Wholistic Fostering aim to achieve the highest possible standard of care for Children and Young People in foster care..
We support our foster carers to be compliant with the Children Act 1989 and 2004, Care Standards Act 2000 (CSA), Care Planning Regulations 2010, Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (amended July 2013) and National Minimum Standards 2011 (NMS) and this handbook is designed to underpin this support.
Wholistic foster carers make a real difference to the lives of children and young people by providing a child centred, outcomes focussed family home. As a wholistic fostering agency we want to ensure that we provide the best possible service to children and young people in foster care and to you as foster carers. To do this we work hard to ensure you you with a high quality standard of support.
We're strongly committed to protecting children from harm, improving engagement in learning and achievement in education and reducing health inequalities, to achieve the best possible outcome in all areas of their lives.
We hope this guide will help you throughout your fostering career and provide clear information to support you in achieving the best possible outcomes for our children and young people.
We'll send you updates whenever new legislation and procedures come in and your Supervising Social Worker will be able to offer further guidance and support.
We welcome feedback, therefore if there is anything in this edition that is not clear or you have any suggestions about what should be included in the future please send us your suggestions to Mike Dennis, Operations Manager, Wholistic Fostering. Brook House, Brook Street Business Centre, Tipton, DY4 9DD.
We look forward to working with you in 2018 and beyond.
It is updated on a regular basis so we encourage foster carers to bookmark / favourite the page so you can receive daily notifications of any changes…
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This Policy covers both current and future employees, as well as businesses and visitors to the West Midlands, who use our services. In particular, the Policy covers persons who share one or more of the nine protected characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010 i.e. age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender and sexual orientation.
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Dealing with Allegations and Suspicions of Abuse
Safeguarding children and families being everybody’s responsibility.
The following applies where there is an immediate risk to a child e.g. the need for urgent medical attention as a result of suspected Significant Harm or there is an immediate risk of harm to the child which cannot be prevented.
In these circumstances, the foster parent(s) must take immediate necessary action that they see fit to protect the child, which may include calling the emergency services e.g. the Police or Ambulance Service.
If the child is taken to hospital or the Police are called, the foster parent(s) must inform them that there is a suspicion of Significant Harm.
Wherever possible, the Supervising Social Worker should be contacted as soon as the foster parent become aware of the child’s need for emergency attention. However the foster parent should not delay taking action in order to do so. If the Supervising Social Worker is not contacted before the emergency services are contacted, s/he should be notified as soon as practicable afterwards. The Designated Child Protection Manager (DCPM) will also be notified.
Once the immediate risk to the child is alleviated and the Designated Child Protection Manager has been notified, the procedures set out in Section 2.3, Referring Concerns to Children’s Social Care and Others should be followed.
Where concerns or allegations of Significant Harm are received and reported to the Designated Child Protection Manager, the Designated Child Protection Manager will decide whether to make a referral to the local authority’s Children’s Social Care. The referral will be made to Children’s Social Care for the area where the Significant Harm is suspected in accordance with the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Inter Agency Child Protection Procedures.
In all areas, Children’s Social Care will require the referral to be made in writing and should provide feedback on action taken as a result of the referral within 48 hours of receiving the referral.
Where no feedback is received as to the action taken within this timescale, the Designated Child Protection Manager should contact Children’s Social Care in order to establish the action taken.
Once feedback is received, where there are concerns about the Children’s Social Care response, the Designated Child Protection Manager should seek to discuss the concerns with the manager of the Children’s Social Care team dealing with the referral.
The following people/agencies should also be notified that a referral has been made:
See also chapter on Confidentiality.
Information sharing is vital to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
The seven golden rules to sharing information
1. Remember that the Data Protection Act 1998 and human rights law are not barriers to justified information sharing, but provide a framework to ensure that personal information about living individuals is shared appropriately.
2. Be open and honest with the individual (and/or their family where appropriate) from the outset about why, what, how and with whom information will, or could be shared, and seek their agreement, unless it is unsafe or inappropriate to do so.
3. Seek advice from other practitioners if you are in any doubt about sharing the information concerned, without disclosing the identity of the individual where possible.
4. Share with informed consent where appropriate and, where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to share confidential information. You may still share information without consent if, in your judgement, there is good reason to do so, such as where safety may be at risk. You will need to base your judgement on the facts of the case. When you are sharing or requesting personal information from someone, be certain of the basis upon which you are doing so. Where you have consent, be mindful that an individual might not expect information to be shared.
5. Consider safety and well-being: Base your information sharing decisions on considerations of the safety and well-being of the individual and others who may be affected by their actions.
6. Necessary, proportionate, relevant, adequate, accurate, timely and secure: Ensure that the information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with those individuals who need to have it, is accurate and up-to-date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely (see principles). 7. Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it – whether it is to share information or not. If you decide to share, then record what you have shared, with whom and for what purpose.
Under no circumstances should information about the concerns/allegations be given to a person who is implicated or against whom an allegation has been made until this has been agreed with Children’s Social Care and/or the Police.
Information about the actions taken should be shared with the child’s foster parents and other relevant members of Wholistic Fostering staff on the basis of their need to know.
Where there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child and this leads to an Initial or Core Assessment by Children’s Social Care, full information about the child should be shared with Children’s Social Care in order for the necessary assessments to take account of the full picture in relation to the child.
Where Children’s Social Care decides to undertake a Section 47 Enquiry as a result of the referral, the agency Wholistic Fostering will cooperate fully with the local authority, attend Strategy Meetings as required and share information from their case records in order to assist the local authority to take account fully of all the available background information.
Wholistic Fostering will agree with Children’s Social Care who will be responsible for notifying the Regulatory Authority, and keeping them updated.
The local authority has a general duty under the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are in need and, so far as it is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families.
The primary duty of all staff and foster parents, whatever their nominated role, is to protect children from significant harm.
Wholistic Fostering procedures are designed to ‘ensure a prompt and effective ‘needs-led’ response when it appears that a child may be at risk of abuse or neglect. Wholistic Fostering aims to ensure that ‘all’ foster parents and staff who are involved in providing care services to children/young people receive training around child protection. If it is believed that a child has been, or is likely to be, harmed, abused or neglected – then Social Services should be notified immediately.
‘Child abuse and neglect’ is a generic term encompassing all ill treatment of children including serious physical and sexual assaults as well as cases where the standard of care does not adequately support the child’s health or development.
Children may be abused or neglected through the infliction of harm, or through the failure to act to prevent harm.
Abuse can occur in a family or an institutional or community setting. The perpetrator may or may not be known to the child.
If you believe that a child has been / is being harmed by a person in a position of trust, you should contact the designated safeguarding officer in Wholistic. If you are unsure who that is contact the Agency.
Teachers, foster carers, healthcare professionals and other individuals in a position of trust are increasingly being prosecuted for sexual offences. Between 2013-2014, the NSPCC reported that over 180 children in England and Wales claimed someone in a position of trust sexually abused them. In recent years, the media have also provided increasing coverage of such cases, for example:
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 sets out the law on sexual offences committed by those in positions of trust. Although the offences cover all children under 18, they are principally designed to protect young people aged 16 and 17 who, even though they are over the age of consent for sexual activity, are considered vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation.
Where a child is under 16 and cannot give reasonable consent to sexual activity, the expectation is that any offences committed would be caught by ss. 9-13 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Once a person is 18, they cannot only consent but are considered adult – therefore, unless a sexual act has been committed without consent (such as rape or non-consensual sexual touching), then no offence occurs.
The 2003 Act’s provisions on ‘abuse of position of trust’ provide specific roles and settings where sexual activity between a child and a person in a position of trust, responsibility or authority constitutes a criminal offence.
A person in a position of trust includes anyone who works with children in the course of their employment or in a voluntary capacity.
Specific roles include:
Specific settings include:
Under the 2003 Act, at the time of the alleged incident the complainant must have been under 18 years old or under 13 years old. If the child is proved to be under 18, there is a presumption that the accused did not reasonably believe that the child was 18 or over. This means that it is up to the accused to provide sufficient evidence to raise an issue as to whether they reasonably believed the child was 18 at the time of the alleged incident.
