Children in care 'progress and flourish' as Shropshire fostering agency is Ofsted Outstanding
A fostering agency which supports children and young people in Shropshire is celebrating after receiving an ‘Outstanding’ from Ofsted following an inspection which took place at the end of last year.
Clifford House Fostering, which supports children throughout the Shropshire, was commended by Ofsted for celebrating children’s achievements and how well it integrates foster children with birth children.
Since the agency’s last inspection in April 2022 Clifford House, which focuses on therapeutic training and carefully matching children with the right families, has improved from a ‘Good’ to ‘Outstanding’ rating.
The report highlighted the benefit the wider family can have on children in care. In one fostering family where three adult children are all teachers, the foster child has his own aspiration to be a maths teacher which shows the positive impact of good role models on children in care.
Ofsted also praised the agency for having long-term plans in place for most children, with many children and young people having lived with their foster families for more than two years. As a result of this children have ‘a wide range of opportunities to develop their self-esteem, feel heard, valued and celebrated.’
Lesley Greenfield, registered manager at Clifford House has been at the agency since January 2022, she said: “I am so proud of the whole team and all of our foster parents for contributing to this Ofsted result, it’s no mean feat. But mostly I’m proud of the children and young people we provide foster care for.
“Children in care are often coming from circumstances most of us couldn’t begin to imagine and seeing them grow and develop in loving families is an absolute privilege. I hope people reading our feedback from Ofsted are inspired to find out more about fostering, because we desperately need more families throughout Shropshire to transform children’s lives.”
Foster parents at the agency described invaluable support from the agency, with one foster parent stating: “The supervising social worker was kind, empathetic and supportive throughout. Going above and beyond, taking calls any time of day or night regardless of her work hours, visiting us in hospital and just being there. I will not forget her kindness or the support of the agency during this very difficult time.”
At the time of the report Clifford House was supporting 53 children across 39 fostering households in the local area.
Latest government statistics show the number of children in care has continued to rise over the last few years, with more than 83,000 in the system at the end of 2024, in the West Midlands alone there are almost 12,000 children in care but this number is likely to have increased since data was released.
The team at Clifford House are inviting anyone interested in fostering in Shropshire and the surrounding areas to get in touch for more information by visiting the website www.cliffordhousefostering.com or calling 0800 369 8515.
Clifford House works closely with local authorities across the Midlands and is recruiting foster parents now.
