Assured Fostering

Statement of Purpose

Statement of Purpose

Revised 26th February 2024

This statement of purpose is written in accordance with the Fostering Service (England) Regulations 2011, Part 2, Regulations 3 & 4, and the National Minimum Standards for Fostering (NMS), Standard 16.

Assured Fostering Service Statement of Purpose is available to:

  • Anyone working for Assured Fostering Service
  • Current & prospective foster carers
  • Any child or young person placed with Assured Fostering Service
  • The parents of any child placed with Assured Fostering Service
  • Local Authorities
  • Colleagues from social care agencies
  • Ofsted Inspectors
  • Any person visiting the Assured Fostering Service website

Contents:

  1. Introduction, aims and objectives
  2. Values & legal framework
  3. Services and support provided
  4. Children’s guide and listening to children
  1. Introduction, aims & objectives

Assured Fostering is an independent fostering agency and is a private limited company registered under the Companies Act 1985 (Company Number 13021509). The registered office address is Suite 7. 1-3, The Courtyard, Calvin St, Bolton, BL1 8PB. The owners of the company are Tasnim Kauser & Rukhsana Amla who are both passionate about meeting the needs of vulnerable children within their community. 

Tasnim is a former mainstream foster carer who fostered several children and young people over a period of 15 years for two independent fostering agencies. Rukhsana acted as her dedicated support carer throughout this period. Rukhsana has also spent the past 13 years working to support children to maximise their potential within a school environment. Both understand the challenges and disadvantages that children and young people who are ‘looked after’ may experience if they do not have the stability, security, and loving home environment that enables children and young people to flourish.

Tasnim and Rukhsana have carefully recruited Karen Foster as the Registered Manager. Karen is a qualified social worker and manager who has many years’ experience in safeguarding and fostering. Karen will work in conjunction with Rukhsana Amla who is the Responsible Individual. Assured Fostering have also recruited an SSSW, Neil Raby and Administrator, Jody Carter, both of who are highly experienced in the fostering arena.

Assured Fostering is dedicated to delivering a quality, independent fostering service. The Statement of Purpose, as required by National Minimum Standards (Standard 16) and the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (Regulations 3 and 4), describes how the fostering service ensures best outcomes for children in foster care. It includes aims and objectives, values and legislation that guide service delivery and services provided. Karen & Rukhsana hold operational responsibility for the governance of the agency, as well as ensuring that all matters listed below are reviewed in line with our quality assurance policy.

  1. Values, principles and culture
  2. Strategic direction, vision and forward planning
  3. Annual business plan – reviewed and revised business plans will be developed and agreed by the Responsible Individual and Registered manager throughout the year
  4. Performance management, training & development program
  5. Policies & procedures
  6. Financial management
  7. Self-assessment report (SAR) and quality improvement plan (QIP)
  8. Legal compliance (including confidentiality and disclosure of information)
  9. Equality, diversity and inclusion
  10. Safeguarding

We aim to deliver a fostering service that offers an excellent range of foster care placements that promote and achieve the best possible outcomes for children. Foster families with Assured Fostering offer safe home environments where children have the opportunity to express their wishes and feelings, are listened to and have their views respected and, wherever possible, acted upon.

We aim to create and maintain a service that is local, is genuinely caring and offers support by using a solution focused approach and narrative that will inform all aspects of the Agency. To ensure we offer an eclectic approach we also provide all employees and foster carers with training and support to enable them to address attachment related difficulties through the use of the playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE) parenting approach.

We aim to fulfil objectives detailed in individual children’s care and placement plans, personal education plans (PEP’s) and any other relevant individual programs. Our goal is to meet and exceed National Minimum Standards (NMS) for fostering services and comply with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements.

To ensure we achieve these aims we recruit, assess, train, support and supervise foster carers so they develop the necessary skills and experience to provide quality care and offer and stable home environments. The catchment area for recruiting foster carers is the North West and Assured Fostering will maintain a supportive and local presence to foster carers and local authorities within this geographical area. All employees and foster carers will promote and aspire to exceed National Minimum Standards while working towards achieving the five outcomes in the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda:

  • Be healthy
  • Stay safe
  • Enjoy and achieve
  • Make a positive contribution 
  • Achieve economic well being

Our supervising social workers are professionally qualified and registered individually with Social Work England. The wider company support, in terms of human resources (HR), accountancy and solicitors / legal support is provided by external people who hold professional qualifications in their respective disciplines. Assured Fostering holds appropriate professional indemnity and public liability insurances.

