Unplanned endings with foster carers are mostly well managed, with clear transition plans ensuring that children know what is happening next. However, for one child, there was noticeable drift and a distinct lack of planning. This has impacted on the development of the child's skills in preparation for adulthood and left the child feeling uncertain about their future. For another child, barriers to maintaining links with previous foster carers have not been fully addressed or resolved; these links are important for the child as a sibling remains in their care.

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

Children report that they feel safe and have trusted adults to talk to who support them.

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

Serious incidents do not take place frequently. When they do, the manager consults with safeguarding partners and shares information appropriately. External professionals report effective communication, enabling a level of external oversight of safeguarding practices. On occasion, the regulator has not been notified of serious incidents, although this has not had any direct or negative impact on children.

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

Children rarely go missing from home; this reflects their settled status. When incidents do occur, foster carers and staff attempt to locate children quickly and return them home. Children are spoken to following any missing incidents in an effort to understand the reasons for their absence and to minimise reoccurrence.

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

When children have experienced emotional and difficult times, foster carers and staff have demonstrated resilience and 'stickability', which have supported positive longer- term outcomes for children.

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

The agency has not received any formal complaints since the last inspection. However, any grumbles are appropriately responded to. The manager schedules regular individual opportunities for foster carers to speak with her and uses this time to promote an open culture.

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

The agency ensures that appropriate safer recruitment checks are completed before employing staff. This helps to ensure that only suitable people are employed.

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

The agency fostering panel performs a thorough safeguarding function which supports practice and the care of children. Actions from the panel are shared with supervising social workers to progress. However, plans and reviews of these are not always clear, introducing the potential to cause drift.

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

The deregistration of foster carers is managed and recorded appropriately; information is maintained by the agency to ensure concerns can be shared, should any applications be submitted to gain approval elsewhere. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 5 The agency ensures that foster carers complete the mandatory training. However, expectations set by the agency are minimal and experienced foster carers are not required to refresh all courses. This is a missed opportunity for them to remain up to date with current practice. In addition to mandatory expectations, the agency provides bespoke additional training to foster carers based on any identified need.

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

Risks for children are known. The staff's proactive approach to multi-disciplinary working ensures that risks are appropriately addressed. Foster carers support children to take age-appropriate risks and learn from them, helping them navigate everyday life with confidence. Leaders and managers are aware that risk assessments are an area for further development. Risk assessments currently lack clear actions to guide foster carers on how risks should be mitigated against or responded to.

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

Safer caring plans are in place, and foster carers receive training in safer carer practices. However, the guidance provided by the agency is not always explicit and detailed, making it less helpful for newly approved foster carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child centred in her practice; she understands the agency model of care and is therapeutic in her approach. She works closely with the responsible individual and together, they have driven cohesive team working, despite the agency promoting a working from home model.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight of the agency and the case records. She fully understands the functions of the service and demonstrates an awareness of the areas needing development. These are reflected in agency development and action plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management team know the children well and can identify children's individual needs and progress. This means that they are able to make informed decisions regarding their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported in their roles, they are happy in their work and feel valued. They report that managers are accessible and available to them. Staff are supported with their professional development and specialist courses are funded to help them to carry out their roles more effectively. Staff receive regular supervision and appraisal, and reflection in these spaces is promoted. Staff who require additional support and reasonable adjustments are well supported in a timely way. One staff member said, 'I feel trusted in my role and encouraged to contribute ideas and solutions.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Foster carers are positive about their experience of working with the agency. They are supported to develop good working relationships with staff. New carers receive additional support aligned to their needs and are linked with other experienced carers to support their progress. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 6 Both staff and foster carers highlight the not-for-profit status of the agency as a positive and as a protective factor to the level of support available to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fostering panel consists of appropriately qualified and experienced panel members who are well equipped to make recommendations in the best interests of children. Currently, the diversity of panel members is limited; however, the manager is working to address this. Information and reports are submitted on time, enabling decision-making to be timely and informed. When concerns with foster carers are identified, internal investigations or standards of care are completed, and the panel then reviews approval.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency decision-maker is a senior member of the agency and is supported by an independent consultant to promote independence in decision-making. He has a long history of working in social care and in fostering roles, supporting his knowledge in undertaking the role effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While the manager evidences a good understanding of the agency, and oversight is present, there are some missed opportunities for earlier intervention, which has resulted in drift in actions for some carers and children. Action plans are not smart, which further promotes the potential for delays to occur. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 7

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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 compile a written statement in relation to the fostering service ("the statement of purpose")

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Requirement Due date

the fostering service provider must ensure that the fostering service is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the agency model of care is fully understood and applied across the service. (Regulation 3 (1)(5)) 14 August 2026

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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)) 14 August 2026 Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the wishes, feelings and views of children and those significant to them are taken into account in developing the fostering service. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 9, paragraph 1.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the service implements a proportionate approach to any risk assessment which provides guidance to foster carers on the management of risk and risk mitigation responses. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 14, paragraph 4.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children are leaving the foster family, they are helped to understand the reasons why they are leaving and that children are supported during any transition. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 24, paragraph 11.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that foster carers are supported to maintain links with children moving on and children are able to maintain relationships that are important to them. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 24, paragraph 11.6)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the manager regularly monitors all records kept by the service to ensure compliance with the service's policies, to identify any concerns about specific incidents and to identify patterns and trends, ensuring immediate action is taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. (Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, page 50, paragraph 25.2)

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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: All4u Fostering Ltd 9

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider: all4u Fostering Ltd

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Wood Farm, Burlings Lane, Knockholt, Sevenoaks TN14 7PF

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Inspectors

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector (lead) Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: All4u Fostering Ltd 10 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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