Agenda item

The Service Manager, Slough Children First (SCF), Independent Fostering agency, introduced the SCF Independent Fostering Agency 2022-23 Annual Report.

The report set out details of activities that had been undertaken to provide safe and secure foster care placements for children looked after (CLA). It also provided an overview of measures that had been taken to increase the recruitment and retention of in-house foster carers.

During a presentation the following points were raised:

• There were 45 mainstream foster careering household and 81 individual foster carers on 31 March 2023.
• For single household foster carers, 36 were males and 45 females.
• The carers age ranged from 20-24 (the youngest) and 60 – 65 (the oldest) with the average between 40 and 49.
• Further work was need to recruit more carers and for succession planning and management.
• The majority of carers were white British, which meant that ways of recruiting carers from diverse background needed to be further explored.
• The highest fostering requirement was for children aged 10 and over, whilst young people tended to remained with their foster carers through Staying Put arrangements.
• There had been a recent celebration of the longest serving foster carer who had been fostering for 20 years.

The Chair stated that such long term fostering achievements should be announced at a Council meeting and asked for the Service Manager, SCF Independent Fostering Agency to provide further details

Members were informed that there were proposals to increase respite support for foster carers, as part of the Sufficiency Strategy, which had also led to the increase in Recruited Households to seven in 2023, compared to two in 2022. It was however acknowledged that much work was still needed to increase carers for difficult placements, such as large sibling groups. A wrap around service was being provided as part of the Retention of Carers and included training.

It was also noted that there had been 9 resignations post Covid and this included some foster carers who had returned to work. The SCF Independent Fostering Agency had received a rating of ‘good’ at the Ofsted inspection in 2021, with two specific requirements relating to panel and foster carer recording log claims.

The Panel Resolved to: To note SCF Independent Fostering Agency 2022-23 Annual Report.