ADOPTION AND PERMANENCE Statement of Purpose 2019-2020 ... · ADOPTION AND PERMANENCE Statement of...
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ADOPTION AND PERMANENCE
Statement of Purpose 2019-2020
INTRODUCTION
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and
Westminster City Council joined their Adoption services in April 2012 to provide a dedicated service for
adoption across the three west London local authorities.
The main function of the Adoption Service is to provide a high quality adoption and permanence service
for children. This involves enabling children who are looked after by the London Borough of Hammersmith
& Fulham (LBHF) The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) and Westminster City Council
(WCC) and who can no longer return to live with their birth families, to move to permanent substitute
families, including with friends and family carers and other connected people. The new families should be
able to care for them throughout childhood through to adulthood and independence, and be able to respond
to their individual needs.
This Statement of Purpose is divided into three parts:
Part one sets out:
the broad aims and objectives of the service
the management structure
the services provided
the outcomes expected for children and young people and the standards of care expected
How adoptive families are recruited, approved, trained and supported.
Part Two sets out:
Information about staff numbers, qualifications and experience
Staff roles and responsibilities
Service structure chart
This information is fluid and may change if there are changes in personnel or the organisation of the service.
Part Three sets out:
Schedule of relevant policies, procedures and guidance governing the Adoption and Permanence
Service delivery.
Complaints and representations
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PART ONE
1.1. Aims and Objectives
The Adoption service’s aims and objectives comply with legislation and government regulations and
standards. These include:
The Care Standards Act 2000
The Children Act 1989
The Adoption & Children Act 2002
The Adoption Agency Regulations 2005 (amended 2011)
The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and accompanying statutory
guidance
Friends and Family Care, statutory guidance for local authorities 2011
The National Minimum Standards for adoption 2011 (updated 2014)
AIM 1
To identify the needs of individual children waiting for permanence and to find families to match
their needs within government timescales
Objectives
To take into account a child's individual assessed needs when considering a plan for permanence.
This includes a child's age, gender, ethnicity, linguistic and cultural heritage, religious background,
and any specific health or development needs.
To ensure that regular planning meetings are held for each child under 14 years’ old who is referred
to the Adoption and Permanence Service until the child is placed in their permanent home.
To ensure that adoption is considered as an option for every child referred to the service
To ensure that parallel planning is considered for each child.
To consider for all children referred if concurrent planning or foster for adoption would be
appropriate
Before stranger adoption is considered to ensure that there is no one in the child’s own friends and
family network able to offer a stable, permanent home.
If no suitable in house adoptive family is available alternative carers outside of the service to be
sought.
To participate actively in the West London Adoption and Permanence Consortium (WLAC)
exchange for children who are waiting for a permanent placement.
All children with a permanence plan for adoption for whom we are unlikely to find a suitable in
house adopter are referred to the National Adoption Register and Adoption Link
A DVD or some kind of video footage will accompany every child’s profile
Internal mechanisms are in place to monitor the progress of all children for whom a plan of
permanence has been made
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AIM 2
To offer a support service to birth families whose children achieve permanence through adoption or
Special Guardianship.
Objectives
To include birth parents in permanence planning for their children.
To provide counselling for birth parents whose children are in the adoption process, including using
the services of independent adoption support agencies.
To ensure that birth parents are informed promptly in writing about the implications of an adoption
or match recommendation when the Agency Decision Maker makes a decision.
To offer birth parents an independent worker to support them through the adoption process.
To engage birth parents and the wider family to contribute towards the child's life story book
AIM 3
To propose a suitable match for each child, and to present this to the Adoption and Permanence
Panel for recommendation and Agency decision.
Objectives
To consider the child’s assessed needs and unique characteristics including their cultural and
linguistic background, ethnic origin, health and development needs, religious persuasion, gender
and sexual orientation and how the selected permanent family can meet or promote these needs.
When potential families have been identified, to share information with the child’s social worker
and any other professionals involved with the child as necessary
To meet the prospective permanent family and obtain any further information needed.
To ensure that any family identified is fully informed about the child and the birth family, and that
the family is helped to meet with the foster carer, medical advisor and any other professionals
involved with the child. To assist the family to obtain independent advice if this is considered
necessary.
To provide adopters with clear, and accurate information in writing about the child and his or her
families background, including medical history and cultural and religious persuasion; the child’s
emotional and physical needs and any additional health or educational needs.