There is also a presumption that the accused knew or could reasonably have been expected to know that they were in a position of trust when the alleged incident took place. This means, that again, it is up to the accused to provide sufficient evidence to raise an issue as to whether they reasonably believed that they were in such a position.
Sexual Activity with a Child (s. 16): This occurs where a person over 18 years old who is in a position of trust in relation to a child intentionally touches that child in a sexual manner.
Causing or Inciting a Child to Engage in Sexual Activity (s. 17): This occurs where a person aged over 18 who is in a position of trust in relation to a child intentionally causes that child to engage in an activity of a sexual nature.
Sexual Activity in the Presence of a Child (s. 18): This occurs where a person aged 18 or over intentionally engages in a sexual activity when a child under 18 is present or in a place from which they can be observed for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification. The accused must be in a position of trust in relation to the child and must also know or intend that the child is aware that they are engaging in sexual activity.
Causing a Child to Watch a Sexual Act (s. 19): This occurs when a person aged 18 or over intentionally causes a child under 18 to watch a third party engaging in sexual activity or to look at an image of any person engaging in an activity of a sexual nature.
s.23 states that behaviour, which would otherwise be an offence under ss. 16-19, are not considered offences if the parties are over 16 and they are lawfully married or in a civil partnership. In proceedings for abuse of trust offences, it is for the accused to prove that the parties were lawfully married or civil partners at the time the activity took place.
s.24 states that any behaviour, which would otherwise be an offence under ss. 16-19, is not an offence if they take place in the context of a sexual relationship that existed before the position of trust was established between the parties. For example, a person would not commit an offence by continuing a sexual relationship with a student if the person could prove that the relationship began before they went to work for the school.
In proceedings for an offence under ss. 16-19, it is for the accused to prove that such a relationship existed at the time. However, this exception does not apply if, at that time, sexual intercourse between the parties would have been unlawful; in other words, one party was under 16 years old.
In the event of reporting a concern, the person(s) reporting the concern should be advised of all cases where it is alleged that a person who works with children has:
If you have a general concern about quality of care or practice, which doesn’t fit with the criteria above, you should use the complaints procedure.
Please contact the safeguarding office if you have concerns about a person’s behaviour outside of the workplace which indicates that they pose a risk of harm to the children they work with.
If you think you might have concerns about a child being abused it will be helpful for you to review the Government guidance which can be accessed here
Ofsted should be informed of any allegation or concern made against a member of staff.
Effective safeguarding begins with an understanding that, in the words of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013, ‘everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play’. In short, safeguarding is ‘everyone’s responsibility’.
Accordingly, Wholistic will work in partnership with all Safeguarding agencies under the umbrella of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCB) and multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA), with regard to sharing of information, policies and procedures, and collaborative approaches to practice, supervision and training across the range of child protection issues.
‘No single professional can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. In order that organisations and practitioners collaborate effectively, it is vital that every individual working with children and families is aware of the role that they have to play and the role of other professionals. In addition, effective safeguarding requires clear local arrangements for collaboration between professionals and agencies.’ Working Together 2013
Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out definitions and examples of the four broad categories of abuse which are used for the purpose of registration on the child protection register
These categories overlap and an abused child does frequently suffer more than one type of abuse.
The DCPM should provide advice and guidance Wholistic, liaising with other agencies as necessary. The DCPM should monitor the progress of cases to ensure that they are dealt with as quickly as possible, consistent with a thorough and fair process.
“vulnerable children” means children -
(a) who are unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision for them of social care services,
(b) whose health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for them of social care services,
© who have a physical or mental impairment,
(d) who are in the care of a public authority, or
(e) who are provided with accommodation by a public authority in order to secure their well-being.
Physical abuse may take many forms e.g. hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning or suffocating a child.
It may also be caused when a parent or foster parent feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child. This unusual and potentially dangerous form of abuse is now described as fabricated or induced illness in a child.
Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent effects on the child’s emotional development, and may involve:
Some level of emotional abuse is involved in most types of ill treatment of children, though emotional abuse may occur alone.
Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening and includes penetrative acts.
It may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of pornographic materials, watching sexual activities or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
Neglect involves the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health and development.
This may involve failure to provide adequate food, shelter or clothing, failure to protect from physical harm or danger or failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of a child’s basic emotional needs.
The factors described in this section are frequently found in cases of child abuse. Their presence is not proof that abuse has occurred, but:
The absence of such indicators does not mean that abuse or neglect has not occurred.
In an abusive relationship the child may:
The parent or foster parent may:
Staff and foster parents should be aware of the potential risk to children when individuals, previously known or suspected to have abused children, move into the household.
The following are often regarded as indicators of concern:
Children can have accidental bruising, but the following must be considered as non accidental unless there is evidence or an adequate explanation provided:
Bite marks can leave clear impressions of the teeth. Human bite marks are crescent shaped. Those over 3cm in diameter are more likely to have been caused by an adult or older child.
A medical opinion should be sought where there is any doubt over the origin of the bite
It can be difficult to distinguish between accidental and non-accidental burns and scalds, and will always require experienced medical opinion. Any burn with a clear outline may be suspicious e.g.:
Linear burns from hot metal rods or electrical fire elements
Scalds to the buttocks of a small child, particularly in the absence of burns to the feet, are indicative of dipping into a hot liquid or bath.
Fractures may cause pain, swelling and discolouration over a bone or joint.
Non-mobile children rarely sustain fractures. These are grounds for concern if:
A large number of scars or scars of different sizes or ages, or on different parts of the body may suggest abuse
Emotional abuse may be difficult to recognise, as the signs are usually behavioural rather than physical. The manifestations of emotional abuse might also indicate the presence of other kinds of abuse.
The indicators of emotional abuse are often also associated with other forms of abuse. The following may be indicators of emotional abuse:
Boys and girls of all ages may be sexually abused and are frequently scared to say anything due to guilt and/or fear. This is particularly difficult for a child to talk about and full account should be taken of the cultural sensitivities of any individual child/family.
Recognition can be difficult, unless the child discloses and is believed. There may be no physical signs and indicators are likely to be emotional/behavioural.
Some behavioural indicators associated with this form of abuse are:
Some physical indicators associated with this form of abuse are:
Evidence of neglect is built up over a period of time and can cover different aspects of parenting. Indicators include:
In some circumstances, agencies or individuals are able to anticipate the Likelihood of significant harm with regard to an expected baby
These concerns should be addressed as early as possible in order to provide sufficient time for full assessment and support so as to enable the parents (whenever possible) to provide safe care.
The following assumes that there are no concerns or allegations against Wholistic Fostering Foster Parent(s) or its staff or volunteers of the fostering service. If there are any such concerns, see the Allegations against Staff and Foster Parents Procedure.
Any concerns or allegations of Significant Harm to a child placed with a foster parent approved by the agency must be reported to the Designated Child Protection Manager. Outside office hours, the Duty worker who will then inform the Designated Child Protection Manager should be contacted. This includes concerns or allegations made about another child, a visitor, a person in the community, teacher, social worker, parent or any other person. Where a concern or allegation about historical abuse is made this should still be referred - there should not be an assumption that the concern has been dealt with.
If it is believed that a child has been, or is likely to be, harmed, abused or neglected then Social Services must be notified immediately.
The referrer (ie. the individual who suspects abuse or risk of abuse is evident) should report as much detail about the child and circumstances, as available. They should state clearly what has been seen or heard and by whom.
The referrer should make a judgement as to whether the child’s circumstances require immediate action (what action is in the child’s best interest?). If possible this should be made in consultation with a qualified Wholistic Fostering member of staff.
Please note:
Following this Wholistic Fostering will keep you informed about any further developments. If you think that Wholistic Fostering is not acting in the child/young person’s best interest and a child remains at risk, following the above actions - contact the Local Authority concerned (child protection is every ones business). Please use the Wholistic Fostering whistle blowing policy, if appropriate.
The following applies where there is an immediate risk to a child e.g. the need for urgent medical attention as a result of suspected Significant Harm or there is an immediate risk of harm to the child which cannot be prevented.
In these circumstances, the foster parent(s) must take immediate necessary action that they see fit to protect the child, which may include calling the emergency services e.g. the Police or Ambulance Service.
