Top Ranking for Pathway Care South West
Posted:20th August 2008
The Newton Abbot based, Families First, part of the Pathway Care Group, one of the UK’s foremost independent fostering agencies, has been rated ‘outstanding’ by the inspection body Ofsted.
Inspectors praised many aspects of the Families First operation particularly the high levels of support and training for foster carers, which helps to ensure fostered children develop through living in a family environment.
Inspector’s also praised the effectiveness of its innovative parent and child placement scheme, whereby foster carers not only look after a foster child but also the foster child’s parents. The report further commended the Agency’s out-of-hours support services for foster carers and its commitment to developing foster children’s health, educational and emotional needs.
Foster carers are given access to highly trained and experienced social workers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Ofsted, which regulates children and young people’s services, recognised and praised the Agency’s overall performance. The aim of the body’s inspection is to assure foster children, carers, the public, local authorities, and government, of the quality and standards in fostering services.
Martin Leitch, regional manager of Families First and Pathway Care South West said: “We’re delighted with the outcome of the Ofsted report, which applauded all aspects of our work. This success could not be achieved without the dedication and commitment of our foster carers and staff. “We’ve worked tirelessly over the past year to ensure that systems and procedures are as effective and efficient as possible, and we’ll continue to work hard to build on this achievement,” he added.Inspectors also commended the Agency for its robust systems that ensure foster children are protected from harm and for making sure that accommodation provided is suited to their individual needs. Families First works in partnership with a wide range of professionals including psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and specialist drug and alcohol abuse specialists, to enable foster carers and the Agency to provide a high level of care to foster children and their parents.