Children were put in harmful situations - Ofsted

Children were exposed to "harmful situations" by staff at the Worcester branch of a fostering agency, an Ofsted report has revealed.

Compass Fostering West, which is based at Venture Business Park in Lower Wick, was inspected after safeguarding concerns were raised.

Inspectors found that on two occasions, social workers and managers demonstrated "a lack of professional curiosity" towards foster carers, resulting in children being exposed to danger.

The report said however, overall "the agency responds well to safeguarding concerns and takes appropriate action to keep children safe", with agency bosses saying they regretted any examples where they fell below "our very high standards".

Inspectors added that the agency's managers do not always share information about child protection investigations or serious complaints with Ofsted in a timely manner.

Allegations against foster carers are well managed, but poor care planning meant that two children were placed with carers who did not have the required skills to meet their needs, the regulator noted.

"This resulted in the children having to move again shortly after moving in," the report said.

Foster carer feedback about the agency was mixed, inspectors found.

"On the whole, foster carers feel supported by their supervising social workers and valued by managers," the report said.

"However, some foster carers feel dissatisfied with the support they have received. One foster said they were considering if the agency was right for them."

Compass Fostering said the safety and wellbeing of children is "at the core of everything we do".

"We regret any instance in which we may have fallen short of our very high standards," a spokesperson said.

"Ofsted rates all our provision nationally as good. The management team in question has been strengthened, reporting processes enhanced and robust checks and balances put in place in respect of out-of-hours cover."

Worcestershire County Council said it works with Compass - a national agency - through the West Midlands Fostering Framework.

"Our social workers monitor all foster placements and raise issues if they arise, and we address [these] with agencies during routine discussions," a spokesperson said.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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