To convene a Child Appreciation Day for each child who is placed for adoption.
To present to the Adoption & Permanence Panel all the information about the child and prospective
adopters.
To present to the Adoption & Permanence Panel the arrangements for placement, including the
support plan.
To present to the Internal Permanence Forum any recommendations for financial support for
adoptive placements.
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To present to the Internal Permanence Forum arrangements for Special Guardianship, including
the support plan and any recommendations for financial support.
AIM 4
To ensure that each child and family experiences a suitable period of introductions based on the
individual needs of the child and family and to ensure that the transition period is fully supported.
Objectives
To arrange an introductions planning meeting for the family with professionals in order to share all
the necessary information and support arrangements, and to arrange a detailed timetable for
introductions and the move. This meeting should include the adoptive family, their social worker,
the child’s social worker, foster carer and supervising social worker and any a CAMHS professional
if they are involved with the child and/or their input would be considered helpful. The meeting is
chaired by the Team Manager or Principle Social Worker in the Adoption and Permanence Team
To convene a midway review meeting of the introductions and ensure there is regular
communication between the new permanent family, the child and other professionals during the
introductions period to monitor progress and identify any additional support that may be needed.
To ensure that the family is provided with a means tested settling in grant of up to £500 before the
child moves to their new home if they are eligible
To ensure continued support for the child and the adoptive family, including regular visits by the
child's social worker and the adopter’s social worker after the child has been placed.
To ensure that adoptive families are aware of how to respond in the event of any concerns, current
or historic, about the adopted child’s safety or protection.
To ensure that the child is safe and their health, education and emotional needs are met, including
making any necessary referrals to health and education services and informing the appropriate
Local Authority, Health and Education Authorities when the child moves.
AIM 5
To recruit and assess adoptive families to meet the needs of looked after children waiting for a
permanent family.
To welcome enquiries from prospective adopters without prejudice, and to treat them fairly and
with respect having regard to their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds, their
sexual orientation, marital status and any disability.
To run advertising campaigns to recruit families from a wide range of backgrounds who can meet
the diverse needs of the children who are waiting for adoption and permanent placement.
To prioritise applications from prospective adopters who can meet the needs of ‘harder to place’
groups of children, including sibling groups, children over the age of 4 years old, ethnic minority
children and children with disabilities and adopters who can be considered for concurrent and
fostering for adoption placements.
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To respond quickly to families who make enquiries about adoption.
To hold regular information sessions for prospective adopters.
To arrange preparation training for prospective adopters to help them gain a better understanding
of the needs of adopted children.
To provide additional training as necessary throughout the assessment process, post approval and
after a child has been placed until the Adoption Order is granted.
AIM 6
To promote a positive attitude to diversity and reduce discrimination.
Objectives
To ensure staff are aware of the diverse needs of the children in LBHF, RBKC and WCC
To offer training to all staff on equality issues, including anti-discriminatory practice.
Preparation training for prospective adopters to promote diversity awareness
To arrange for information to be translated and for interpreters to be used where necessary.
To ensure that all staff members are offered a rolling programme of training on equality issues in
line with The Equalities Act 2010.
To deal with all complaints and queries in a manner that meets departmental and national
requirements.
AIM 7
To ensure all staff and Adoption & Permanence Panel members are offered appropriate training on
adoption legislation, regulations and standards as well as child development and safeguarding
Objectives
To ensure that staff training and development needs are addressed in regular staff supervision and
in their personal development plans as part of their annual performance review.
To organise a joint annual training day for Panel members and the service
To ensure that Panel members and staff are kept up to date with any changes in practice, legislation
and standards
To ensure staff and panel members are kept up to date with safeguarding procedures
To ensure that new staff and Panel members have an adequate induction and opportunities to
observe panel.
To ensure Panel members have an annual appraisal
AIM 8
To offer a culturally sensitive service to adopted adults over the age of eighteen and adult birth
relatives of adopted adults for access to information and an intermediary service for making contact
or establishing a reunion.
Objectives
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Where LBHF, RBKC or WCC is the appropriate adoption agency, to offer access to adoption files
for adopted adults either directly or through another registered adoption agency or Intermediary
Agency
Where an adopted adult lives in the borough but RBKC, LBHF or WCC is not the appropriate
adoption agency, to offer advice, counselling and information on how to access birth and adoption
records and to liaise with other agencies, the General Registrar Office and courts.
