Member News: TACT in London and the Southeast get Good Ofsted rating

TACT – the UK’s largest fostering charity, is pleased to announce that its fostering service in South London and Southeast England has once again been rated as Good by Ofsted, reaffirming our reputation for delivering high quality support for children and young people in care.

Following the recent inspection, Ofsted stated in its report that “the fostering service provides a good quality of care, and the experiences and outcomes for children are very positive”.

Among the praiseworthy findings by the Ofsted inspection is the high level of support we provide our foster carers, with the report stating:

Foster carers overwhelmingly say that the support they receive from the fostering service is  excellent. Staff maintain good communication with foster carers and very regularly visit them and the children at their homes. A foster carer said, ‘The supervising social workers are very experienced, knowledgeable, and supportive. Managers are all very accessible and supportive to carers. The carers are supportive of each other, and the communication between the agency and those working for them is very good.’

We are delighted, but unsurprised that Ofsted also commended TACT’s foster carers for the loving, nurturing and stable placements that children enjoy with them, illustrated by the following:

“A child said of their foster carers, ‘I like the fact that I can open up to them about any problems and not feel at all worried or scared to do so as they are extremely supportive.’

And

“A local authority social worker said, ‘The carers have gone above and beyond to provide good care to the children. We are currently assessing one of my children to be long-term matched with carers as she wishes to remain in their care and is settled and happy.’

Christina Brandi, TACT’s Executive Director for Children Services said: ‘We are pleased that Ofsted has given this independent verification of the quality of our service. It is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our foster carers and the staff that support them.”

Christina added: “We always need more foster carers in South London and Southeast England, particularly for teenagers and sibling groups.  Hopefully, our Good Ofsted rating will mean TACT continues to be the go-to agency for anyone thinking about becoming foster carers.”

Other aspects of the TACT service in South London and the Southeast Ofsted singled out for praise include good promotion of the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the children and young people, good attention to equality and diversity, and ‘exceptional’ training provided to staff and foster carers.

Source:
www.tactcare.org.uk

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