Top Grades for Fostering People Scotland

Fostering People Scotland, has received the Care Inspectorate’s top grades for its latest inspection.

Rated ‘excellent’ for its quality of care and support and quality of management and leadership, the Care Inspectorate cited the outstanding service the agency provides and its demonstrable excellence when it comes to achieving outcomes for children and young people. All children, young people and foster carers the Inspectorate spoke with talked about receiving an exceptional service in all aspects of fostering work, with sector leading training programmes creating exceptional carer advocates.

The Care Inspectorate also spoke with members of the agency’s rights-based group, set up to support the voice of the young people, they shared that they felt loved and celebrated and that their foster families were very proud of them. This was echoed in the carers’ responses, with all speaking passionately and proudly of the achievements and aspirations they held for the young people they cared for.

Critically, the Care Inspectorate reported a ‘resounding, professional culture of respect and inclusion’, that was inherent in every aspect of Fostering People Scotland.

With feedback for the service overwhelmingly positive, both carers and young people could not identify areas that Fostering People Scotland could improve upon, reporting that they felt exceptionally supported and actively empowered by the service. As a result, the Care Inspectorate issued no recommendations or requirements.

Cassie Yeaman, Service Manager at Fostering People Scotland, commented: “Young people are at the heart of everything we do; we exist to provide great quality fostering placements to children, and we want to leave a positive and lasting legacy on those young lives in order to change them for the better.

“We’re therefore thrilled to have received such an overwhelmingly positive report from the Care Inspectorate; not only does it highlight the lengths we have come to achieve our vision, it also highlights the powerful impact our foster carers, and wider team are having on these children and young people, in their own words.

“Our aim is to continue to sustain, enhance and develop the quality of the service we provide to ensure our community of carers, staff, children and young people continue to enjoy empowering and life-defining experiences that will stay with them forever.”