Coram Fostering Service Ofsted report

Coram, the UK's first children's charity has been offering better life chances for children since 1739. The fostering service provides concurrent planning for children who are subject to care proceedings and where in the view of the courts and past history there is a likelihood that children will need a permanent placement outside the birth family. The aim of the project is to prevent drift and delay in achieving permanence for these children and to reduce placement moves.

The service provides outstanding support, training and supervision to its staff and carers. This enables them to provide very high quality care to children. Services are child focused and meet individual needs extremely well. The agency positively considers applicants to become foster carers irrespective of cultural, religious or sexual orientation. The organisation is professionally managed to ensure that the functions of the agency are efficiently and effectively carried out. Carers, social workers, and independent reviewing officers are all extremely positive about the agency, foster carers and the care provided to children.

Key features of the service

  • The service put the interests and wellbeing of the child at the centre of the care planning. As a result, children’s individual needs were met extremely well.
  • It is protecting children from harm or neglect by upholding our policy in place. This gave our staff the opportunity to develop appropriate skills, knowledge and experience to ensure the safety and welfare of children.
  • It is promoting our naming ceremony which involves the birth parents, the foster carers, the agency and the social workers, in cases of placement arrangements becoming permanent.
  • The service ensures good data collection and evaluation of service activities to provide very high quality care to children.
  • It is currently promoting the Children’s Workforce Development Council standards for foster carers to encourage all carers to work towards achieving these standards.