Love2Foster Ltd

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 1 Love2Foster Ltd Love2Foster Ltd

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Love2Foster, Spitalfields, Bedworth CV12 8HU Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

A private company operates this fostering service. The agency was registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The fostering service provides short- and long-term fostering. At the time of this inspection, 6 children were living in 3 households.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency is managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 2

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress in the care of their foster carers. They attend education, receive appropriate support to meet their health needs and benefit from a wide range of opportunities and experiences provided by both their carers and the agency.

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Summary of findings

There have been no safeguarding incidents since the agency’s registration. Foster carers receive training and support to ensure that they understand how to respond effectively to safeguarding concerns and keep children safe.

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Summary of findings

The agency is led by an experienced manager who provides effective oversight of the service. As a relatively new and growing agency, leaders recognise areas for further development as the service continues to establish itself. However, there are clear strengths in the quality of management oversight and the support provided to foster carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because of the nurturing care they receive. They say that they feel ‘happy’ and ‘love their carers’. They feel like valued members of their households and form strong bonds with their carers and extended families. One child said, ‘My carers are my family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a sensitive and well-planned welcome to their foster homes. They are provided with information about their carers and receive a children’s guide and memory box. Additionally, the agency creates a digital memory box containing photos, certificates and other mementos. This ensures that, when children move on, they can still access important memories and information about their childhood experiences should personal items become misplaced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are carefully considered before they move in with foster carers. This helps to ensure that children are placed with carers who understand their individual needs and how best to support them. As a result, no children have experienced an unplanned ending to their placement and children are thriving in the care of their foster families. Additionally, 2 sibling groups are being supported to return to their birth families. The agency has developed positive and meaningful relationships with parents and professionals to support well-planned reunification arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity and respect. When children experience communication barriers, carers work effectively to ensure their voices are heard. For example, one child previously used Makaton to support verbal communication. Through the dedication and support of foster carers, the child’s speech has significantly improved over the last 6 months. As a result, the child no longer requires Makaton and is able to communicate using short sentences. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 3 All children are attending school and making excellent educational progress. Foster carers place a strong emphasis on education and actively promote children’s learning and social development. Children have excellent school attendance and are making good progress from their starting points. One professional said, ‘The child has made excellent progress since living with the carers. They have grown in confidence, and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

their ability to communicate and engage with staff has greatly improved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children also benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including football, swimming, ballet and martial arts. The agency held its first children’s event at Easter and has planned further activities over the summer break. These events are open to foster children and birth children. Leaders recognise the impact fostering can have on all family members and have worked hard to support birth children as they adjust to welcoming children into their homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Foster carers understand children’s individual health needs and work effectively with health professionals to ensure that children receive the support and services they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move in with foster carers, they receive information about how to raise concerns and make a complaint. Children understand who they can speak to if they have worries. The supervising social worker visits children at least every other month. As the agency grows, leaders plan to develop a children’s forum to further strengthen consultation arrangements and create additional opportunities for children to share their views, wishes and feelings.

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

Since the agency was registered, children have been settled and safeguarding incidents are rare. There has been no use of physical restraint and no incidents involving children going missing from home, self-harm, allegations or concerns relating to exploitation. Risks for children are low. However, leaders have taken a proactive approach to ensuring that carers are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed should concerns arise in the future.

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

As a result, all carers have completed additional specialist training. Training has been adapted to reflect the specific needs of children in care and is tailored to the age range of children currently placed with the agency, all of whom are of primary school age. Foster carers value this bespoke approach and report that it has enhanced their understanding of children’s needs, vulnerabilities and behaviours.

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

Foster carers demonstrate a clear understanding of how to keep children safe. They are knowledgeable about children’s individual risks and respond appropriately to concerns. Carers consistently report receiving high levels of support from the agency. Children have developed strong and trusting relationships with their carers and feel confident sharing any worries or concerns with them. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 4 Staff are recruited safely, ensuring that only suitable individuals work in the agency. Prospective foster carers receive comprehensive preparation training before approval, alongside additional bespoke training that strengthens their skills once approved. Although carers have only been approved for a relatively short period, all have already received an unannounced visit from their supervising social worker.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency is led by a passionate and experienced manager who is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for children. She is supported by a dedicated team of staff who share her ambition to provide high-quality care and stable family environments where children can thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and quality assurance systems are well established and effective. Although children have only been placed with the agency for approximately 6 months, leaders have developed monitoring systems that provide clear oversight of children’s experiences and progress. Managers review information regularly and produce 6-monthly reports that help to identify strengths, address emerging issues and determine where additional support may be required. This enables the agency to respond proactively to children’s needs and challenge other professionals where there is drift in service provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A wide range of training is available to staff and carers, online and through face-to- face delivery. Carers report that training is informative and relevant and enhances their skills. The agency promotes a strong learning culture and responds positively to requests for additional training and development opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The agency has held one fostering panel since registration. Panel members bring appropriate skills, knowledge and expertise to their role. The panel provides effective scrutiny and contributes positively to the assessment and approval of foster carers. Recommendations are well considered and supported by evidence-based analysis. The agency decision-maker carefully considers panel recommendations and makes timely, well-reasoned decisions with a clear focus on promoting children’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On one occasion, relevant information about prospective foster carers was not shared with the fostering panel or the agency decision-maker. This omission would not have affected the outcome of the assessment. Nevertheless, leaders have reflected on this as a learning opportunity and recognise the importance of ensuring that all relevant information, including any familial links within the agency, is shared transparently to promote robust decision-making and an open culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are committed to capturing and responding to the views of children. Children are regularly consulted and their views are considered. However, children’s voices are not yet fully embedded in all aspects of the agency’s operation. Further development is needed to ensure that children’s views are consistently represented within fostering panel processes when considering the suitability of prospective foster carers. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 5 Foster carers report high levels of support from the agency and speak very positively about their relationships with staff. Support groups are already established, and leaders are developing additional forums for birth children and male foster carers. Supervision takes place monthly and provides effective oversight of children’s experiences, ensuring that children are seen at least every 2 months. However, some supervision records repeat information from previous sessions. This reduces the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

quality of records and does not always provide a sufficiently detailed account of children’s lived experiences and progress. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the wishes, feelings and views of children and those significant to them are taken into account in monitoring foster carers and developing the fostering service. In particular, that children’s voices are represented at foster panel. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 1.7)  The registered person should ensure all necessary information is provided to panel members at least 5 working days in advance of the panel meeting to enable full and proper consideration. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 14.3)  The registered person should ensure meetings have a clear purpose and provide the opportunity to supervise the foster carer’s work and ensure the foster carer is meeting the child’s needs, taking into account the child’s wishes and feelings. In particular, records of each visit should clearly document children’s views from that specific visit. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 21.8)

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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: Love2Foster Ltd 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: SFB Group, Manor Court Chambers, Townsend Drive, Attleborough Fields Industrial Estate, Nuneaton CV11 6RU

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Inspectors

Joanne Hawkins, Social Care Inspector Becky Rutter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: Love2Foster Ltd 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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