To act as an intermediary agency for both adopted adults and adult birth relatives of adopted adults
where RBKC, LBHF or WCC is the appropriate adoption agency or where any of these people live
in the borough.
Where an adult birth relative does not live in the borough, but RBKC, LBHF or WCC is the
appropriate adoption agency, to advise people how to obtain the services of an intermediary agency.
AIM 9
To offer an assessment service to prospective Special Guardians for an LBHF, RBKC or WCC looked
after child or a child resident within any of the 3 boroughs. To provide a support service to special
guardians, children and their birth families after a special guardianship order has been made.
Objectives
To take into account a child's needs, including their background, when considering special
guardianship; their age, gender, ethnic, linguistic and cultural heritage, religious background, and
any specific health and behavioural needs
To work with the prospective special guardians to assess their ability to meet the child’s needs until
adulthood and beyond
To provide information to prospective special guardians about special guardianship and special
guardianship support.
To prepare reports for the courts in special guardianship proceedings.
To meet with prospective special guardians early in the assessment to discuss their needs for post
order support
To provide support for special guardians, including financial support, and to review their support
needs at least annually.
If a child is living with prospective special guardians before an order is made the agency will
supervise and monitor the arrangement as required by any regulations and pay particular attention
to the child’s need for protection from harm
To ensure that special guardians are aware of whom to contact locally in the event of any child
protection concerns.
The local authority will provide a letterbox service if needed after an order has been made to
facilitate correspondence between birth parents, their children and the special guardian family.
AIM 10
To offer an adoption support service to LBHF, RBKC or WCC adopted children, their birth families
and their adoptive parents
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Objectives
To include birth parents in permanence planning for their children
To provide counselling and an independent worker for birth parents to support them through the
adoption process (this may be provided by the independent adoption support agency After Adoption
or the Post Adoption Centre).
To arrange for translations of material and for interpreters where necessary.
To provide a letter box service, receiving, checking and forwarding letters, photographs and
information between an adopted child, their birth family and their adoptive family
To arrange, supervise and monitor face to face contact between adopted children and their birth
family where agreed by the court.
To provide advice, support and information to adopted children and young adults, their adoptive
families and their birth families for at least three years after an adoption order is made.
1.2 Securing and Promoting Children’s Welfare:
Helping Children Achieve More (Every Child Matters)
The Adoption Service works to improve the lives of looked after children through:
Helping children to be healthy
Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them to stay safe
Helping children to achieve and enjoy what they do
Helping children to make a positive contribution
Helping children to be healthy
Each child with a place for adoption decision has a full adoption medical, and child health report
written by one of the agency’s medical advisors.
Adopters are given information about a child’s health, including information about administrating
medication, and are clear what responsibility has been delegated to them in making health related
decisions when they are matched.
Prospective adopters meet the agency medical advisor during preparation training and learn about
looked after children’s physical and emotional health needs.
Prospective adopters are able to meet or speak to the agency’s medical advisor before a child is
placed to further their understanding of his/her health needs.
Before permanent placement foster carers promote an active and healthy lifestyle by providing
healthy food and snack options and encouraging children to engage in physical activities.
Social workers, foster carers and prospective adopters speak to children about their health needs
and support and encourage them to live a healthy life style.
Children with specific health needs receive support to take medication, attend health
appointments and use the services of CAMHS both before and after placement, where
appropriate.
Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them to stay safe
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Every adopter of a LBHF, RBKC or WCC looked after child is asked to sign an agreement and
parental responsibility checklist before the child comes to live with them. This includes what to do
in the event of an emergency or child protection concern.
All prospective adopters’ homes have a health and safety check.
Prospective adopter training includes a module on the safe use of social networking and using the
internet.
Prospective adopter training also includes a module on the implications of neglect and abuse.
During their assessment adopters learn how to help children protect themselves from abuse and
how to provide a safe and secure home.
Prospective adopters make appropriate risk assessments in the areas where they have been
delegated authority and encourage children to take appropriate risks.
The Adoption Team seeks to promote and safeguard the welfare of looked after children and other
children affected by adoption as its paramount concern and ensures that this is written into any
agreement with a partner agency.
Adoption social workers attend the child’s first and second looked after reviews following adoption
placement and together with the child’s social worker ensure appropriate links are made with the
Post Order Support Team.
