MANAGERS at the county's fostering service do not know if all their staff are safe to work with children, an Oftsed inspection has found.

Worcestershire Children First Fostering has been told it requires improvement to be good with the effectiveness of leaders and management rated as inadequate.

Ofsted said there were omissions in the safe recruitment of staff at Worcestershire Children First Fostering with managers having no clear oversight of recruitment arrangements.

This along with different recording systems left the agency not having access to its own recruitment records.

Foster carers were also found to be vulnerable at challenging times because of a lack of thought to long-term support needs which meant the agency was unable to respond quickly at times of crisis.

Councillor Andy Roberts, cabinet member with responsibility for children and families, said it accepted the findings of the report and were committed to working with staff and foster carers to drive improvement plans forward.

At the time of the inspection in September 2021 there were 356 children placed with the independent fostering agency which was formerly part of Worcestershire County Council.

There were 121 mainstream foster carers and 136 connected persons carers.
Other findings from the report include:
Some foster carers were left feeling isolated because of poor communication and a lack of support.  Staff are without essential skills and knowledge they require for their specialist role because managers have not ensured they have all received required training. Managers have still not implemented a system that enables them to consistently monitor serious incidents or report these to Ofsted in a timely way.

 Confusion after allegations against staff or foster carers had left children potentially at risk of harm because though managers had strong systems for working in partnership with a designated officer they do not have clear systems to follow up on these matters.

Inspectors did praise the hard work of Worcestershire foster carers in the report: "Despite the shortfalls identified, children are making progress.
"This is because of the care and commitment of their foster carers, who ensure that children make progress in all areas of their life.

"Children feel part of their foster family. They are happy and settled, they enjoy a range of activities and have positive experiences of family life."

They said positive links had been made with wider professionals and staff felt well supported by managers and have manageable caseloads.

Cllr Roberts, cabinet member with responsibility for families and children said: "This is the first inspection of Worcestershire Children First's independent fostering agency since it was set up.

"We accept the findings of the report. We are committed to working with our staff and foster carers to drive our improvement plans forward, which were recognised by Ofsted.

"In addition to the areas identified that require development and improvement, Ofsted praised the quality of care provided by our foster carers which results in children feeling happy and settled, enjoying a positive family experience and making progress in all areas of their life."

To read the full report, visit: reports.ofsted.gov.uk.