Assured Fostering utilises a pool of independent social workers, and a therapist, who undertake work for the agency. Verification of any necessary formal qualifications in relation to the work undertaken by these professionals is obtained as part of our safe recruitment process.

The Responsible Individual and Registered Manager have engaged the services of a external supervisor, Chris Dingley, who will provide an independent quality assurance service. The Responsible Individual and Registered Manager meet regularly with Chris to aid their reflection and learning and support the advancement of the agency. Chris is a trusted person who asks provocative questions and offers constructive critique of the Agency. He is an advocate for the success of Assured Fostering and introduces a degree of scrutiny at the senior management level, ensuring we remain on course to fulfil our agency’s aims and objectives. Chris is also the Agency Decision Maker.

2. Values & legal framework

The values of Assured Fostering are consistent with those embedded in the National Minimum Standards, Working Together to Safeguard Children (revised April 2018) and any good practice guidance relevant to fostering or looked after children, which is issued nationally or locally. There is a set of key values that Assured Fostering places particular emphasis on;

  1. The child’s welfare, safety and identified needs are at the centre of the care afforded to them
  2. Children should have an enjoyable childhood, benefiting from excellent parenting, education, and healthcare, whilst enjoying a wide range of opportunities to develop their talents and skills, leading to a successful adult life
  3. Children are entitled to grow up in a loving environment that can meet their physical, emotional, and social developmental needs
  4. Every child should have his or her wishes and feelings listened to and considered in all decisions about their well-being
  5. Each child should be valued as an individual and given personalised support, consistent with their individual needs and background to develop their identity, self-confidence, self-belief, and self-worth
  6. The needs of disabled children and children with complex needs will be fully recognised and taken into account
  7. The significance of family time for looked after children with their birth and wider family is recognised, as is the foster carer role in this
  8. Children in foster care deserve to be treated as a good parent would treat their own children and to have the opportunity for as full an experience of family life and childhood as possible, without unnecessary restrictions
  9. The central importance of the child’s relationship with their foster carer should be acknowledged and foster carers should be recognised as core members of the team working with the child
  10. Foster carers have a right to full information about the child
  11. It is essential that foster carers receive relevant support services and development opportunities in order to provide the best care for children
  12. Genuine partnership between all those involved in fostering is essential to deliver the best outcomes for children. This includes the government, local government, other statutory agencies, fostering service providers and foster carers

Our Statement of Purpose meets the requirements arising from regulations and guidance that are in force regarding children in care and consideration has been given to the following;

  1. Children Act 1989 (as amended by the Adoption and Children Act 2002)
  2. Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000
  3. Care Standards Act 2000
  4. Children Act 2004
  5. Children and Young Person’s Act 2008
  6. Children and Families Act 2014

It has also considered further key regulations and guidance, and these include:

  • Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 as amended by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review and Fostering Services (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013
  • Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 as amended by the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review and Fostering Services (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013
  • Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations volume 4 – Fostering Services as amended by the Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers: Amendments to the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations volume 4
  • Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations volume 2 – Care Planning, Placement and Case Review as amended by the Delegation of Authority: Amendments to the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations volume 2
  • Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations volume 3 – Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers
  • Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption and Fostering) Regulations 2009
  • Data Protection Act 1998 (strengthened by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
  • The Children (Leaving Care) Regulations 2010
  • Working Together to Safeguard Children (revised April 2018)
  • National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services

Collectively these form the basis of the regulatory framework for the provision of fostering services and the inspection framework used by Ofsted.

3. Services & support provided

Assured Fostering approves foster carers to look after children 0-18 years of age. The foster carers provide safe, stable, nurturing and therapeutic foster placements and, along with the agency and the placing authority, develop flexible packages of support to meet the assessed needs of the children in placement.

The range of placements offered includes:

  • Short-term fostering placements
  • Long-term fostering placements
  • Respite placements
  • Bridging placements
  • Children with disabilities placements
  • Placements for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC)
  • Parent and child placements (under consideration as an area for future development/recruitment)
  • Regular short break care (under consideration as an area for future development/recruitment)

All requests for placements follow a comprehensive matching process to make sure the competencies and knowledge of our foster carers meet the needs of each child placed. Assured Fostering ensures the children placed retain family time with their family and contact with their friends where appropriate. All placements are discussed with the placing local authority and individual placement contracts are agreed in conjunction with North West tendering / contractual arrangements, or Off contract (spot purchasing) agreements.

Assured Fostering does not have any carers who exclusively offer emergency placements but should a referral for an emergency placement be received we would consider whether any carer with a vacancy could potentially be considered. The matching process would be followed as diligently as possible to minimise the risk of placement failure.