If the child is taken to hospital or the Police are called, the foster parent(s) must inform them that there is a suspicion of Significant Harm.
Wherever possible, the Supervising Social Worker should be contacted as soon as the foster parent become aware of the child’s need for emergency attention. However the foster parent should not delay taking action in order to do so. If the Supervising Social Worker is not contacted before the emergency services are contacted, s/he should be notified as soon as practicable afterwards. The Designated Child Protection Manager will also be notified.
Once the immediate risk to the child is alleviated and the Designated Child Protection Manager has been notified, the procedures set out in Section 2.3, Referring Concerns to Children’s Social Care and Others should be followed.
Where concerns or allegations of Significant Harm are received and reported to the Designated Child Protection Manager, the Designated Child Protection Manager will decide whether to make a referral to the local authority’s Children’s Social Care. The referral will be made to Children’s Social Care for the area where the Significant Harm is suspected in accordance with the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Inter Agency Child Protection Procedures.
In all areas, Children’s Social Care will require the referral to be made in writing and should provide feedback on action taken as a result of the referral within 48 hours of receiving the referral.
Where no feedback is received as to the action taken within this timescale, the Designated Child Protection Manager should contact Children’s Social Care in order to establish the action taken.
Once feedback is received, where there are concerns about the Children’s Social Care response, the Designated Child Protection Manager should seek to discuss the concerns with the manager of the Children’s Social Care team dealing with the referral.
The following people/agencies should also be notified that a referral has been made:
See also chapter on Confidentiality.
Under no circumstances should information about the concerns/allegations be given to a person who is implicated or against whom an allegation has been made until this has been agreed with Children’s Social Care and/or the Police.
Information about the actions taken should be shared with the child’s foster parents and other relevant members of Wholistic Fostering staff on the basis of their need to know.
Where there are concerns about Significant Harm to a child and this leads to an Initial or Core Assessment by Children’s Social Care, full information about the child should be shared with Children’s Social Care in order for the necessary assessments to take account of the full picture in relation to the child.
Where Children’s Social Care decides to undertake a Section 47 Enquiry as a result of the referral, the agency Wholistic Fostering will cooperate fully with the local authority, attend Strategy Meetings as required and share information from their case records in order to assist the local authority to take account fully of all the available background information.
Wholistic Fostering will agree with Children’s Social Care who will be responsible for notifying the Regulatory Authority, and keeping them updated.
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Standards & Regulations
Fostering Services National Minimum Standards (England) 2011:
Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Care:
See also:
As part of your preparation to foster, you will have been provided with information on health and safety and be clear on what your responsibilities are as a carer. Each fostering household will have had a Health and Safety assessment as part of the initial approval, and will include additional assessments if you have a pet, gun, swimming pool or holiday home. This will be reviewed at least annually by your supervising social worker. You may also receive a visit from an Inspector from Ofsted as part of the inspection process for the fostering service.
Foster homes should provide a warm and welcoming environment where children are safe from harm or abuse as well as bullying. The home should be clean and well maintained including decor.
Your supervising social worker will talk to you about any safety equipment WHOLISTIC FOSTERING may be able to offer. This could involve equipment for young children such as safety gates and car seats.
Generally WHOLISTIC FOSTERING expects you to decorate and furnish the room/s available for fostering before your first placement. There should be enough space to provide a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and space to study. You will be expected to provide most equipment including a computer for your personal use as well as for the foster child.
Where you are asked to provide a placement outside your usual age category in an emergency, WHOLISTIC FOSTERING may be able to help with the cost of equipment, particularly if it is to enable you to care for a baby.
In terms of context, nearly half of all childhood accidental injuries occur at home or in the garden. Figures from the Child Accident Prevention Trust indicated that ‘121 children died from accidents in the home, of these 86 children were under 5 years old. Over a million children and young people under 15 visited hospital with accidental injuries that had happened at home.
Falls account for almost a quarter of all home accidental injuries to children. They are the most common single cause of home accidental injury.
Collisions with a person or object are the second most common type of accidental home injury and the only one where the injury rates are approximately the same for children of all ages. Typically these injuries happen when children run into objects, run into each other or are struck by a falling object.
Burns and scalds are the third most common injury. They particularly affect babies and very young children with scalds from hot drinks being the most common cause.
The fourth most common reason for children being taken to hospital is suspected poisonings. These happen when parents or carers think that children have consumed medicines, household cleaners, DIY or gardening chemicals. Nine in ten suspected poisonings involve children under the age of 5. Carers need to be aware of the associations that children make between medicines and sweets as well as the tendency of children to copy or learn from adult behaviour, so carers need to consider this when taking medication themselves.
Most accidents happen in the lounge / living room / dining room - probably reflecting where children spend most of their time. The next most common places in the home for accidents to take place are the kitchen, bedroom and stairs.
Young children are not able to assess risk themselves. They also have poor co-ordination and balance and need to touch and explore as part of learning about the world around them. As children get older they learn new skills and begin to understand what they are able to do safely but will still need to test out their new abilities which will involve raking some risks.
Children and young people grow and learn new skills rapidly. It is important that carers who care for children know what risks each developmental stage brings and plan for this. It is impossible to fully ‘childproof’ a home but knowledge of the potential for accidents and of effective safety measures can reduce the incidence and severity of these.
There are a number of reasons why looked after children will be at a higher risk of accidents in the foster home;
All carers are expected to purchase smoke detectors and a First Aid box (at their own expense) as part of being able to demonstrate safe care in their home. A child will not be placed until these are obtained.
Where new placements are made; the Health and Safety checklist must be re-visited to ensure it meets the needs of the individual child.
You should ensure that you understand the right way to lift a child and heavy or awkward objects. Moving things the wrong way can cause you to have physical damage - such as back injuries, sprains, cuts and bruises. This advice may be of use.
Reduce the risk:
Prevent pain injury and damage:
Learn to lift things the right way to reduce the risk of injuring your back, arms and legs:
Carrying:
Unloading:
Be as careful setting down the load as you were when lifting it.
Make sure the load is secure wherever you place it. Make sure it won’t fall, tip over, roll or block someone’s way.
You will be provided with training in First Aid, which needs to be refreshed every three years. You must maintain an adequately stocked First Aid Kit. This should include items such as waterproof plasters, fabric plaster strip, antiseptic wipes / cream, eye-wash, crepe bandage, tweezers and scissors. (However, please remember that some children have an allergy to plasters - so if possible get this information from the birth parents.)
You need to follow certain standards when children in placement are involved in water based activities. This should include the use of arm bands for all non swimming children.
Where possible, water based activities should take place where a qualified lifeguard or a qualified instructor is in attendance. It is best wherever possible, to swim within prescribed areas laid down by official beach authorities.
Where this is not possible, you should ensure that the child/ren are kept under close supervision by an adult swimmer at all times. This can mean standing at the waters’ edge or being in the water, but the critical thing is to take no risk at all with currents and tides. If you have any doubt about sea conditions, do not allow children to go in.
It might be useful for you to have a floating object at hand that can be used as a buoy in the event of a child getting into difficulty in the water. However, rubber rings and lilos should only be used as play objects if they have a line attached and that line is held by the supervising adult.
Inflatable boats and toys should only be used in the water when supervised by an adult who is a strong swimmer. On these occasions, a strong line should be attached to the dinghy and secured to a base on the beach.
Other water based activities (canoeing, sailing, wind surfing, surfing etc.) should only be allowed under qualified supervision and life jackets must be used.
You must ensure that you have appropriate insurance to cover dangerous sports. You must seek permission from the local authority if you plan to undertake these.
Surveys have shown that a substantial proportion of parents do not use child restraints when transporting their children, and many of the child seats that are used are incorrectly fitted. ‘All children under 12 years and under 4'11“ (1.48m) travelling in cars must use a restraint, if a suitable one is available anywhere in the vehicle ' (RoSPA 2001). This is to supplement the fitted seat belt and ensure that the child is both comfortable and safe when travelling.
