Team Fostering is Outstanding

We’re delighted to announce that our North East team has been rated Outstanding by Ofsted following the latest inspection in November.

The report highlighted ‘exceptional quality care’ for children from their foster carers and the ‘significant progress’ that they make.

Providing children with stability

It also praised the fact that ‘a significant number of children experience placement stability’ and children are supported by Team Fostering to ‘stay with their foster carers as long as they need to.’

This was attributed to the ‘tight working relationship’ between Team Fostering’s family finding team, foster carers, Team Fostering supervising social workers and local authorities.

Boosting wellbeing for our children and young people

The report also shows that we live up to our ethos of putting children at the heart of everything we do. It says Team Fostering and ‘its foster carers support children to make very good progress with their physical health, emotional well-being and education. Children have access to a range of universal health services and are supported to access specialist services when they need to. On occasions, where children are struggling to get the help they need, the agency funds this.’

Feeling like a family

At Team Fostering we also provide numerous opportunities and activities for carers and young people to come together, with the report saying, ‘foster carers were unanimous in their view that the activities that the agency organises supports foster carers and children to be able to get to know one another and feel part of a ‘wider family’.’

The voice of our children and young people

Some of the quotes captured by children and young people during the inspection radiated how they feel about their foster families. These included:

“I love being loved and cannot think of anything [Name of foster carer] could do better.”

and

“[Name of foster carer] has helped me with everything and has helped me to be more positive about life. [Name of foster carer] knows me well and gives me a hug when I am upset.”

Pride in our team

Team Fostering CEO Kathryn Hayes said: “Day in, day out, I see dedication and care across the organisation. Calm, united, values-led, and always focused on what truly matters: Our children and young people.

“What moved me most during our inspection was the support shown by our Foster Carers, and the voices of children and young people who spoke so openly about their experiences.

“That feedback said it all for me and showed just how valued, respected and trusted our teams are. It’s a trust built through consistency, care and strong relationships.

“Ofsted have awarded us ‘Outstanding’ but inside Team Fostering we talk about this team being exceptional, without exception.

“To the team I feel lucky to serve, I could not be prouder of each and every one of you. Thank you for everything you do, every single day!”

To say thank you to all our foster carers and staff without whom this result wouldn’t be possible, we’re looking forward to holding a celebration event in the coming months.

You can read the full Ofsted report here