The Together Trust Fostering Service

Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 1 The Together Trust Fostering Service Together Trust The Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1JE Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this independent fostering agency

This agency is owned and managed by a registered charity. The charity also provides education services and owns and manages several residential care homes.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency registered with Ofsted in 2003.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2017.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

At the time of this inspection, there were 22 children placed with the agency in 18 fostering households.

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Information about this independent fostering agency

The agency provides short-term, long-term and respite placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The independent fostering agency is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 1 December 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 2

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress, and many have remained settled for several years. Foster carers and staff understand children’s needs. They are prompt to address issues regarding children’s learning and health needs.

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, there have been changes made to strengthen children’s safety. These changes have impacted the relationship between the agency and foster carers, resulting in some foster carers leaving. Leaders and managers are working to overcome the relationship issues.

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Summary of findings

The manager, staff and foster carers ensure that children are safe. Support workers offer an additional layer of support for children and foster carers. There is a diverse, experienced fostering panel that offers appropriate challenge to the agency. However, annual reviews do not always include the information required to demonstrate foster carers’ progress or identify areas for development.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers understand the strengths and weaknesses and have plans in place to continue developing the service. However, monitoring systems are not robust and lack holistic analysis, which means patterns of concern may be missed.

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improvement to be good

Many children have lived with their fostering family for a significant period of time, have remained settled and are making progress. When children become unsettled and foster carers are struggling to support them, the agency provides additional support from the supervising social worker and support workers.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, several foster carers have left the agency. Some foster carers spoke positively about their experiences and noted the agency is trying to rectify concerns. However, some foster carers raised concerns about the lack of clarity regarding the changes being made and their views not always being heard. The agency has recognised this and has plans in place to strengthen its relationships with carers.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Foster carers understand children’s plans and support them to spend safe time with their families.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers support children to attend school and encourage them to learn. When children are struggling with their education, foster carers, supported by the agency, are proactive in communicating with and advocating to external professionals to ensure that children receive the right support they need. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 3 Foster carers keep records of the children’s day-to-day experiences. These are written in a sensitive and child-friendly manner.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers and agency staff understand children’s health needs. Foster carers and agency staff liaise with external services, such as the child and adolescent mental health services and the substance misuse service, to ensure that the right support is available for children. Referrals for the assessment of children’s needs are completed promptly, and these are frequently followed up to prevent children from failing to access the support they need.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers and agency staff understand their responsibilities to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers and staff benefit from access to a wide range of training opportunities, including training that is tailored to the needs and risks of the children in their care. This ensures that foster carers have the skills and knowledge to meet children’s needs and keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Foster carers’ annual reviews are carried out annually and presented to the fostering panel. Consideration is given to the standards of care when concerns arise about foster practice. However, on some occasions, foster carer reviews do not provide a balanced view of strengths and areas for development or an analysis of progress since the last review period. This means the panel members do not always have the full information needed to make recommendations about improvements in practice.

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improvement to be good

Children have adults they can talk to about any worries or concerns. Managers and staff ensure that action is taken so that children feel they are listened to. Additional support is provided to children and their foster carers to address concerns and mitigate risk, such as self-harm and online safety, for children.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear procedure in place to manage allegations against staff or foster carers, and additional training has been attended, with support from the local authority designated officer, to further develop understanding of allegations. When allegations are made, these are dealt with appropriately and referred to the relevant agencies.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised risk plans that include clear and detailed information. However, risk assessments are not always kept up to date with emerging and current risks, including clear actions when risks increase. This does not support foster carers to understand how they are expected to respond to help mitigate risks for children in a timely manner. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 4

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good

Leaders and managers understand their strengths and weaknesses and have plans in place to continue developing and improving their practice. There has been an improvement in the way the manager challenges staff, foster carers and other professionals.

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good

The manager has begun implementing systems to monitor the practice of staff and foster carers. They complete monthly file audits. However, the manager’s oversight lacks a holistic analysis of strengths and areas for development. This is a missed opportunity to identify patterns of good practice, areas for development and concerns that may affect the care provided to children.

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good

Fostering panel members have a range of experiences and skills, and new panel members have recently been recruited to further strengthen the panel’s diversity. They receive training to help them to carry out their role. The fostering panel chair is suitably experienced and manages meetings well, ensuring that all members can share their views.

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good

The manager regularly reviews the quality of care provided by the agency. However, the review is not sent to the regulator in a timely manner, often several months after completion. This makes it difficult for the regulator to maintain oversight of current issues and how they will be addressed.

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good

The manager ensures that concerns about staff and foster carers’ practice are addressed and takes appropriate action. However, the manager does not take prompt action to inform external agencies, such as the Disclosure and Barring Service and Social Work England, when they have concerns that they consider are likely to significantly impact children’s safety and welfare. Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards. The registered person 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. (Regulation 35 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that opportunities to learn are taken at the earliest possible time to ensure that children are kept as safe as possible, as quickly as possible. 31 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all relevant information about foster carers’ practice is provided within the carers’ annual review, to enable robust oversight and decision-making about their suitability to continue fostering. (Regulation 28 (1)(3)(a)) 31 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all relevant information is provided to panel, including comprehensive information about concerns relating to the practice of foster carers. (Regulation 25 (3)) 31 October 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a system in place to monitor the quality and adequacy of record-keeping and take action when needed. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 26.2)  The registered person should ensure that they report concerns about professionals’ practice to the relevant agencies when their concerns are considered likely to significantly harm the safety, rights or welfare of any child placed by the service. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 19.6)  The registered person should ensure that they promote transparency within the agency to help foster carers understand rationalisation for any changes and responses to any issues they may raise. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 25.6) Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 6  The registered person should ensure that risk assessments include new and

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Recommendations

emerging risks when they become aware of them. (‘Fostering services: national minimum standards’, 4.5)

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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: The Together Trust Fostering Service 7

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Independent fostering agency details

Registered provider address: Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1JE

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Independent fostering agency details

Email address: lisa.grundy@togethertrust.org.uk

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Inspectors

Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Zillah Brooks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for independent fostering agency: The Together Trust Fostering Service 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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