Portsmouth children’s charity rated outstanding for its ‘exceptional’ care of families

Fair Ways has been awarded its second consecutive ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted for its Residential Family Centre - with the top score being achieved in all the categories it was evaluated on.

The children’s services charity, based in Lakeside North Harbour, said the ‘fantastic achievement’ was a wonderful endorsement for the team and represented the accumulation of years of hard work.

MD Gareth Webb said: “I’m very proud of the continued outstanding rating for Fair Ways Residential Family Centre and thank the team for their continued dedication to making a difference. The whole Fair Ways community congratulates the team for this achievement.”

The Ofsted assessment found families received consistently high-quality support and guidance, with staff helping parents to “achieve their goals of providing good care to their children and promoting their long-term development”.

Training programmes were seen as ‘a significant strength’, the close-working relationships with parents were described as ‘remarkable’ and clear and consistent practices made parents feel their well-being and safety were paramount.

The report said: “Staff seek the parent’s views and wishes in several ways, to ensure there are opportunities for their voices to be heard. Families have exceptional day-to-day experiences at the centre. The staff work to empower the parents rather than judge them.”

It added: “The staff support parents to make positive choices for their children. This helps to build parents’ confidence and their capacity to care for their children.”

Fair Ways delivers fostering, family, education, residential, and health services, employing around 400 staff who look after 700 children and young people annually.