We would always advise you to use the appropriate restraint for the child. Child restraints are divided into categories according to the weight of the children for which they are suitable. It is the weight of the child that is most important when deciding what sort of child restraint to use. Child restraints must conform to a British or a European standard. Please take advice on the type of restraint for the child you are caring for. However, we offer the following guidelines:-
Any vehicle used for transporting a foster child must have up-to-date road tax, MOT, insurance and car safety seats and safety belts in good working order. You need to notify your insurance company of your role and the fact that you will be transporting children.
You must ensure that any child being driven in their car is wearing a seatbelt at all times.
There are a number of websites providing advice and guidance on child safety in cars - these may be helpful:
This guidance aims to significantly reduce the chance of a fire occurring in the home, and should a fire occur, it provides advice about how to ensure that everyone gets out of the home safely.
Prevention:
Looking after the electrics:
Deep frying food:
What to do if your pan catches fire:
Don’t take any risks - get everyone out of the home and call the Fire Brigade.
Plugs and cables:
Cigarettes, cigars and pipes:
Using candles:
Smoke alarms:
Fire extinguishers:
Night time safety check:
Children:
Young children can be curious about the fire and flames, so it’s also important to teach them how dangerous fire can be and how quickly it can get out of hand. Don’t avoid talking to the children because you don not want to frighten them. If a fire starts without an adult around, children need to know exactly what to do.
Teaching children to be safe with fire:
Fire safety rules for children:
Planning your escape
Once a fire starts, it takes hold quickly and spreads even faster. A fire is frightening and it can be difficult to think straight, especially if your hall is filled with smoke and you’re worried about getting you and your family out.
On average, people can survive for less than five minutes in a smoke-filled room. Preparing and practising a plan of action will help you to act quickly if there’s a fire - it could even save your life.
Plan your escape together
Stop -Think - Act.
Fire Plan 1 - If the smoke alarms go off when you’re asleep, shout to wake everyone up, get everyone together, follow your escape plan and get out of the building.
Fire Plan 2 - Smoke can be deadly. If you have to go through it, crawl under it.
Fire Plan 3- If you are trapped in a room by smoke or fire, you need to stop smoke getting into the room.
Further Advice:
Your local fire brigade may be able to undertake a home visit and offer free advice on smoke alarms and the best fire escape route for you and your family.
An internet search can provide a range of additional details. The following sites may be helpful;
If you have a swimming pool or a pond it should be covered, fenced off or drained.
Any chemicals should be kept in a locked, safe place which children cannot get them.
Any out buildings such as garages and sheds should be locked.
If you have slides and swings, they should be secure with a soft surrounding area.
A greenhouse/shed should be in good repair and any glass should be away from the play area or made of toughened glass.
Barbecues should be closely supervised and children should never be left unattended near them. Barbecues can remain hot for a long period of time after use and they should be damped down once finished with. Children should not be allowed to light barbecues. Never leave barbecues unattended.
If children play unsupervised in the garden, then gates and fences should be secure.
Some fairly common garden plants are poisonous and some are fatal. Children may eat berries and think they are ok. Poisonous plants should not be in the garden. If they already are, you should remove them.
You should not keep a dog defined under the Dangerous Dogs Act; this would mean your re-approval would not take place.
Where children have allergies to pets (for example in relation to asthma or eczema) you should talk to your supervising social worker about how best to minimize the effects.
If you do have pets, you should keep their areas including the garden clean and regularly changed.
You should make sure that any appliances are in good working order and regularly serviced by a Gas Safe engineer.
There is a separate section regarding this, see Transport.
If there are concerns about any aspects of your home, then your supervising social worker will discuss this with you and a period of time will be given to resolve the issue. If the issue remains a significant concern and is not resolved, then a report will go to the fostering panel to consider your approval.
Your supervising social worker will support and guide you to create and maintain a safe and caring environment. They will also help you with developing your Safer Caring Policy and arranging a break (respite) from fostering where this is agreed as part of the child’s care plan.
This information will be reviewed and amended along with any changes in legislation to make sure you provide the safest possible family home.
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This chapter explains the way in which people are dealt with from their initial enquiry, to the consideration of their assessment at the Fostering Panel. It should be read in conjunction with the following procedures:
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 13 Recruiting and Assessing Foster Parents.
Throughout the process of enquiry and assessment, potential parents will be treated with respect and fairness. They will be dealt with by members of staff that are able to pass on relevant information and have the skills to deal with them. They will be kept informed of the progress of their application and assessment, which will be presented to the Fostering Panel in a maximum of eight months from the receipt of their application.
On receipt of an enquiry from a potential foster parent, an administrative officer will record the enquirer's details which must include:
Within 5 working days of any enquiry, the Fostering Service will provide the enquirer with an information pack containing information about fostering and the assessment process.
If deemed appropriate at the time of the enquiry WF will offer the enquirer an initial visit to take place at a time that is convenient for the enquirer and the agency.
The information pack will also include an application form which enquirers are asked to complete and return if they wish to pursue their interest.
In cases where the application form is completed and returned this will be reviewed by a fostering manager.
If assessed as appropriate the fostering manager will arrange an initial home visit to the enquirers if this has not already taken place
The fostering manager will arrange for a worker to meet the enquirer in their own home. The allocated social worker will contact the enquirer within 5 working days of the allocation and make arrangements to undertake the initial visit.
The purpose of the initial visit is to give further information to the potential applicants about the tasks expected of foster parents and the skills, experience, knowledge and aptitudes necessary for fostering, as well as to describe the assessment and approval process. The social worker will also discuss any relevant health, criminal, accommodation, employment and financial issues with the potential applicants, and consider with them the next steps and whether it may be appropriate to move forward with their application.
A second visit may be required for some potential applicants to cover areas not explored at the first visit or to explore further any areas of concern highlighted during the Initial Visit. Potential applicants will be advised not to pursue their interest where they have recently faced significant challenges within their family, such as newly formed partnerships or reconstituted families, serious illness, pregnancy, separation or bereavement.
Potential applicants may also be advised not to pursue an application at this stage where it is considered that the application would be inappropriate having regard to information obtained at the initial visit.
Potential applicants should be asked whether they have either fostered or applied to foster before and if so which agencies they applied to or were approved by. If they are still the subject of an approval they cannot be considered until that approval is terminated.
The social worker will make a recommendation about whether the enquirer should make a formal application and discuss their recommendation with their manager, who will make a decision whether it would be appropriate to invite an application. The outcome of the visit and the manager’s decision will be recorded.
If there are reasons for not inviting an application, the manager will write to the enquirers setting out the decision not to proceed and the reasons. Advice should be given on the steps they may take if they disagree with the decision. This will include information about the Complaints Procedure.
Where there is agreement from the fostering manager to invite an application, the enquirer/s will be asked to complete an application form,(if not already done) together with the Criminal Records Bureau forms for all members of the household aged 18 and over and frequent visitors aged 18 and over. Applicants will also be asked to participate with medical checks (see Section, Health), other agency checks (see Section, Checks) and they will need to provide the names of at least three personal referees (see Section, References).
They are also required to enter into a written agreement with the agency stating that the information that they have provided is true and that they are aware that their failure to comply with this agreement will lead to the refusal of their application.
The name of the applicant/s will then be placed on the list for the next ‘Skills to Foster’ Training Course.
The fostering manager will allocate the prospective applicant to a social worker to undertake the full assessment of the application - see Section, Home Study/Assessment).
Following receipt of their application form, the applicants will be invited to attend the 'Skills to Foster' Training Course.
Skills to Foster Training Courses will usually be planned to enable applicants to have at least 4 weeks' notice of their date and venue so as to encourage extensive participation.
The attendance of and the contribution to the Skills to Foster Training Course will form part the assessment of the applicant's suitability to become foster parent/s.
Skills to Foster Training Courses provide an opportunity for the assessing social workers to find out more about the applicants and have a clearer idea of their strengths, areas for further work and any concerns that need to be clarified as part of the assessment process.
The Skills to Foster Training Courses are also aimed at self-assessment in that they enable applicants to find out more about fostering and help them discover whether fostering is right for them and their family.
The facilitators of the Group will complete a record of observations made of the applicants, that will be shared with them and the assessing social worker as part of the assessment and this will also form part of the report presented to the Fostering Panel.