Helping children to achieve and enjoy what they do
The Adoption service helps prospective adopters and special guardians obtain an appropriate school
place for the child before placement (if the child is of school age)
Adopters are informed that adopted children are given priority for school placements and are
entitled to the pupil premium.
Adopters are informed that their adopted child is entitled to 15 hours’ free nursery care from the
age of 2 years old.
The Adoption support service helps adopters to support children and young people to achieve in
education by responding to requests for adoption support. This may include attending meetings and
advocating on behalf of the child.
Prospective adopters attend the child’s Personal Education Plan meeting, review and parents’
meetings at their child’s school or nursery and remain actively involved in their child’s education.
Where adoption and special guardianship allowances are paid they may continue until a young
person has concluded the academic year or course they are pursuing on their eighteenth birthday.
Prospective adopters research their local area to find out what facilities exist for children and
become familiar with them. They are able to support children to engage in a variety of leisure
activities that helps their child to develop confidence and interests.
Before placement the adoption team works closely with the Virtual School and the LAC
psychologists to ensure that children are able to use the education provided for them.
Helping children to achieve economic well-being
The Adoption Support Service helps adopters to support children and young people to save for their
future.
The Adoption Service encourages adopters to plan for their children financially.
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Any savings started by the foster carer are passed onto the adopters and they are encouraged to
continue to deposit money on a regular basis for their child.
Helping children to make a positive contribution
Children’s feelings and wishes are outlined in their child permanence report
Maintaining links for a child with their birth family is important. The adoption support service
ensures these links are maintained when that is in the child’s best interest by providing a letterbox
service and facilitating direct contact is this is part of the Adoption Support Plan.
Every adopted child has a life story book to help them understand their origins and why they were
adopted.
The child's social worker prepares a Later Life letter for the child. Foster carers and prospective
adopters can contribute to the child’s later life letter. Adopters are provided with guidance on when
and how to share this with their child.
Children and young people receive an appropriate guide to adoption, including how to make a
complaint and contact an advocate.
Children’s wishes and feelings are taken into account when a placement is being considered.
Children are able to express their views to their social worker or, where appropriate, an advocate
during the introductions.
Prospective adopters are encouraged to take into account children’s ethnicity, religion, language &
cultural heritage and consider how they will positively promote this as the child grows, so they can
develop a positive view of themselves, their origins and their adoptive identity.
Prospective adopters and adopters are supported to meet their child’s specific emotional and
behavioural needs. This includes access to CAMHS, specialist programmes for adopters such as
Safe Base provided by our partner agency, After Adoption, and any other identified training
Prospective adopters and approved adopters, including inter country adopters, can access, free of
charge, the West London Adoption Consortium’s training programme including quarterly evening
seminars for adoptive parents.
1.3 Recruiting Adopters.
The three Local Authorities have service level agreements with the Inter country adoption centre
to undertake assessments of prospective inter country adopters who live within the 3 boroughs.
The Inter Country Adoption Centre prepares the adopters, completes the assessment and presents
the adopters to their Adoption Panel. The adopters are supported by the Inter country adoption
centre until a child is identified and matched with the adopters. The Adoption and Permanence
Service provides welfare supervision to inter country adoption placements as appropriate according
to the individual country’s requirements.
The team has written plans for recruiting sufficient adopters to meet the needs of the range of
children waiting for adoption. The following is a summary of the recruitment strategy:
An annual targeted advertising campaign which is reviewed and evaluated on a regular basis
throughout the year to inform further campaigns.
Regular public information meetings with presentations about the adoption process, the children
who are waiting for adoption and direct and indirect contributions from adopters.
Utilising opportunities for promoting the service in the media.
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Use of the Internet and the 3 Local Authorities websites
All approved adopters for whom there is no suitable child from within the 3 Local Authorities are
referred to the National Adoption Register no later than 3 months after approval.
Feedback is sought from adopters throughout the process about why they chose our service, how
they heard about us and how satisfied they were with the service
Annual benchmarking statistics are completed for the West London Consortium (WLAC) to record
all matches achieved within the Consortium.
1.4 Procedures for preparing and assessing prospective adopters
A detailed set of procedures is listed in Part III. The following is a summary of the process:
Step 1: Expressing an interest. An information pack is sent within 5 working days of the initial enquiry,
and there is an opportunity to speak to a Duty Social worker on the telephone.