Consistent with the regulatory framework, placement plans are completed for each child, covering aspects such as essential information and delegation of authority. Pre-placement preparation takes place wherever possible. For children placed, risk assessments and safe caring processes are completed. We ensure that our foster carers adhere to all health and safety requirements within the care environment.

The therapeutic approach we have chosen to underpin our practice is the PACE parenting model. PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. These principles help to promote the experience of safety in our interactions with young people and help carers form secure attachments with the child and build a safe space for open communication. This creates the ideal environment for positive behaviour change.

An example of PACE is  Saying something that shows you understand when children are distressed such as “I know things are tough right now, but this is a problem we can share and solve together.

Direct support will be from one of our senior supervising social workers (SSSW’s). SSSW’s will each manage a caseload of 8-10 fostering households. They will have regular contact with the foster carers and children in placement and also be part of the out of hours service offered to support foster carers outside of office hours. The SSSW’s will contribute to the team around the child and attend any formal meetings that take place regarding a child in care. They will assess, plan, and review the competencies of the foster carers on their caseload which will enable them to respond to any training needs to help foster carers achieve, maintain, and exceed the Training Support and Development (TSD) standards and the national minimum standards. They will also complete outcome trackers on the children placed, in consultation with the foster carers and placing authority.

Assured Fostering believes that the recruitment and retention of dedicated and highly competent carers is fundamental to its success. Our recruitment and retention is based firmly upon the highest standards of support, management, and training. Assured Fostering will ensure that we enable our carers to meet the needs of the children they look after, and to that end they receive:

  • dedicated support 24 hours per day, 365 days per year
  • minimum of a monthly visit from their SSSW
  • weekly phone support, more if required
  • support in meeting the child’s educational needs
  • support of their SSSW at professional agency meetings
  • access to the Therapist linked with Assured Fostering
  • generous fostering allowance whilst a child is in placement
  • a regular programme of training and development covering core and enhanced training topics
  • regular support group meetings
  • regular reflect groups
  • organised activities for children
  • buddy and mentoring program

SSSW’s with Assured Fostering will complete unannounced visits at least annually, preferably twice per year. For each unannounced visit, a report will be completed, a copy of which will be made available to the foster carer/s. Any areas of concern will be addressed during the next available supervision or, in the case of any areas of serious concern, reported directly to the Registered Manager. An additional unannounced visit will take place within 4 weeks of a child being placed in a foster home.

A compliments and complaints procedure is in place, along with a management monitoring system. Assured Fostering uses compliments/complaints to inform and develop best practice. Complaints are always taken seriously, and we make every attempt to resolve problems and discontent through dialogue and negotiation. Assured Fostering believes every carer, child and partner agency has a voice and a right for this to be heard. Comments, compliments, and complaints are a useful medium to help develop the services delivered by the Agency.

A whistle blowing policy is in place for foster carers, employees, children, and partner agencies.

Any foster carer or foster child may choose to contact our regulator, Ofsted, directly regarding any complaint / allegation concerning the standard of service provided by Assured Fostering, or about the management of our service. Assured Fostering will co-operate fully with any investigation or inspection conducted by Ofsted.

Ofsted

Piccadilly Gate

Store Street 

Manchester 

M1 2WD

Tel: 0300 123 1231

The Registered Manager or Responsible Individual will automatically refer any serious complaints against foster carers to Ofsted, for information, and will advise Ofsted of the outcome of any investigation.

All complaints, representations and allegations against foster carers are monitored by the Registered Manager and reported to the Responsible Individual. Their outcomes are annually evaluated as a basis for informing future service provision. Comments and compliments are also collated, analysed and included in management reports.  Information from these processes will be shared with employees and the fostering panel.

4.Children’s guide and listening to children

Subject to the child’s age and understanding, Assured Fostering ensures the child receives the children’s guide to being fostered at the point of placement and that the foster carer explains the contents of the children’s guide in a way that is understandable. SSSW’s will also look at these with the child when they complete their first introductory visit.

The children’s guide includes a summary of what the fostering service sets out to do for children, how they can find out about their rights, how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer (IRO), children’s rights director or Ofsted if they wish to raise a concern.

We take children’s views into account when developing future paperwork and policies. They will be supported and encouraged in making decisions and being involved in reviews, where they are of an age and understanding to be able to contribute. Assured Fostering will develop regular groups for both looked after children and birth children of foster carers. This will provide an opportunity for children to share their experience of foster care. On receiving a complaint or allegation from a child, Assured Fostering will always take the matter seriously and act in accordance with the agency policy.

This Statement of Purpose will be updated at least annually or when a significant change occurs.