Applicants are expected to attend all the Skills to Foster Training Courses offered. In the case of joint applications, both must attend.
If the application is not deemed appropriate because of information emerging from the Groups, for example where there are child protection concerns in relation to the family or the family's values, the applicant will be informed in writing of this decision, with reasons.
Where the applicant disagrees with the decision and/or is not willing to withdraw, a brief report on the application should be presented to the Fostering Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the applicants (see Section, The Panel Recommendation to Section, Representations / Independent Review Procedure).
The applicants and all people aged 18 or over living or regularly visiting the household will be asked to complete the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure forms and produce the necessary identification. These will then be sent to the Criminal Records Bureau by the fostering service.
(Note: CRB checks are not transferable so copies of checks taken by other agencies or for other posts cannot be accepted.)
Administrative staff within the fostering service will also carry out checks by writing to the NSPCC, relevant Health Trust, Education Service, Schools (in relation to the applicant's own children) and Children's Social Care Services for the area where the applicants live and (if appropriate) where the applicants previously lived, including asking for a check to be made as to whether any of the applicant’s children have been subject to a Child Protection Plan.
Where applicants have moved to the UK within the last 10 years, checks will also be made through the organisation ‘Children and Families Across Borders’ (formerly International Social Services) and/or the relevant Consulate on all members of the household aged 10 and over.
In appropriate cases, a check will also be made that the applicants have a right to work in the UK.
Where the applicant has made a previous application to foster or adopt, the relevant agency must be asked to confirm in writing the outcome of the application.
The administrative staff will record the dates when the checks were sent and the dates when replies were received. The replies to the checks should be placed in the confidential section of the applicant's record.
Where there are concerns about an applicant's circumstances as a result of the information obtained from the above checks, this should be referred to the fostering manager and the applicant may be advised not to proceed with the application.
Where the checks reveal that the applicant or a member of the household is a disqualified person (foster carer), see Persons Disqualified from Fostering Procedure. The applicant will be advised not to proceed with their application.
In any other case where there is doubt or where the applicant disagrees with a decision not to proceed with the application and/or is not willing to withdraw, an early referral should be made to the Fostering Panel and the Agency Decision Maker. In these circumstances, a brief report on the application should be presented to the Fostering Panel and the procedure to be followed should be the same as if the report was a full report on the applicants (see Section , The Panel Recommendation to Section, Representations / Independent Review Procedure).
If the information leading to a decision not to proceed relates to a previous conviction of one of two joint applicants or a member of the applicant's household, the details of the offence can only be disclosed to the applicant with the consent of the relevant person; without such consent, the applicant can only be informed that the reason relates to information obtained from the checks but no details can be given.
Information relevant to the application that has been obtained from the CRB may only be retained on the applicant's file for a limited period and should be destroyed when a decision is made on the application. The manager should note on the file that the CRB information has been destroyed and that the information led to a particular view, without citing the information itself.
All applicants must agree to a full medical assessment conducted by their GP on their health and any other relevant health issues. Applicants will be given a BAAF Form AH Adult Health Report for the GP to complete. The GP’s fee for completing the report will be met by WF.
The report will be passed to the Medical Adviser to the Fostering Panel, who should be asked to advise on the content and implications of the report. This advice will be referred to in the report on the application to the Fostering Panel.
Where the applicant's GP has expressed concerns or where clarification of the implications of any health issues is required, detailed advice must be sought from the Medical Adviser to the Fostering Panel at an early stage and the implications fully discussed with the applicant. It may be necessary for the Medical Adviser to speak directly to the GP or for reports from other health professionals also to be obtained and presented to the Medical Adviser and the Fostering Panel.
The applicants will be asked to provide the names of two personal referees, who are adults, have known the applicants for at least 5 years in a personal capacity and are not related to the applicants. In addition, one personal reference will be obtained from a family member.
In the case of joint applications to foster, personal references should adequately cover both applicants. Otherwise additional personal references may be requested.
A further reference must be obtained from each applicant's current employer. In addition, where the applicant has frequently changed jobs, written references should also be obtained from past employers.
The administrative staff in the Fostering Team will send requests for references enclosing standard forms for completion by the referees.
The assessing social worker will also interview the personal referees and make a written record of the interview.
References from ex-partners should be obtained where there was joint parenting of children and if the children are under 18 years at the time of the assessment.
The application will be allocated to a qualified social worker for a full assessment to be completed. Where the allocated social worker is not experienced, he or she will conduct the assessment alongside an experienced worker.
The time taken to complete the assessment from the receipt of the application form until the presentation of the report to the Fostering Panel will be a maximum of eight months. However, where an issue arises during the course of an assessment which requires a decision as to the future direction of the assessment and this cannot be resolved by discussion between the assessing social worker and the applicant, or by reference to the social worker’s manager, consideration should be given to the early referral to the Fostering Panel.
All fostering assessments will be completed on BAAF Form F using the competence based model which requires evidence of:
Caring for children.
Providing a safe caring environment.
Working as part of a team.
Own development.
The assessment will also look at the applicants’ understanding of and ability to deal with children’s behaviour including encouraging children to take responsibility for their behaviour and helping them to learn how to resolve conflict.
The assessing social worker will carry out a series of interviews with the applicant(s).
All children living in the household will also be interviewed by the assessing social worker as part of the assessment. This should be conducted in an age and developmentally appropriate way.
In addition, all adults living in the household and adult birth children who are living elsewhere should also be interviewed by the assessing social worker.
The suitability of the accommodation must be assessed and a health and safety checklist completed including an assessment of risk posed by any pets in the household. Any issues relating to the accommodation that arise from these checks should be recorded on the Form F.
The availability of bedrooms for fostered children should be discussed. (The Fostering National Minimum Standards 2011 provide that each child over 3 should have their own bedroom or, where this is not possible, the sharing of the bedroom has been agreed by the placing authority.) WF do not advocate the sharing of a bedroom unless it is two siblings under the age of 10, and if this has been agreed with the placing social worker. In exceptional circumstances WF will enter into discussions should a request be made for two siblings to share a room over the age of 10 years. This may occur following a request for a short term emergency placement in order to provide an immediate safe environment while assessment and further investigation takes place.
The assessment will take account of the outcome of the agency checks carried out and references obtained. Applicants may be advised not to pursue their application where it is considered that the application would be refused having regard to information obtained from checks or which indicates a prospective carer has attempted to cover up or disguise information about offences (see Section, Checks). The assessment will also take account of the information obtained and observations made during the ‘Skills to Foster’ Training Course. Applicants may be advised not to pursue their application where it is considered that the application would be refused having regard to information obtained during the course (see Section, Skills to Foster Training Course).
The completed Form F should contain the outcome of the assessment and recommendations of the assessing social worker, including the proposed terms of approval for the foster parents.
The report should be shared with and signed by the applicant. It should be explained to applicants that they have 28 days to do this, (or they can be asked to sign a disclaimer stating they do not wish to take 28 days to comment) and that any written comments they make will be circulated to Fostering Panel members, with the report.
The report should also be approved, signed and dated by the assessing social worker’s manager.
The Form F report will be supplemented by the assessment summary of the applicant in the Skills to Foster Training Courses, a chronology and evidence of required competencies. This assessment summary should also be shared with the applicant prior to presentation to the Fostering Panel and again they should be advised that they have a maximum of 28 days to comment.
This gives applicants the opportunity to make any comments on the reports, for example by expressing disagreement or support for the recommendations.
Applicants should be provided with a leaflet about Fostering Panel before being invited to attend when their application is being considered.
All the relevant information (incorporating the report from the Skills to Foster Training Course, the applicant's comments, references, a full written report on visits to the referees, chronology, completed Health and Safety checklist, full information about all the statutory checks and the Medical Adviser's report) should be sent to the Panel Administrator 15 working days before the date of the Fostering Panel meeting considering the application.
The assessing social worker should also inform the Panel Administrator about the arrangements for the foster carers to attend the Panel meeting and whether they require additional support such as an interpreter. The decision to attend the Panel meeting rests with the applicants and a wish not to attend will not prejudice consideration of their application.
At the Panel meeting, the information will be presented by the social worker responsible for the assessment or a substitute with adequate knowledge of the applicant and the assessment.