Step 2: Attending an information meeting. Enquirers are invited to attend an information meeting.
Information meetings are held every six weeks locally or within the WLAC.
Step 3 Initial home visit A social worker will visit those prospective adopters who wish to proceed to
provide further information and to discuss their personal circumstances, motivation and what they feel they
can offer a child. Following this visit the prospective adopters may in discussion with the team decide to
formally register their interest.
Step 4: Registration of Interest Prospective adopters complete a Registration of Interest form and consent
for references and statutory checks to be undertaken.
Step 5: Stage one Prospective adopters are allocated a social worker and are asked to complete a workbook.
The agency undertakes the statutory checks. Stage one should be completed within 8 weeks, but may take
longer if all of the statutory checks are not completed within this period. Adopters may take a break of up
to 6 months between stage one and two.
Step 6: Preparation Training. The prospective adopters are invited to attend a one-day stage one
preparation training
Step 7: Stage 2 Assessment. The allocated social worker meets with the prospective adopter(s) to complete
the Home Study and attends a three-day preparation training course.
Step 7: The prospective adopter’s report. The information gathered during the assessment, along with
the results of the statutory checks and references, etc. is written into a prospective adopters’ report by the
social worker. Applicants have an opportunity to see and make comments on the report before it is
presented to the Adoption and Permanence Panel.
Step 8: Adoption and Permanence Panel. The assessing social worker will present the prospective
adopters’ report to the Panel within 6 months of the Registration of Interest unless unforeseen circumstances
result in delay. The prospective adopters are invited to attend the Panel meeting, together with the adoption
social worker. The function of the Panel is to make an independent recommendation to the Agency (The
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Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea). The agency will make a decision on receipt of the approved
minutes of the adoption panel – this is generally within ten working days. If the agency decides that the
applicants are unsuitable to adopt, the applicants may request that this decision is reviewed by the Agency
Decision Maker or the Independent Review Mechanism.
Step 9: Matching Once approved, the social worker and approved adopters will try to identify a suitable
child, starting with local children, and then extending the search through the West London Consortium and
the National Adoption Register. Links are often made during the assessment process. If a possible match
is identified, the child’s social worker will visit the prospective adopter (and any other adopters being
considered). The prospective adopters will be given full information to enable them to consider whether
the child would be right for them. One family will be selected who are considered suitable for the child,
and details of this match will be presented to the Panel in the child’s agency. The ‘selected family’ will be
given the opportunity to see or meet with the child prior to the match being presented to the Adoption &
Permanence panel. The Panel will make a recommendation and the Agency will decide whether to approve
the match.
A detailed Adoption Support plan will be drawn up by the child’s agency, discussed with all parties and
presented to the Panel for the match. The support plan will cover the identified needs of the child, the
prospective carers and the birth family and how these are to be met.
Step 10: Placement If the match is approved there is a planning meeting and a period of introductions.
The child will then come to live with the prospective adopters as part of their family. The child is placed
according to the Adoption Regulations under a Placement Order.
The adopter’s social worker will continue to offer support and advice. Adopters sign a local agreement that
includes delegated responsibility and safeguarding procedures.
Step 11: Adoption Application Adopters can submit their adoption application once the child has been
placed with them for 10 weeks. The child's social worker and adopter’s social worker complete a report
for the Court. The Local Authority will cover the costs of legal representation up to legal aid rates for the
adopters if birth parents contest the adoption order.
Step 12: The Adoption Hearing The child's social worker and adopter’s social worker attend the adoption
hearing. Once the Court grants the Adoption Order, the adopters become the child’s legal parents.
Step 13: The Pronouncement Hearing This is a celebration hearing which the adopters attend with their
child to meet the judge and conclude the proceedings.
1.5 Procedures for Supporting Adopters
For LBHF, RBKC and WCC children after the adoption has been finalised the Adoption Support
Team will provide adoption support to the adoptive families. Adopters are entitled to an assessment
of their needs and an Adoption Support Plan will be agreed with the adopters.
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The birth family and adoptive family may exchange letters and photographs by mutual agreement,
via a service called ‘Letterbox’. The Adoption Support Team acts as the post box and vets and
forwards correspondence to the families. For some children it is important that direct contact with
birth relatives is maintained. Decisions about contact will always be based on the best interests of
the child, in consultation with and with the agreement of the adoptive family. This is normally a
voluntary agreement.
