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OFSTED – Raising standards in foster care

Thursday 24 March 2016

In 2012 taking into account views of children, young people and foster carers Ofsted made improvements to their inspections of fostering services.

The evaluation schedule criteria of the inspection framework are:

  • Overall effectiveness
  • Outcomes for children and young people
  • Quality of service provision
  • Safeguarding children and young people
  • Leadership and management

Scorings are outstanding, good, adequate and inadequate. Scorings are based on evidence, so you need to capture your good practice, the progress in the child you care for in your recordings and within your meetings with supervising social worker and at all statutory meetings.

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How to evidence the good work that you do as an NFA Foster Carer:

Record and discuss the following within your meetings with supervising social worker and at all statutory meetings.

  • Efforts to involve Children and young people in every aspect of the planning of their care, e.g. how you encourage children and young people to be confident and speak out about what matters to them. How you help children and young people obtain information, work out what matters to them and reach important decisions.
  • How you demonstrate a healthy life style, cooking activities and meal planning you undertake with children and young people, activities e.g. swimming, playing in the park, any sports, how you nurture self care and personal hygiene.
  • The many ways you keep children and young people safe: monitoring television and computer usage; knowing where the child is at all times (contact/phone details) road safety; promoting the child understands feeling and staying safe. Showing how you understand and deal with bullying. How you discourage and deflect risk taking behaviour. Knowing and applying NFA’s child protection policy and procedure.
  • How you encourage the child you care for to develop his or her education: develop life skills; celebrating achievements with positive reinforcement and praise; promoting activities, interests, social activities and opportunities; creative approaches to semi-independent skills. Do encourage children and young people to write features for the magazines, (I can help) and review books, thus develop their writing skills and see their work in print.
  • All activities that you encourage: Duke of Edinburgh Award; library membership and attending any VOX groups, school council, all projects the child and young person you care for is involved in, all your and the child’s efforts and discussions around activities and events.
  • If you have challenges, disagreements, behaviours that are not acceptable, detail how these are managed how you work together with the child young person you care for to address challenges. How you completed the safe care plan as a family fully involving each member of the family.  The training and development you have received and how that has assisted you with developing your skills and understanding of the children and young people you care for.
  • Detail how you, the child’s social worker and your supervising social worker work together to make sure that Children and young people do not experience unplanned endings to their placements.

Please do discuss the above with your supervising social worker and remember to record and evidence what you do, and what progress the child or young person you are caring for is making.

Try www.ofsted.gov.uk for full information on Ofsted.

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