Foster parents attending the Panel should be invited to give their views or any comments on the application and the reports.
The applicant’s views and wishes must be presented fairly and accurately within the documentation before the Panel and verbally.
The Panel will consider the written report together with all the supporting documentation and any additional information presented verbally, and make a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker regarding the outcome of the assessment, including where approval is recommended, the category of fostering recommended.
The recommendation will be recorded in writing and, where approval is recommended, the category of fostering, any limitations of the approval to named children or conditions as to the age range or number of children to be placed in the foster home will also be specified.
Reasons for the recommendations, the category and any conditions will be recorded in the Panel's minutes.
The applicant will be informed verbally by the chair of the Panel of the recommendation at the outcome of the meeting or if the carers did not attend, verbally within two working days.
After the Fostering Panel has considered the report and made a written recommendation, the Panel Administrator will send the minutes to the Agency Decision Maker to consider the recommendations for approval.
The Agency Decision Maker will consider all the reports and recommendation and make a decision as to the suitability of the applicant to foster within 7 working days of the Panel meeting. The decision must be recorded, together with reasons.
Where the application is approved, the category and any terms of the approval must be also specified in writing.
Arrangements will be made for the applicants to be given verbal notification of the decision within 24 hours and written notice of the decision, with reasons, signed by the Agency Decision Maker, within 5 working days of the decision.
If a decision is made to approve a foster parent, written notice of the decision and the terms of the approval, signed by the Agency Decision Maker, will be sent to the foster parent together with two copies of the Foster Care Agreement (see Section, After the Approval).
If the Agency Decision Maker decides to refuse an application for approval, written notice of the proposal to not to approve them together with his/her reasons and a copy of the Fostering Panel's recommendation will be sent to the applicant. The applicant will be advised that if he or she wishes to challenge the decision, he/she has the right to make written representations to the Fostering Panel within 28 days of the date of the written notice of the decision or, as an alternative, to apply to the Secretary of State to request a review of the decision by an Independent Review Panel. Any such application must be made in writing within 28 days of the notice of the decision and supported by reasons.
The only circumstances where the foster parent will not have the right to request a review by an Independent Review Panel is if he or she is regarded as disqualified as a result of a conviction or caution for a specified offence - see Persons Disqualified from Fostering Procedure.
If no written notification of a request to make representations or for a review is received within this period, the Agency Decision Maker’s decision to refuse the application can be confirmed.
If written representations are made within the period, the matter must be referred back to the Panel for further consideration. Applicants who wish to attend the meeting of the Fostering Panel can arrange for a friend or supporter to accompany them. The Panel will hear any representations and make a recommendation following this. The Panel may uphold its recommendation or make a different recommendation as a result of the applicant's representations. The Panel’s fresh recommendation will be sent to the Agency Decision Maker who will then proceed to make his/ her decision within 7 working days of the Panel meeting. Written notice of the decision and reasons will be sent to the applicant (signed by the Agency Decision-Maker) within 2 working days of the decision.
If the applicant decides to refer the matter to an Independent Review, the relevant Panel reports, any new information obtained since the Panel meeting, a record of the decision made and reasons, a copy of the written notification of the decision and a copy of the Panel minute, if different, will be sent to the Independent Review within 10 working days of their written request.
The procedure for the Independent Review is carried out by BAAF; the applicant and two representatives of the fostering agency will be invited to attend the Independent Review.
After considering the representations, the Independent Review may make a recommendation, which the Agency Decision Maker will consider before a final decision is made.
Written notice of the final decision, together with reasons, must be sent to the applicant within 7 working days of the receipt of the Independent Review recommendation.
Where an application is approved, the foster parent will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker from WF.
The Supervising Social Worker will request the foster parent to sign a Foster Care Agreement between WF and the foster parent, which contains the information the foster parent needs to carry out his or her functions as a foster parent effectively. The foster parent will be given two copies for signature, and will retain one signed copy.
The other will be kept on the foster parent case record, together with the report and supporting documents presented to the Fostering Panel, a copy of the Panel's recommendation and a copy of the approval decision.
The Foster Care Agreement will contain the following information:
New foster parent will also be given their personal copy of the Foster Parent's Hand-Book, which covers policies, procedures, guidance, legal information and insurance details and in respect of which the foster parent must sign confirmation of receipt.
They will need to provide the Supervising Social Worker with information about their bank account and their availability to commence caring.
The allocated Supervising Social Worker will continue to provide support to the foster parent up to, during and after all placements - see Chapters on Supervision, Training and Review of Foster Parents.
Approved foster parent's should be asked by their Supervising Social Worker to provide a Family Book or Profile. This should contain visual and written information to introduce any child placed in the foster home to members of the foster family and the foster home and to the facilities and environment which are local to the parent. The information should also contain house rules, routines, names of pets, information about how the foster family has fun and any other information to convey what it would be like for a child coming into the household. The Family Book should also identify the approval details of the parents, any special skills they have, the behaviours worked best with and their willingness to manage contact with parents
This information will be used to identify the suitability of the placement to meet the needs of specific children. It may also be sent to referring social workers when the foster parents have been identified as a potential match, and may be shared with the children in need of a placement.
The Panel Administrator will update our register of foster parents which is a list of all approved foster parents containing the following particulars:
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This is the written agreement made between you and the fostering service when you are approved.
It sets out the fostering service’s expectations of you, what you are able to offer and the support and training you can expect.
You need to read and sign the Foster Care Agreement.
The agreement will contain
It will also cover your responsibilities:
You should inform the fostering service of:
We use a electronic service to send out agreements for signing - in cases where there are two applicants - both applicants must sign an agreement.
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A person may not foster more than three children in each foster home except where all children are siblings.
A child may be placed with foster carers for up to 6 days without affecting this limit.
In all other circumstances, foster carers may only exceed this number if an exemption has been agreed.
Applications will usually be made because of the following exceptional circumstances:
Applications can only be made with the agreement of the foster carers concerned.
When considering an exemption the following factors should be regarded
The need for an exemption will be identified at the point when the fostering service is seeking to identify a suitable placement for a child or children, i.e. where a foster carer is identified as the most appropriate option to meet the child's needs, and this is agreed by the Supervising Social Worker for the carers and the foster carer.
The social worker(s) to any other child in the placement should be consulted in order to seek their views on any impact (positive or negative) from an exemption being granted.
All applications for plan for approval. The written application will be prepared by the Supervising Social Worker or the Agency Manager in conjunction with the relevant child's social worker.
The decision whether or not to grant an exemption will be recorded in writing, together with reasons. Any exemption will be specific to a child or children and can be subject to conditions. The foster carer will be notified in writing of the decision.
Upon the granting of an exemption, a time limit will be specified and an exemption can only extend beyond that date if the authorised.
The decision must be recorded.
The decision will be reported to the next available Fostering Panel for ratification.
A child can only be placed in a foster home above the usual limit for up to 6 days without specific authority to exempt the foster home from the limit.
An application for exemption must be made to the Chair of the Fostering Panel or the Vice Chair as soon as practicable thereafter and any such exemption needs to be presented to the next available Fostering Panel, as with planned exemptions.
An interim decision may be necessary on an emergency basis pending full consideration of the exemption.
Any emergency decisions to grant an exemption must be confirmed in writing and copies of the decision, together with the reasons, must be placed on the child's file and the foster carer's case record. A copy must also be sent to the foster carer.
The decision must be recorded.
The Fostering Panel will be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the exemption.
The Fostering Service is responsible for recording the ending the exemption when the exemption is no longer required.
Where a foster placement is identified for a child and would be within the usual fostering limit but outside of the foster carer's terms of approval, an extension to their approval is required.
The same principles and processes apply to extensions as set out above for exemptions and all extensions must be reported to the Fostering Panel.
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This section explains which people are disqualified and therefore not eligible to be assessed as foster parents
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 13 Recruiting and Assessing Foster Carers (http://www.minimumstandards.org/fost_thirteen.html)
A person is disqualified from acting as a foster parent for Wholistic Fostering (unless a relative of the child or already acting as a foster parent) if s/he or any adult member of the household has been cautioned for or convicted of a specified offence committed at the age of 18 or over.
