An Essex-based foster care agency which specialises in helping young people and children who have had a difficult start in life has been rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Mosaic Foster Care, an independent agency based in Colchester and Southend, was praised by inspectors for providing ‘significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children’ as a result of their placements with foster carers.

Mosaic Director Andre Palmer said his team and all the foster carers they support across Essex and Suffolk were absolutely thrilled with the inspection result.

He said: “It recognises the model of care that we have developed over the past decade and the excellent therapeutic support that is given to those being fostered.

“Our foster carers do an amazing job and I would like to thank them all for the role they play in helping our youngsters get their lives on track – and we welcome applications from other people who feel they, too, can make a real difference to young people’s lives.

“We provide extensive training and support, and the Ofsted inspector also noted that we make every effort to ensure individuals are meticulously matched and well placed with their foster carers, providing bespoke packages of care and support.”

The inspector was also full of praise for way that Mosaic works closely with other professionals and acknowledged that children’s progress was effectively and comprehensively monitored.

Staff and carers were described as dynamic and enthusiastic, with managers providing effective supervision and support for the staff, all of whom have consistently high aspirations for children to thrive. It added that as a result, Mosaic makes a great difference to the children.

Foster parent Tracey, from Great Wakering, who has been fostering for 10 years with her husband, added: “We don’t call ourselves foster carers, we are foster mum and dad, so as soon as a child comes to us they are treated as one of our own. This makes them feel safe, secure and attached.

“Mosaic has been brilliant in terms of support; you’ve got the therapy, the support workers and one of them has been taking our young person to the library twice a week to help study for exams. Things like that we can’t do on our own which is why we need Mosaic’s support to help us do it.”

A newly approved carer, Helen from Burnham, said: “What I really liked about Mosaic is how they support all staff and carers and I loved the therapeutic intervention which was always a gap in my previous experience.

“Right from the start their recruitment process was transparent and early on I had a good understanding of what it involved. I felt it was a really engaging process and was being done with me, not just about me.”

For further information about fostering, please visit www.mosaicfostercare.com.