Please can you provide feedback on your experience of working with Nurture Fostering?
We have established a good working relationship with Nurture Fostering over the past couple of years. We are in regular contact with their placement team and have made some very successful matches. Once child was supported in a successful return home to her family, another carer is now in the process of being assessed to adopt one of our children. Another carer was identified who was able to keep a sibling group of four children together. This was a very sensitive case with a lot of risk to hold and the carers were very well supported by their agency. Whilst the eldest child’s needs were eventually considered to need care away from her siblings, the carers have been able to settle the other three children who are now making good progress. More recently, Nurture were able to put forward a carer to enable another sibling group to stay together.
Over the past year, we’ve had virtual meetings with the placement team to look at their current carer availability or carers about to be presented to panel to establish whether they have any potential matches for planned placements that we could explore. They were able to put forward carers for a very specific request for a child we wanted to remain in the Midlands.
I can work with the placement team at Nurture in the confidence that if they are proposing a carer, this is based on ability to meet the identified needs of a child rather than just putting forward a carer with a vacancy. As an agency, they appear to know their carers well. Whilst they are keen to highlight the positive strengths of their carers, they are also open about areas of development and won’t put a carer forward if they believe they may struggle to meet the needs of a certain child. I feel that we have an open and honest dialogue with them as an agency.
The team at Nurture have been willing and able to support moves, for example picking children up from one carer and taking them to another. They’ve helped with practical things such as going shopping out of hours to get essential clothes and bits and pieces needed for children moving in an emergency. Or sending someone round to a carer’s home to help build a cot. Really helpful and practical things.
There are times that our social work teams have requested that carers do things outside of what was initially agreed, for example in relation to contact with families. They’ve taken a flexible approach to this and have usually been able to support these requests despite this not being part of the initial placement plan being proposed.
Do we provide appropriate information in a timely manner?
Yes. Referral enquiries are responded to quickly. Where carers are being considered as a potential match for a child, all relevant information is sent through for us to explore. For planned moves, the agency are always willing to meet with us and the child’s SW, along with SSWs/prospective carers to consider matching in further detail before a decision is made. Any general enquiries/requests are responded to in a timely manner.