There were celebrations all round for a therapeutic fostering agency based in the North after it was awarded ‘Good’ in its first Ofsted report.
Flourish Fostering opened its North head office in Stockport in September 2023 and supports children and young people across Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.
The North service was inspected in March 2024 – its first inspection since being opened and received a ‘Good’ result overall and achieved ‘Good’ in each rated area from how well children and young people are helped and protected to the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The report commended Flourish Fostering for always keeping “children at the heart of the agency”.
The report stated: “Staff and foster parents work together to deliver the best possible outcomes for the children. Foster parents feel valued, and both staff and foster parents advocate on behalf of the children. Children are also seen regularly by staff and build positive relationships with them.
“Foster parents benefit from the therapeutic model that is embedded and runs throughout the service. The ethos of the therapeutic model of care used supports staff and foster parents to use a trauma-informed approach to care. This supports foster parents to understand, manage and respond to children’s needs.”
In terms of leadership and management, the report remarked on how the registered manager is child-centred and described her as ‘committed’ and ‘devoted.’ It highlighted the fact that all members of staff share the same “vision of achieving positive outcomes for children.”
The report also stated that foster parents spoke highly of the advice and support they received from Flourish and enjoyed the “bespoke and personalised service” they received. It also commented that foster parents have direct access to the experienced therapeutic team, including the lead clinical psychotherapist when needed, and that all staff are ‘hands-on’ and practical with their support, no matter their role or seniority in the agency.
Kath Hamblett, registered manager for Flourish Fostering North said: “We’re incredibly pleased to have achieved a rating of ‘Good’ in our first Ofsted inspection. This rating is a testament not only to our amazing staff but our amazing foster carers and children, too.”
“We’re dedicated to helping the young people in our care to thrive, to feel loved, safe and supported and we’re grateful that Ofsted can see the incredible progress we’ve made over the last 8 months.”
There are currently more than 80,000 children in care in the UK and more foster parents are urgently needed to help look after these children.
Flourish Fostering is dedicated to providing safe, nurturing homes and therapeutic support for children who need it and is encouraging people in the North of England to consider a career in foster care.