The service may provide a financial allowance to facilitate the adoption and placement of children.
The criteria for an allowance is based on the child’s needs and paid following a means test of the
adoptive family’s income. All financial support is reviewed annually.
PART TWO
Organisation and Management of the Operation of the Adoption and Permanence Service
From the 1st April 2012 The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, The Royal Borough of
Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster City Council’s Adoption and Permanence Services have been
working together to find permanent families across the 3 local Authorities for looked after children who
are unable to return to their birth families.
The Service Manager’s name and address is:
Sally Pillay
1st Floor
Hammersmith Town Hall
King Street
W6 9JU
Telephone 07812098049
The Adoption service comprises:
The Service Manager
Adoption (& Fostering) Duty & Recruitment Team
1 Principal Social Worker (also covers fostering recruitment)
1 Full Time Social Worker
1 Part Time Social Worker
2 Social Care Assistants
1 Full time Marketing Officer
Team Manager Adoption & Permanence Team
2 Principal Social Workers in the Adoption & Permanence Team (1 0.5)
3 full time social workers; 1 0.3 and 2 0.4 social workers
1 Business Support Officer (shared with the Post Order Support Team)
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Team Manager Panel’s Team (shared with the Adoption & Permanence Team)
1 Panel Advisor
2 panel Co-ordinators
1 Business Support Officer (shared with the Adoption & Permanence Team)
Team Manager Post Order Support Team (shared with The Connected Persons Team)
1 Principal Social Worker
2 full time Social Workers and 1-part time (0.5) Social Worker
2 full time Social Work Assistants
1 Business Support Officer (shared with the Adoption & Permanence Team)
Team Manager Connected Person’s Team (shared with The Post Order Team)
2 Principal Social Workers
4 full time Social Workers
1 full time Social Work Assistant
1 Business Support Officer
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The following is a schedule of all staff employed permanently in the Adoption Service, with their dates of
service and qualifications:
PERMANENT STAFF
Position in
Team
Hours per
week
Name Year of
appointment
Qualifications
Service
Manager
36 Sally Pillay 2012 BA Hons Social Work &
psychology 1991; Post
Qualifying Award in
Child Care; Management
qualification
Team Manager,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team and
Panel’s Team
21.6 Caroline Keane 2012 BA Hons Social Sciences
(Sociology &
psychology) 1996; MA
and Diploma in Social
Work 2001; Post
Qualifying Award in
Child Care 03; Diploma
in Management 05
Acting Team
Manager,
Connected
Persons Team
and Post Order
Team
36 Clare Gleeson 2015 BA(hons) social Science
MSW
Practice Assessor Award
Principal Social
Worker,
Adoption
Recruitment
36 Ann Cavanagh 2000 1) BA (hons) in
Family & Child
Care Studies 1999
2) Diploma in Social
Work 1999
3) Practice Teachers
Award PQ5 & 6
2007
Principal Social
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
36 Peter Kempster 2014 MSc Social Policy and
Social Work
CQSW1991
Principal Social
Worker
21.6 Jane Dalling 2009 Master in Social Work
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Principal Social
Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team (Agency
Panel Adviser)
36 Hilary Eastham 2001 BSC Hons Social
Psychology 2:1; DiPSW;
PQ childcare:
Social Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
28.8 Carol Beckett 2003 CQSW in 1989. Post
Graduate Diploma in
Psychoanalytic
Observational Studies at
Tavistock Centre in 2010.
