Ofsted Inspection
Families for Children was inspected by Ofsted in June 2008 and we were judged to be an ‘Outstanding’ agency. This is the highest accolade possible and confirms the hard work and dedication we all put into achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people.
The agency was assessed against all key national minimum standards and each individual outcome was awarded an outstanding rating. The inspection centred around the five Every Child Matters outcomes and Ofsted were particularly keen to see evidence of how we care for children in a safe way, promote their health, educational and developmental needs and prepare them for the transition into adulthood.
The few recommendations from our previous CSCI inspection had been implemented and exceeded. This inspection made no recommendations for improvement and considers us to be an "innovative service provider".
The inspectors visited several of our centres, met with a selection of carers and attended various groups and meetings – including The Participation Group, the Fostering Panel, the Hampshire Core Group, the Foster Carer Forum and so on. A significant number of staff were interviewed both formally and informally and questionnaires were sent to children, foster carers and other agencies for their confidential and honest opinions.
Our recruitment procedures, training and support of staff and carers and our safeguarding mechanisms were scrutinised and commended. The inspectors were also very impressed that we include foster carers, children and young people in developing our services.
The most all-encompassing quote to share from the report is:-
"Families for Children is innovative and does not stand still; it strives for excellence. Systems are in place to constantly review the effectiveness of the agency. Placing authorities, staff, carers and children receive an outstanding service. Importantly, the agency is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people."
Much hard work went into the preparation and co-ordination of the inspection both within centres, family households and ‘behind the scenes’. We are exceptionally proud to be the only agency in this region to have succeeded and exceeded in every area within the new government benchmarking standards. We also recently received a good Ofsted education report for Southways School which confirms the positive work undertaken with children attending there. Both reports confirm the progress made in our out of school provision.
The Board of Directors would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their commitment and support in achieving this recognition and for embracing the process which led to it so wholeheartedly.
Our report places us at the forefront of fostering and will help to secure our future growth. We are absolutely delighted with the outcome; particularly given Ofsted’s increasingly stringent criteria, which has made it harder to achieve such a rating.
