View Safeguarding Procedures View Safeguarding Procedures

6.1.10 Notifications to OFSTED

At the point of approval, every foster carer will be reminded of the responsibilities of the Family Placement Service to notify OFSTED of any event described in Schedule 8 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2002.

These are:

  1. where a child in the placement dies
  2. where an individual in the foster home is referred to the Secretary of State under the Protection of Children Act 1999
  3. where a child in the placement has a serious illness or suffers a serious accident
  4. where there is an outbreak in the foster home of any infectious disease which in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner attending the foster home is sufficiently serious to be notified
  5. where there is an allegation that a child in the placement has committed a serious crime
  6. where there is involvement or suspected involvement of a child in the placement in sexual exploitation
  7. where there is a serious incident relating to a child in the placement which necessitates calling the police to the foster home
  8. where a child in the placement absconds
  9. where a serious complaint about a foster carer is received
  10. where a Section 47 Enquiry is initiated in relation a child in the placement

Relevant West Yorkshire Consortium Interagency Safeguarding Procedures

Section 47 Enquiries and Core Assessments Procedure

On receipt of information from a foster carer or from another source, the supervising social worker for the foster carer with whom the child is placed will complete the Form OFSTED Notifiable Incident Record – FOS 01i and Wakefield MDC’s Notifiable Incident Report.

The documents will be passed to the Fostering Team Manager or Service Manager, Children’s Placements for signature and FOS 01i will be sent to OFSTED. The outcomes of any investigations and actions planned will also be formally recorded on RAISE.

The Child Care Teams hold the lead responsibility to assess the information and take any action necessary to ensure the safety and protection of the child.  Where an allegation is made against a foster carer – see Allegations or Concerns about Foster Carers or Members of their Household Procedure.

The Fostering Team Manager is responsible for liaising with the Child Care Team Manager to ensure that , unless the child’s welfare would be compromised, the child’s parents must be notified without delay about significant events.

Following consultations/meetings with the foster carer and relevant professionals and others, the Fostering Team Manager and supervising social worker for the foster carers will identify any actions necessary in respect of:

  • standards of care from the foster carers
  • safe care arrangements within the placement
  • additional support to the placement
  • registration arrangements
  • the need to convene a Foster Carer Review – see Review of Foster Carers Procedure

Copies of the notification will be passed to the administrative staff to be inputted on the foster carer’s file and the central monitoring database.

Notifiable events will be regularly monitored by the Fostering Team at management team meetings.

End