An independent charity which supports foster carers and finds placements for children has retained its "good" Ofsted rating.

Child Action North West (CANW), which has its head offices in Wilpshire, had an inspection at the beginning of October with Ofsted officials rating the service "good" in all areas.

A report published on November 9 stated that children made good progress from their starting points which resulted in stability in their placement settings.

It read: “Some children who have had disrupted education now attend full time and have 100 per cent attendance.

“Children are supported to stay with their foster carers after they have turned 18 years old.

“Furthermore, for children with disabilities, some carers are assessed to become ‘Shared Lives’ carers to continue caring for young people. This provides young people with continuity of care, stability and permanence into adulthood.

“Children’s physical and emotional needs are met well.

“Children’s views and voices are captured in records. This practice is strengthened by children having good relationships with their family’s supervising social worker as children are regularly seen by them.

“The charity provides a wealth of regular opportunities, activities, awards and celebrations as part of their service. These are open to all children and foster carers.

"There has been a high number of compliments and positive feedback about these events from children and carers. Foster carers and children thoroughly enjoy taking part in these events.

“Observations of interactions between children and foster carers are warm, loving and genuine. This supports children to build trust with their foster carers so that they can share any worries or concerns.

"Clear and consistent boundaries within foster carers’ homes contribute to children receiving predictable and safe care.”

Ofsted noted that the assessment, recruitment and approval of foster carers was robust, and children’s safety was supported by staff and foster carers being trained in safeguarding practices, and foster carers being trained in paediatric first aid.

The report added: “Since the previous inspection, the charity has faced challenges with the recruitment of social workers and senior staff. In response to this, the charity paused the recruitment of new foster carers temporarily.

“Managers also held cases for a short period of time to support the remaining staff and foster carers. This minimised the impact on children, carers and staff.

“Recent successful recruitment has meant that there is a full staff team and stability. The charity has now recruited an experienced and competent team manager. The team manager and registered person work interchangeably and complement each other’s practice.

“Staff said that morale is high and staff feel valued. Children and foster carers benefit from this positive work environment.”

A spokesperson for Child Action North West said: "The fostering service has been at the heart of the CANW charity for over twenty years and has cared for hundreds of children in this time continuing the legacy of the charity’s founder James Dixon who made a commitment to care for the vulnerable children of Blackburn and local areas.

"There is no doubt that it is a nerve-racking experience being inspected as you observe the inspectors tapping away on lap top keyboards checking through digital files, talking to children, foster carers and staff.

"It is a full week of providing evidence to support the answers to the constant stream of questions that flow but as Ofsted are the regulators of our fostering service, we understand the need for robust checking: especially when we care for society’s most vulnerable children.

"When you read our report you will see repeatedly words and phrases like 'high level of care', 'child centred ethos', 'foster carers feel supported', 'it’s like a family', 'safety', 'warm and nurturing', 'high morale', and all achieved after a tough period of Covid and staff shortages. 

"We now have Ian Charnock, team manager at the helm of a fully staffed team who are keen to enjoy the celebration of the Ofsted report and move forward to achieve further excellence for our children and amazing foster carers."

If anyone is thinking about fostering please contact CANW on Placements@canw.org.uk and the team will contact you to arrange a call to chat through all that is to know about fostering.