Social Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
36 Serena Agyei-
Asare
(Maternity
leave)
2015 BA (hons) Social Work
degree
Social Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
28.8 Louise
Frankiss
2016 Masters in Social Work
Social Worker
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
21.6 Judith Allen 1988 MA Applied Social
Studies;
CQSW
Social Worker ,
Recruitment
Team
21.6 Hing Ng Adoption team
2006
BA (Hons) Social
Sciences and Social
Administrations
CQSW and Dip in
Applied Social Studies
PQ1
Practice Teaching Award
Part 1
Social Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
36 Jennifer
Richards
1990 Dipsw 2006 and PQ
Consolidation Award
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Social Worker,
Adoption &
Permanence
Team
36 Violet Duncan 1995 BA Hons Sociology :
CQSW
Social Worker,
Post Order
Team
36 Rosanna
Afford
2018 Bachelor of Social Work
2009
TESL Certificate
Social Worker,
Post Order
Team
18 Ivan Cassim 2015 MA Social Work
BA Social Policy
Social Worker,
Post Order
Team
36 Thomas
Mathai
2019 MSW, PG Diploma
Psychology, Qualified
Systemic Practitioner
Principal Social
Worker, Post
Order Team
36 Alice
Tomlinson
2019 MA Social Work
Social Care
Assistant, Post
Order
36 Sam Whatley 2012 NVQ 2 & 3 Business &
Administration
Social Care
Assistant, Post
Order
36 Tracie Maher 2012 NVQ 3 & 4 in Childcare
& Education
Senior Business
Support
supervisor
21
Steve Jones
RBKC 2004;
Fostering &
Adoption 2012
17
Senior Business
Support
supervisor
36 Angy Londono 2012
Business
Support
Officer,
Permanence &
Support
36 Esete Desta 2002 Secretarial studies
diploma (Shorthand,
Typing and Office
Practice)
Pitman diploma in Word
and Excel Receptionist
diploma
Recruitment
Officer
36 Alix
Fromageau
2017 BA International
Relations; Masters in
Middle Eastern Studies
Panel Co-
Ordinator
36 Giuseppe
Cloralio
(maternity
cover for
Muzhgan
Sharif)
2017 Diploma in School
Business Management;
Certified Diploma in
Accounting & finance
Panel Co-
Ordinator
28.8 Ellie Brace 2007
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Sally Pillay Head of Fostering &
Adoption Service
Caroline Keane
(Team Manager)
Adoption & Permanence
Darla Steward
(Team Manager)
Fostering Duty, Supervision &
Support
Clare Gleeson
(Acting Team Manager)
Connected Persons & Post
Order
Permanence Principal Social
Worker
Jane Dalling
Principal Social Worker
Janet Lewandowski
Social Workers
Anoop Jacob
Bernice Brown
Sarah Cassidy
Placements Officer
Victoria Mensah
Antonia Williams
Principal Social Worker
Connected Person’s
Emily Blake
Social Workers Connected
Persons
Lara Tejada Vuzquez
Jessica Caley
Social Care Assistant
Karen Lloyd Jones
Principal Social Worker
Peter Kempster
Social Workers
Carol Beckett
Jennifer Richards
Judith Allen
Violet Duncan
Louise Frankiss
Serena Agyei-Asare (Maternity
leave)
Principal Social Worker
Maxine Collins
Social Workers
Afrah Yusuf
Liana Bodea
Barbara Smikle
Dean Backer
Vivette Alenxander
Principal Social Worker
Connected Person’s
Sarah Clake
Social Workers
Owen Lawton
Nafisat Attah
Principal Social Worker
Vacant post
Principal Social Worker
Sharon Barret
Social Workers
Michelle Dawson (maternity
leave)
Olivia Barrett
Zubeida Adams
Mariam Hamoudi
Paulette Thomas
Tianna Armstrong
Principal Social Worker
Clare Gleeson
Social Workers
Rosanna Afford
Ivan Cassim
Emily Blake
Ann Cavanagh (seconded to
recruitment team)
Post Order Support Worker
Tracie Maher
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Principal Social Worker
Joanna Harris-Tench
Teresa McGovern
Fiona Stevens
Kuldip Panesar
Katerina Truncova
Sam Whatley
Panel Advisor
Hilary Eastham
Panel Coordinator
Ellie Brace
Muzhgan Sharif (Maternity
leave)
Giuseppe Cloralio (covering
maternity leave)
Principal Social Worker
Adoption (& fostering) Duty
& Recruitment Team
Ann Cavanagh
Social Workers
Hing Ng
Social Care Assistant
Maninder Purewal
Temi Makanjoula
Recruitment Officer
Alix Fromageau
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PART THREE
3.1 Procedures for Monitoring the Activities of the Service to ensure a high standard of
performance
The following systems are in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and quality of the
service:
The Independent Reviewing Officer and individual borough’s Permanence Monitoring
Meetings monitors the children waiting for permanent homes and enquires about efforts to
find a family for them.
Children in permanent foster placements are reviewed until they leave care.
The Adoption Panel reviews any breakdowns in placements, and an independent agency
(After Adoption) chairs a disruption meeting and writes a report for the agency and the
panel.
