Leading with Compassion: An Interview with Johan on Achieving ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted Ratings in Fostering
Tuesday 17 February 2026
Last updated: Wednesday 18 February 2026
Johan has a career in Social Work that spans over 32 years and it shows, as he steers our Fostering team to “Good” and “Outstanding” ratings with Ofsted. We sat down with him to discuss our recent Ofsted ratings, how he cultivates a culture that is child-centred , and his hopes for the future of his team.
As Head of Fostering, what does achieving a “Good” or “Outstanding” rating really mean in practice not just for future inspections, but for the children and young people living in our care?
Ofsted Inspections and the rating received is a formal endorsement from Ofsted confirming how the practice of individual fostering services aligns with the Ofsted Inspection Framework but more so with all relevant childcare legislation. However, it means much more than that in practice. It confirms the fostering division offers safe foster homes for young people enabling them to recover from trauma, thrive, and reach their full potential. Comments from inspection reports include direct narrative received from young people who took part in the inspection process. There is nothing more powerful than hearing from young people directly about their experience of living away from their families. It also alerts us as professionals as to the areas of practice we can improve upon, so we can offer even better experiences to the young people who come and live with us.
How do you create a culture across Five Rivers fostering services where high standards are the norm rather than the exception?
We have regular review systems in place to ensure we meet all regulatory requirements. In addition to that, we have individual action plans for each service that help highlight the improvements we are making. Monitoring is well and good; that’s the easy bit. What really matters is that every staff member holds our young people in the centre of any action they take or decision they make. It encourages all of us to stay professionally curious and appropriately challenge our practice. Achieving a culture of curiosity and practice of reflection is what really matters and one that is embedded in the fostering division.
How do you ensure that the voice and lived experience of children and young people genuinely shape our fostering practices?
Our children and young people’s Participation programme creates a formal platform for young people to engage in conversation with staff and senior leaders across the organisation. Informal feedback is also incredibly valuable. When a young person has a quick chat with a team member about their experiences, it often gives us the chance to make an immediate, positive difference to their day and experience. Listening and taking action is how we ensure the voices of young people continue to shape our services and improve the experience for everyone.
In your view, what support makes the biggest difference in helping foster carers provide stable, caring homes for our children?
It is difficult to single out any individual measure of support. What works is collaborative working not only within Five Rivers but also with the external professional network. The ability to advocate on behalf of Foster Carers and young people supports stability whilst ensuring we offer tailor-made support to meet the individual needs of our families and young people.
The leadership teams across Residential and Fostering integrate seamlessly with Clinical Services. Meaning we can harness the therapeutic knowledge and expertise built within ATIC and ATIC-F to support ‘Turning children’s lives around. – Richard Cross, Director of Clinical Services
How do we invest in the ongoing development of Foster Carers and staff to ensure practice remains strong and effective?
Our Attachment and Trauma Informed Fostering Model (ATIC – F), helps our team and Foster Carers grow through reflective practice, training and practical support. This helps us create valuable learning opportunities. Foster Carer connection groups further offer a space to reflect, learn and share experiences. The above cannot take place in isolation and is supported by a robust annual staff and foster carer training program.
Five Rivers operates across England. How do you ensure consistency and quality in our services?
We are well supported by an independent governance team and our Advanced Practitioners, who review and monitor our work so that we can learn from practice, improve our services and stay consistent.
When a child faces challenges in a new care giving home, how do you ensure support is offered effectively and quickly?
All our young people are assessed by our clinical and social work professionals so that we can identify any immediate and future support needed. This is part of our Attachment and Trauma Informed Fostering Model (ATIC™ – F), and it includes the young person’s external professional network, helping us to respond quickly and appropriately to any challenges that arise.
It has been a pleasure working alongside Johan over the last year towards integrating our services and embedding the ATIC-F Clinical model across Fostering – Laura Garnett, Clinical Service Lead – Fostering (Counselling Psychologist)
How do you use feedback from our children, carers and professionals to drive and maintain high standards?
Young people give us feedback informally when they see us and are also given the opportunity to give us more formal feedback during their foster carer annual review. They also give direct feedback to our board of directors through our annual Youth Council. We use this feedback to shape and develop projects where young people not only participate but also lead, which then helps guide our project outcomes and help inform our practice, and support future service developments.
How important is partnership working, with Local Authorities, schools and other professionals in achieving strong inspection outcomes?
Offering young people, a home with a foster family cannot happen in isolation. It is very important for us to work not only with internal colleagues such as clinicians, social workers and support workers across Five Rivers but also with the external professional network to ensure we listen to young people’s wishes and the views and opinions of all professionals to inform Care Planning for the young person. Getting this right, supports the fostering division to achieve strong inspection outcomes.
From your perspective, what sets Five Rivers fostering team apart when it comes to achieving our goals?
The clinical research conducted annually on placement stability supports Five Rivers to offer services that are researched, informed and data driven to help improve our services for foster carers and young people.
What are your priorities over the next year to ensure Five Rivers continue to achieve and sustain “Good” and “Outstanding” outcomes?
We will strive for continuous service improvements and our priority in 2026 is the roll out of our reviewed Attachment and Trauma Informed Fostering Model (ATIC – F). The changes we have made to the model are informed by our placement research, with the aim of reaching more young people who for whatever reason cannot are unable to live with their own families.
Finally, what message would you like to share with our Foster Carers about the role they play in achieving our goals and ensuring our children are well cared for?
Our Foster Carers plays the most important part in a young person’s care journey. Foster Carers helps us to get to know and understand our young people and what they need from us to thrive. My message to our foster carers is “you are doing an amazing job, never give up caring, as change and stability take time. What you do every day is unmeasurable in any terms, thank you.”
Give us a call to find out more
We understand that considering whether to foster can seem like a big decision. Get in touch with our Carer Enquiries Team for a no-obligation chat to find out whether fostering could be right for you.