‘Exceeding the Standards of Good’ - CFC’s Outstanding Ofsted Rating

We’ve had some news recently at CFC that we are so excited to share with you all! After our most recent assessment from Ofsted, we’re proud to announce that Community Foster Care has been officially confirmed as OUTSTANDING provider of support for our carers and young people (read the full report here)!

We’re unbelievably filled with not only pride, but also appreciation as we look back on the journey we’ve been on as an organisation to get to such a momentous point.

It has us reflecting on our early days as an agency. When Community Foster Care was set up back in 1999, our founders had a simple mission statement: do fostering differently.

It was a simple idea, but not necessarily an easy one to bring to life, but what worthwhile mission is ever easy? In 1999, our social workers immersed themselves in the local communities and challenged prevalent ideas about who could foster. The aim was to support communities, provide local foster families for local children, working in areas of economic deprivation providing employment and improving skills.

And we are still operating in this way over two decades later!

To make this new way of doing things a reality, we had to think creatively and take risks. While much has changed since 1999, that founding principle still reigns supreme. We believe this innovative approach played a pivotal role in CFC being recognised as Outstanding by Ofsted.

The CFC philosophy is all about seeing hidden potential and bringing it to light. We do this by supporting our foster carers, helping them learn, grow, and exceed their own expectations for what they can achieve in the role.

We help our young people recognise their potential, empowering them to acknowledge a challenging past, while finding ways to move forward and see a brighter future ahead.

And we do the same for our staff. We take on staff who we know will do a wonderful job, even if they don’t have the exact experience you’d typically need for a role. It's all about taking care to learn about our people, seeing what makes them tick and what drives them, and seeing their true potential. We believe in this approach when it comes to our carers, so why wouldn’t we do the same with our team?

Ultimately, it’s all about building the right community. A community where people help one another. A community where everyone feels welcome and supported. A community where we appreciate each other’s unique talents and contributions. These aren’t just words that we throw around for nice sounding advertisements: we do everything we can to practice what we preach.

Our Outstanding rating isn’t based on us being perfect in everything we do. It’s based on us constantly innovating, taking risks, trusting one another to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. We don’t always get it right, but when things go wonky (as they can do, we won’t deny), we reflect and learn from the experience. And we never blame. Instead, we support and look at how we can do better next time.

We are incredibly proud of our Ofsted rating and are so pleased that the hard work and resilience of the community we’ve built has been recognised and appreciated. But we know that the hard work doesn’t stop there. We know that every day we’ll continue to do our best for children who need loving homes. What matters most is that we do whatever it takes to positively impact the lives of our young people.

Thank you to all that have been part of the CFC story so far. We can’t wait to see the new places it takes us!

If you feel inspired by our mission and would like to find out more about how you can become a foster carer, please get in contact with us.