Social services department apologises ‘unreservedly’ to foster carer for mishandling of false allegation

Martin Shipton

A social services department has apologised unreservedly to a foster carer and her partner for mishandling a false allegation of assault made against her by a troubled boy in her care.

Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) has also accepted recommendations made by an independent investigator brought in to look at detailed complaints made by the foster carer, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The investigator upheld a series of complaints made by the carer, including that there was a lack of support from Bridgend Social Services for her, her partner and the boy who made the false allegation.

Gaps

There were, says the investigator’s report, gaps in actions, record-keeping, and practices. It states: “The supervising social worker (SSW) was informed and asked to contact you; however, she was new to the case and noted that this was her first experience with such a situation. Since the child’s social worker was on leave, the care experienced children team manager liaised with the SSW in their absence, instructing her to contact you regarding a safety plan. It remains unclear whether the SSW understood her responsibilities or felt confident in her role.

“The investigator did not find evidence that the fostering team manager was informed about the investigation. She recalled receiving a late invitation to [a meeting to discuss the allegation], but was unable to attend. The investigator established that this situation should have prompted the Team Manager to follow up with the SSW; however, there is no evidence that this occurred.

“Both team managers acknowledged gaps in the processes following the invitation to the strategy meeting for the fostering staff. The investigator noted that processes have since changed following this incident. Additionally, the investigator identified gaps in the written records.

“There was no mention of the investigation in the Child Looked After (CLA) review held on 29/03/2023, despite a joint police visit taking place the day before. Furthermore, there were no records of the investigation in the foster carer case notes, except for one reference that incorrectly recorded the date of the incident.”

‘Lack of support’

In a letter to the foster carer, Claire Marchant, Bridgend’s corporate director of social services and wellbeing stated: “I agree with the findings of the investigator, and I apologise that you were not informed of support for carers following the allegation. You should have been made aware of the resources available, including how to contact the fostering network and other external support systems for foster carers. We take full responsibility, and I can advise that … the fostering team were reminded to do this for all foster carers following an allegation being made. I apologise again for the lack of support to you and [your partner].

“It is evident that there were gaps in how we conducted our support at this time with a lack of clarity and management oversight of actions. I agree that there was confusion among teams about who should take responsibility. We have undertaken significant changes since this incident including the implementation of our ‘Signs of Safety’ social work framework and also providing ‘Back-to-Basics’ training to all staff so they have a clear understanding of the processes we expect them to follow in working with children and families. We will continue to review whether these practices are being delivered consistently via our revised Quality Assurance framework.”

In terms of the lack of support for the boy who made the false allegation, the report states: “Failure to put measures in place to protect K who it was known to the authority had a fear of the police. There was a drift and delay in K being spoken to after the Strategy Discussion. BCBC ignored the advice of the headteacher to interview the child at school.”

‘Social work intervention’

Writing to the foster carer, Ms Marchant stated: “I accept the findings from the investigator. It is evident that there was a lack of management oversight and social work intervention at a worrying time for you and K. These steps fell short of our expectations. I note that the allocated social worker was absent from work at this time and support was being offered via duty social workers. This clearly affected our response and continuity of support to you and K.”

The report goes on to state that BCBC and Gwent Police were supposed to coordinate and conduct a joint S47 visit [relating to the false allegation of assault].

It says: “This implies that BCBC should have communicated directly with Gwent Police instead of going through the Chair of the strategy meeting. The investigator found no evidence of a meeting that BCBC was supposed to hold ten days after the strategy meeting to provide updates on the S47 enquiries. Additionally, an error was noted by the Fostering Team Manager, who mentioned that she contacted South Wales Police instead of the correct police force, Gwent Police.

“During the interview, the Fostering Team Manager also stated that she first learned about any developments six weeks later when the joint visit took place. The care experienced children’s team manager reported meeting with the fostering team manager after the strategy meeting on 13/02/2023, suggesting they discussed the actions arising from that meeting. The investigator has upheld the complaint due to a lack of supporting evidence for the claims made during the interviews by both the care experienced children’s team manager and the fostering team manager.”

‘Full responsibility’

Ms Marchant states: “I agree with the investigator’s findings. We take full responsibility for the gaps in our communication, and I acknowledge that this complaint is upheld due to the lack of supporting evidence from both managers. I acknowledge that we should have followed up directly with Gwent Police in a timely manner.

“We will evaluate this finding to determine if any further action is necessary concerning the conduct of individual staff members. Concerns relating to the conduct of members of staff will be addressed appropriately in accordance with the internal policies of the authority, and not under the remit of the Social Services Representations and Complaints Procedure.

“Due to the duty of confidentiality implied by law into every employee’s contract of employment and also the Data Protection Act 2018, you will appreciate that the authority will not be able to share the outcome of any investigation relating to an individual member of staff with a complainant. However, I can assure you that when such concerns are raised, they are taken very seriously by the authority and are fully considered.”

The Investigating Officer recommended that the Service formally apologises to [the foster carer] and [her partner]for the lack of support they received in February /March of 2023, as foster carers employed by BCBC, acknowledging that they failed in their duty of care to them. Also,that the service assures itself that they have the processes in place to properly track and respond to allegations/any issues of concern, with management properly sighted on operational issues. In addition, that the Service ensures that child care teams and the fostering team work closely together to ensure all staff are aware of their duties, roles and responsibilities and share information in a timely and appropriate manner.

Ms Marchant wrote to the foster carer and her partner stating: “I apologise unreservedly for your experience at what must have been a very stressful and challenging time for you and K.

“In the last 12 months, we have reviewed and updated our Quality Assurance framework to assure ourselves that our practice is consistent and in-line with safeguarding processes and procedures. We have continued to embed our Signs of Safety framework which will bring about consistent approaches to social work practice across all our teams.

“We have also increased our permanent workforce across teams with less reliance on agency staff which will hopefully provide consistency in support for children, families, parents and/or carers.”

The foster carer said: “It is clear the investigator could see that we were failed in terms of not being provided the necessary support to take care of both children and support by providing training tailored to our needs. Nothing was provided in all of the eight years we fostered P and K. It is also good that she has reminded BCBC that ‘what goes on record, stays on record’ because this means that even lies are not removed from a record, even when it can be proven that the record is seriously flawed and untrue.”