All applicants approved for over a year and who have not been matched with a child are
reviewed annually by the adoption team manager or Principal Social Worker and the
recommendation is presented to the Adoption & Permanence Panel.
Monthly Service activity reports and outcomes for children are presented to the Director
of the Adoption and Fostering Service
The Adoption Service has a service plan outlining the service aims and objectives and how
these will be met.
Annual Performance Reviews for all staff, setting and reviewing targets that are in line
with departmental and service plan and objectives.
Each member of staff has a personal development plan that includes keeping up to date on
safeguarding issues. The plan is reviewed in supervision and updated at least annually.
Monthly supervision is offered to all members of the service with their line manager
The FPU database produces a range of management reports including e mail alerts when
statutory checks for adopters are due for renewal
The FPU database alerts the adoption support service when a contact for an adopted child
is due and when the relevant date has passed.
The Customer Care and Complaints Department maintain records of complaints, outcomes,
and learning for the service
3.2 In addition, the following financial procedures are in place:
The service manager receives regular reports on:
staff costs
the adoption service budget
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expenditure on adoption & residence order allowances
expenditure on special guardianship allowances and support
Adoption, residence order and special guardianship allowances are paid weekly by the
relevant Local Authorities payments system.
All adoption, residence order and special guardianship allowances are reviewed annually.
Families are informed by letter of any changes in payments.
Inter-agency financial agreement meetings are held, and charges and expectations of
timescales for payment are recorded on BAAF Form H1. The National Agreement is
ratified annually by BAAF.
3.4 Complaints
All local authorities are required to have a Complaints Procedures under the National Health
Service and Community Care Act 1990 and where children are involved, under the Children Act
1989. There is a central complaints service that manages and monitors complaints for the 3 Local
Authorities. The following is a brief summary.
At the First Stage the complainant should contact the Complaints Officer to explain the nature of
the complaint. If a Court is considering the matter, it cannot be dealt with under the Complaints
Procedure. The Complaints Officer will refer the matter to the appropriate Team Manager for
investigation (if this has not already been done). The Team or Service Manager will reply to the
complainant.
If the complainant is not satisfied with this response, s/he should be helped or advised as
appropriate to make a written representation to the Complaints Officer asking for a further
investigation. There are several ways of dealing with this, but the most usual is for the Head of
Service to appoint an Investigating Officer (IO) who may either be an officer with no direct line
management responsibility for the matter or an independent person. In the case of a complaint
under the Children Act 1989 the Complaints Officer will ask the Advocacy Officer to appoint an
Independent Person to take part in the investigation and to look after the interests of the child.
Both the Investigating Officer and the Independent Person will write separate reports of the
investigation. Normally the reports are sent to the complainant. The reports will be submitted to
the senior officer who is the Adjudicating Officer, usually the Director. This officer will reply to
the complaint giving his or her decision based on the reports. The procedures require that this
reply must be sent to the complainant within 28 days of the complaint having been received.
If the complainant is not satisfied with the response from the Adjudicating Officer s/he may
request, in writing, that a Review Panel be appointed. The Panel usually consists of an independent
chairperson, and two elected Members of the Council, one minority and one majority party
Member. Immediately following the hearing, the Panel will record their recommendation in
writing and send it to the complainant, the Executive Director of the Department, the initial
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Independent Person and the Investigating Officer. The Executive Director will decide what action
to take, and will advise the complainant of this.
This exhausts the Council’s own Complaints Procedure, but in cases of alleged maladministration
a complainant may raise the matter with the Local Government Ombudsman (who will not take it
up until after the Council’s procedures have ended). These procedures do not limit a complainant’s
normal legal remedies.
The Customer Care and Complaints Officer’s Contact details are:
Customer Relationship Team
Tri- Borough Children’s Services
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
1st floor-Pink Zone
The Town Hall
Horton Street
London W8 7NX
Tel: 0207 645 6501
Additionally, in appropriate circumstances, complainants may wish to draw matters to the
attention of OFSTED:
Ofsted National Business Unit
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD
0300 123 1231
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3.5 Relevant Statutory legislation and Guidance underpinning the delivery of the Adoption
Service
1. The Adoption & Children Act 2002
2. Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005
3. National Minimum Standards for Adoption 2014
4. The Children & Families Act 2014
5. The Care Standards Act 2000
6. The Equality Act 2010