A specified offence is defined as offence against a child*, an offence specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 , the importation/possession of indecent photographs of a child under 16 and any other offence which involves bodily injury to a child (other than common assault or battery),.
*A list of these offences is set out in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, except that it does not include an offence contrary to section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sexual activity with a child) where the offender was under 20 when the offence was committed and the child was aged 13 or over.
In addition, a person is disqualified from acting as a foster carer for the agency (unless a relative of the child or already acting as a foster carer) if s/he or any adult member of the household has been cautioned for or convicted of an offence specified in paragraph 1 of part 2 of Schedule 4 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011committed at the age of 18 or over OR falls within paragraph 2 or 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 4, notwithstanding that the offences listed have been repealed.
Where Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks reveal that an applicant for approval as a foster parent is a disqualified person, the applicants must be advised that their application cannot proceed. This must be confirmed in writing to them, together with the reasons, and retained with their application form.
Where the applicant is a relative or friend of the child seeking approval as a foster carer for a specific child and the person would otherwise be regarded as disqualified, an application for consent to proceed with the assessment in relation to the particular child can be considered by our Agency Decision Maker on the recommendation of the Fostering Panel.
In these circumstances, the assessing social worker responsible for carrying out the checks on the prospective foster carer should prepare a report on the application setting out:
The assessing social worker will arrange with the Panel Administrator a date for the Panel to consider the report and the report should be sent to the Panel Administrator 10 working days before the relevant Panel meeting.
The Panel minutes will be sent to the Agency Decision Maker, who will consider the recommendation of the Fostering Panel on any such applications.
The decision of the Agency Decision Maker will be recorded in writing and a copy placed on the case record of the applicant. A copy of the decision will also be sent to the person concerned.
Where information is provided or updating Criminal Records Bureau checks reveal that an approved foster carer has been convicted of or cautioned for a criminal offence as a result of which he or she will become a disqualified person unless consent is given, an urgent review of the foster carer’s approval will be held and a written report detailing the circumstances leading to the conviction/caution, together with background information from the foster carer’s case record, will be presented to the Fostering Panel as soon as possible. The report should contain a recommendation on whether consent should be granted to allow the foster carer to continue to be approved as a foster carer for the (named) child or children currently in placement.
The report should be sent to the Panel Administrator at least 15 working days before the relevant Panel meeting.
Where such information is received, the social worker for any child currently in the placement must be informed and plans for the termination of the placement will also need to be considered as appropriate.
Where the report recommends the termination of approval of the foster carer, the report should be presented to the earliest possible Fostering Panel.
The Agency Decision Maker will consider the recommendation of the Fostering Panel on any such applications.
The decision of the Agency Decision Maker will be recorded in writing and a copy placed on the case record of the foster carer.
Written notice of the decision, together with reasons, must then be sent to the foster carer as soon as practicable.
Where a decision is made to terminate the approval of the foster carer, the Representations Procedure will apply although they will not have a right to request an Independent review – see Review of Foster Carers Procedure, Section 6: Representations/Independent Review Procedure.
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This chapter explains the arrangements that need to be in place for the matching and initial planning of placements, including introductions and the drawing up of Placement Agreements/Placement Plans. It also includes arrangements where placements end.
Placements will only be made with carers who have been approved by WF (within their terms of approval) and who have signed a Foster Care Agreement.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 11, Preparation for placement (
WF will only accept referrals for placements from local authorities.
Where a referral is made, the referring local authority will be requested to provide information as to the following:
In the case of an emergency placement where it is not possible for the referring local authority to provide the above information at the time of the referral, they will be asked to provide as much information as is available and, if the placement goes ahead, they will be asked to provide full information within 5 working days of the placement.
Any information that is not provided within those timescales will then be requested from the social worker’s manager and if it is still not provided the name of the child’s Independent Reviewing Officer will be requested and s/he will be contacted by the foster carer’s Supervising Social Worker.
It is particularly important for WF and in particular the carer, to have all information about the child and their family which would hinder the carer in providing a safe environment for the child and others in the household.
The referral should be considered immediately by the Duty worker and the Fostering Manager. The Duty worker will then liaise with the referring local authority as necessary. As part of this exchange, information about proposed foster carers will be provided to the referring local authority in order to consider whether the carers can reasonably be expected to meet the child’s assessed needs, taking into account the impact of the proposed placement on existing members of the household.
Each child over 3 will have their own bedroom or, where this is not possible; the sharing of the bedroom will be agreed by the Placing Authority.
Any child with known middle ear or respiratory tract infections, or who is prone to asthma and bronchitis, will not be offered a placement in a smoking household, although exceptions may be made where it is in the child's best interests.
The various placement options should be discussed with the referring Local Authority and a professionals' planning meeting can also be convened at this stage if required, for example, if a child has complex needs.
The matching process should consider the child's needs especially regarding the following key areas:
The matching process should also consider the carer's availability and:
All the various parties involved in the matching process should feedback to the proposed carer’s and/or the Fostering Manager with any problems and gaps identified between the needs of the child and the carer’s ability to meet them. An action plan should be agreed to see if any of the outstanding issues can be resolved, such as transport difficulties or trans-racial issues, and the agreement of the carers and the Supervising Social Worker to the plan sought.
WF will not propose a placement if the assessed needs of the child cannot, with support, be provided by the proposed foster carers.
The child's social worker should be advised to contact or visit potential carers prior to a decision about a placement being made.
Once the child's needs have been matched with the carers and a viable action plan agreed (to resolve any unmatched needs or outstanding issues), the placement match should be passed to the Fostering Manager for final agreement before it is confirmed to the referring local authority.
Once a decision has been made to make a placement, and where time allows a pre-placement planning meeting should take place between the foster carers, the Supervising Social Worker and the Placing Local Authority. If appropriate the child and his/her family/significant others should attend.
This meeting must consider and agree the detailed placement arrangements for the child.
Where it is not possible to hold a pre-placement planning meeting, for example where the placement has to be made in an emergency, a planning meeting must take place within 5 working days of the placement.
The main purpose of the planning meeting is to share full information about the child with the foster carers and agree the contents of the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan which will include confirmation of the following arrangements:
The planning meeting will also agree whether there will be a period of introduction for the child prior to the placement – see Section 3.3, Introductions.
As well as providing the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan, the child’s social worker should also be requested to provide as much information about the child as possible, for example:
It is the aim of WF to make moving a positive experience for each child/young person. Whilst appreciating it is an apprehensive and stressful time, WF will endeavour to minimise the effects upon each child and help them to settle into their new home as effortlessly as possible.
Once the placement has been identified, the Supervising Social Worker should ensure that the child has a copy of the Children's Guide within which there are details regarding the Complaints Procedure. A copy of the complaints procedure should be provided to the parents.
Wherever possible, arrangements should be made for the child, parents or carers and the social worker to visit the foster home prior to the placement. If this is not possible, arrangements may be made for the carers to visit the child and parents or carers; or, as a minimum, for information about the foster carers to be sent to the child – see 3.3, Introductions.
If none of these arrangements can be made, for example where the child is being placed in an emergency or at short notice, extra care must be taken in case the child is frightened or confused, and the information described above should be provided to the child as soon as possible after the placement.
The Placement Agreement/Placement Plan will be drawn up by the child’s social worker as agreed at the planning meeting and this should be provided to the foster carer and Supervising Social Worker by the child’s social worker prior to or within 5 working days of the placement, together with a copy of the child’s Care Plan and the other written information about the child as agreed at the placement planning meeting.
Wherever possible there should be a period of introductions between the child and the foster carers.
This should involve the following:
Throughout the introduction process carers will discuss issues with the child regarding routines within the placement, information about bedtimes, meals, visitors, pocket money, school, privacy and the overall expectations regarding behaviour within the placement. Equally, the child is encouraged to discuss their views and what expectations they have in an effort to resolve any uncertainties/concerns at the outset and to reinforce transparency and honesty to the child.
Notification of the placement must be sent, by the Placing Authority to all those consulted and involved in the decision-making process.
