‘Good’ tidings for Birmingham Children's Trust’s Fostering Agency

Foster Birmingham, Birmingham Children's Trust’s Fostering Agency, got an early Christmas present today, as they were judged as ‘Good’ following a recent Ofsted inspection.

Inspectors were able to see how children in foster care are benefitting from living in ‘stable’ and ‘safe’ homes where they feel part of a family, with their diversity, difference and identity celebrated. They also found that foster carers feel positive about the support they receive from Foster Birmingham, led by a skilled, experienced and long-standing leadership and management team.

The inspection outcome is an improvement on the previous ‘Good’ judgement (from August 2021), as this time all elements of Foster Birmingham were found to be rated ‘Good’, including ‘overall experiences and progress of children and young people’, ‘how well children and young people are helped and protected’ and ‘the effectiveness of leaders and managers’.

In addition, Ofsted noted that since the last inspection, Foster Birmingham has developed its foster carer support scheme and extended both its special guardianship order support offer and its therapeutic support offer to its foster carers.

During the inspection, conducted in late October and early November this year, inspectors looked at the overall experiences and progress of children and young people that were in foster care and noted that Foster Birmingham provides ‘effective services that meet the requirements for good’.

James Thomas, Birmingham Children’s Trust Chief Executive, said: “Maintaining ‘Good’ status for our Fostering Agency, Foster Birmingham, is a true collaborative effort by both our dedicated leadership team, our staff and our incredible foster carers, working together to provide a caring and safe environment for children and young people.

“It was especially rewarding to read how inspectors recognised the determination that staff supporting foster carers, and foster carers themselves, being committed to keeping siblings together where possible, ensuring that children benefit from living in stable foster homes where they are valued members of the family.

“The Trust is here to ensure that all connections count, and this is being personified on a daily basis between our staff and our foster carers, and most importantly between our foster carers and the children and young people they are safeguarding, supporting and nurturing – making sure their cultural identity is recognised and respected.”

Councillor Mick Brown, Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, added: “I would like to thank all our Birmingham foster carers for their dedication and unwavering commitment to changing the lives of children and young people in our city for the better.

“Being a foster carer is an incredibly hard role, as the children and young people that come into families will bring with them past and present trauma, so to read the many positive comments from inspectors that diversity and difference are celebrated by foster carers and staff is very reassuring.

“Staff at Foster Birmingham are helping to develop the range of skills our foster carers need to offer the best possible support to children, with fantastic support from the Birmingham Foster Care Association (BFCA). This inspection outcome is therefore well deserved and on behalf of all Birmingham councillors I want to say a massive well done!”

A total of 819 children placed with the agency Foster Birmingham.

In terms of carers, Foster Birmingham has 594 approved fostering households, of which 253 are kinship carers and 341 are mainstream foster carers. Six of the Foster Birmingham mainstream foster carers offer an emergency duty service, and there are 11 step-up placements and 5 Foster for Adopt placements.

If you are interested in becoming a foster carer for Foster Birmingham, please:
Ring our recruitment line: 0121 303 7575
Visit our dedicated website: www.fosterbirmingham.co.uk

Highlights of what Ofsted said about the ‘Overall experiences and progress of children and young people’:

• Children experience good-quality care that is based on their individual needs. This helps them to make progress in many areas of their lives, including education, health and emotional well-being.
• Children benefit from living in stable foster homes where they are valued members of the family.
• Many children benefit from living with their brothers and sisters in foster homes. Children’s education is prioritised by foster carers and staff.
• Children’s attendance and educational attainment are good. Achievements are recognised and celebrated.
• Diversity, difference and identity are celebrated by foster carers and staff.
• Carers meet children’s cultural needs and empower them to be proud of who they are.
• Children are helped to understand their past by dedicated and specially trained staff who support them to understand their life journeys.
• Children feel listened to. They know how to make a complaint and are encouraged to participate. There have been no complaints made by children.
• The agency continues to organise participation events based on children’s feedback and views. For example, there is a new participation event for children this December and there are plans for this to run four times a year in the future.
• Children’s views help to shape the care they receive.

Highlights of what Ofsted said about ‘How well children and young people are helped and protected’:

• Managers, staff and foster carers consistently promote the safety and well-being of children.
• Managers have a clear operational overview of safeguarding concerns. They monitor the circumstances of individual children and foster families, and the risks identified and ensure that there are timely and effective responses.
• All managers, staff and foster carers attend a range of safeguarding training. They understand internal safeguarding procedures and the roles and responsibilities of external safeguarding agencies.
• Managers ensure that the priority during any investigation is that children are kept safe. They also provide foster carers with increased support and access to independent services, in recognition of the emotional impact that child protection concerns can have on them and their wider families.
• Safety of children is under constant review. Safer care documents are live and expected to be revisited at every supervision. Plans are individualised and where appropriate; they are completed together with children to help them take ownership of their own safety.
• There is management oversight of safer care plans that ensures that when there is drift, action is taken to update them.
• Children feel safe in their homes and with their foster carers. When children are at risk of harm or require emotional support, there is careful consideration to ensure that foster carers and children receive timely help.
• The agency also has access to an inhouse service that focuses on the safety of children, especially in relation to contextual safeguarding, such as going missing from home, child criminal and sexual exploitation, county lines and gang culture. This supports foster carers to better understand the risks that children face and give them the tools and resources needed to reduce harm.

Highlights of what Ofsted said about ‘The effectiveness of leaders and managers’:

• There is an established and long-standing leadership and management team. They are skilled, experienced and appropriately qualified. They work collaboratively and effectively in the fostering agency and across the wider Trust.
• Managers and leaders have effective oversight through established monitoring and review systems.
• The registered manager is passionate about all aspects of her role and leads by example. She has high expectations that she role models effectively to staff, foster carers and partners. As a result, staff, foster carers and external professionals speak highly of her practice, drive and vision for the agency.
• Many foster carers spoke positively about the support they have and continue to receive from managers and staff. They say assessing and supervising social workers are professional, understanding, knowledgeable, child-centred and responsive. It is clear they provide valuable guidance.
• There are a range of support groups and foster carers have membership of associations including Birmingham Foster Carer Association (BFCA). One of the agency’s strengths has been their involvement in sharing good practice work and being involved in piloting projects with national organisations.
• Staff feel supported by managers and leaders, who are available and approachable. Staff say they feel valued.
• Staff receive regular supervisions with a focus on well-being. Appraisals are held annually. timely.

You can read the full report on the Ofsted website by CLICKING HERE.