Foster children cherished and part of the family at Ofsted Outstanding local agency
A Yorkshire fostering agency is celebrating its Ofsted report after achieving Outstanding in all areas, improving its formerly ‘Good’ rating, following its assessment in April and May this year.
Foster Care Associates (FCA) Yorkshire and Lincolnshire was commended on helping children develop a strong sense of belonging and said that children were ‘cherished’ by foster parents.
Children and young people being cared for by the agency were asked for feedback on their foster parents, comments from them include: “‘It is like having a really nice, big family. I would change nothing; I really like it here and want to stay forever,” and “[Name of foster parents] are caring people. They are genuine people and listen when you have any problems.”
Over the last few years, the national rate of foster parents has been dropping, leaving a shortage of almost 7,000 foster parents, but FCA Yorks and Lincs has continued to grow its team of dedicated foster parents.
According to the report, an ‘overwhelming majority’ of foster parents had an extremely positive relationship with the agency, one foster parent said: “The agency has reignited and rejuvenated my passion for fostering and my faith in policy, procedure and protocol. They have filled my cup back up.”
Ofsted described the registered manager as having ‘exceptional oversight of the service, understanding what is working well and areas for improvement’ and said the team was ‘relentless in wanting to do the right thing for the children.’
Melanie Murphy, registered manager since 2021, said: “Delivering outstanding services to children and young people requires a lot of strength, compassion and unity from our entire team across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
“Every single foster parent and member of staff should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved and the difference they make to children who’ve been through so much in their lives.
“To all our young people, it is a privilege to provide this service for you, and you too should be so proud of all that you achieve everyday - team FCA will support you every step of the way.”
FCA works collaboratively with local authorities to provide appropriate care for children and young people and feedback from third parties was extremely positive according to Ofsted.
At the time of the inspection, the agency had 243 fostering households caring for 321 children, 33 young people are living with foster parents under ‘staying put’ arrangements which enable young people over the age of 18 years to remain living with their foster parents.
Latest government statistics show the number of children in care has continued to rise over the last few years, with more than 83,000 in the system at the end of 2024. In Yorkshire and The Humber alone there were 9,370 children in care.
The team at FCA Yorkshire and Lincolnshire is inviting anyone interested in fostering in Sheffield to get in touch for more information by visiting the website https://www.thefca.co.uk/regions/yorkshire/ or calling 0800 098 4138.