The Placing Authority must also notify the following:
It will necessary for the child’s social worker to ensure the child is registered with a GP, Dentist and Optician, either retaining practices known to them or in the area where they are placed. This is usually covered in the child’s Placement Agreement/Placement Plan –see 3.1, Placement Planning.
Where it is the child’s first placement as a looked after child, it will also be necessary for the child’s social worker to arrange a Health Care Assessment so that a Health Care Plan can be drawn up in time for the first Looked After Review. If the child’s social worker agrees, these arrangements may be undertaken by the foster carer and will be covered in the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
Placements will not be ended by WF for reasons other than:
If the Placing Authority is proposing to end the placement for reasons other than those stated above, WF will inform the child’s Independent Reviewing Officer.
Whenever a placement move is being considered the wishes and feelings of the child must be obtained and considered. Where their wishes and feelings are not being observed the reasons for this must be explained to them. Children should not move placements until they have had a chance to express their view and they have been given an explanation that they can understand of the reasons for the move.
If a move to another carer within WF is being considered, this will be treated as a move to a new placement.
Foster parents will be encouraged wherever possible to be able to maintain contact with placed children and young people who have moved on.
The fostering agency will make arrangements to support the carer with the placement including making arrangements for the appropriate payments to be made promptly.
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Formal reviews of foster carers will take place at least annually and the first annual review will take place so that it can be reported to the Fostering Panel within 12 months of the foster carer’s approval – see, Presentation to the Fostering Panel below.
Dates and the venue for review meetings will be agreed by the Supervising Social Worker in consultation with the foster carer and the independent chair
Reviews can also take place more frequently - and may be initiated by the Supervising Social Worker or foster carers - in the event of a significant change in circumstances of a foster carer affecting the ability or capacity to foster, for example a change in the composition of the household, a significant health issue, concerns about the standards of care provided by the foster carer or persistent use of inappropriate discipline, serious and/or persistent breaches of the Foster Care Agreement, a complaint or allegation made about the carer resulting in a Section 47 Enquiry, concerns as a result of information from updated Criminal Records Bureau checks or a request/recommendation for a change of approval.
Where an allegations or concern is raised in relation to a foster carer, see also Allegations Procedure.
As well as formal reviews, there will be regular supervision, dialogue and feedback between the Supervising Social Worker and the foster carers – see Support and Supervision of Foster Carers.
The first annual review of foster carers must be presented to panel. Other annual reviews may be presented, at the discretion of the agency.
Prior to the review meeting, the Supervising Social Worker will collate all information relevant to the foster carers' suitability to foster, including the number and type of placements in the last year, information from the Looked After Reviews of children placed, any extensions or exemptions that have been agreed in the previous year, supervision records, post placement reports and records of any complaints or allegations made against the foster carers or members of their household.
The views of the foster carers, all members of the household, any children placed since the last review, their parents (where appropriate) and their social workers, and any other professional whose views are relevant will be sought and taken into account at the review. This will include contacting social workers for children previously placed but no longer in the placement. Wherever possible these views should be reported to the review in writing.
The foster carer and members of the family (including the foster carers' own children depending on their age and understanding) will be asked to complete their own review form for this purpose.
Any updates on checks will also be carried out.
The Supervising Social Worker will prepare a review report stating whether the carers continue to be suitable to foster and whether the terms of his or her approval continue to be appropriate. This report should include a summary of the fostering work undertaken so far and how this relates to the development of the foster carer's skills. Any recommendations for change in the foster carers' approval should be highlighted.
A copy of the review report will then be sent to the foster carers and once it has been agreed by them, forwarded to the Fostering Service Manager for approval. A copy will be kept on the foster carer's file.
Admin should receive all paper work relating to the review at least 2 weeks before the review meeting.
The Reviewing Officer/ Manager will only be attending second and subsequent reviews
Review meetings should take place in the foster carer/s home
The review meeting should be attended by the Supervising Social Worker, foster carer/s and the Reviewing Officer
Minutes of the meeting will be taken by the Reviewing Officer/Manager who will then compile a report and make a recommendation.
Should the Reviewing Officer/manager have any concerns about recommending approval then a written report will be presented at the fostering panel for consideration. Prior to taking this course of action it should be discussed with the foster carer/s and the supervising social worker and the fostering manager
In all cases the foster carer/s will view the report by the Reviewing Officer/Manager and will sign the report as an indication that they are happy with the account. A copy will be placed on file.
At the end of the meeting a provisional date should be set for the next review meeting
As well as considering the information collated in advance, the review will also consider the foster carer's safe caring practice, Fire Plan, training programme and any risk assessment in relation to the family pets as part of the review. A health and safety checklist will also be completed.
The review will consider all the available information and views and reach the following conclusions;
A report on the first annual review meeting will be presented to the Fostering Panel within 12 months of the original approval.
Thereafter the review report will be presented to the panel for approval. This process will be followed unless significant changes to the foster carer's approval or the termination of the foster carer's approval is recommended or where any circumstances exist which in the opinion of the Reviewing Officer and Fostering Manager require further consideration. This will include the situation where an updating Criminal Records Bureau check reveals a new concern about the foster carer or a member of the household.
In these circumstances, the review report will be presented to the Fostering Panel.
Where the report recommends termination of the foster carer's approval, the report should give full details of the concerns, allegations or complaints and the outcome of any Section 47 Enquiry or investigation. Any mitigating circumstances should be outlined. A copy of the foster carers' Form F and any previous relevant Panel minutes should also be attached to the report.
The report for the Panel will be shared with the foster carer(s) and they should be invited to submit written comments.
A copy of the report to the Panel (and attachments including any written comments of the foster carer(s) on the report) should be sent to the Panel Administrator at least 15 working days before the relevant Panel meeting.
Foster carers should be invited to attend the Fostering Panel when their review is being considered, together with a supporter if they wish, and the Panel Administrator should be informed if they intend to do so.
Where the Review recommends the termination of approval of foster carers, the review should be presented to the earliest possible Fostering Panel.
Where the Panel's recommendation is for a different category of approval, the Panel may require further assessment or training for the foster carer.
Where the review is presented to the Fostering Panel, the Panel's recommendation as to the future approval of the foster carer will be submitted to the Agency Decision Maker for a decision to be made.
Whether or not the foster carers are present at the Panel, the Panel Adviser will arrange for them to be informed in writing of the outcome of the review as soon as possible and at the latest within 5 working days after a decision is made. The notice will set out:
The Supervising Social Worker will write to any social worker for a child placed with the foster carers to inform them of the outcome of the review.
The outcome of the review will also be recorded and the Register of Foster Carers updated as necessary. Where there has been any change in the terms of the approval, the Foster Care Agreement will be updated and signed by the Supervising Social Worker and foster carer.
Where the approval is terminated, the Fostering Manager will inform the Regulatory Authority.
Where the approval is terminated, the Fostering Manager in consultation with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), will decide whether to refer the former foster carer to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) under the Vetting and Barring Scheme.
Where, as a result of a review, the variation or termination of a foster carer's approval is proposed, by the fostering panel he or she must be advised, when informed of the outcome of the Agency Decision Maker's decision, that if they wish to challenge the decision, they have the opportunity to make representations to the Panel or to request a review by an Independent Review Panel, as set out in the Assessment and Approval of Foster Carers Procedure. The only circumstances where the foster carer will not have the right to request a review by an Independent Review Panel is if he or she is regarded as disqualified as a result of a conviction or caution for a specified offence.
If no written representations or notification of a request for a review are received within the period, the decision to terminate or vary an approval can be confirmed.
Where the termination of the approval of a foster carer is being considered, plans for the termination of any current placement will also be required and made as appropriate.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) on persons aged 18 and over will be updated every 3 years and if necessary, a review of the foster carers' approval should be carried out immediately to take account of any new information.
The foster carers should also be asked to complete Declarations of Health and Suitability every 3 years. In the event of any serious concerns about the foster carer's health, a review of the foster carer's approval will be carried out immediately.
Foster carers' case records should be retained for a minimum of 10 years after their approval has been terminated.
includes Resignations, Terminations and Representations
1. Legal Context
1.1 The Fostering Services Regulations 2011 provide in section 28(1) for the review of the
approval of each foster carer. The review will recommend whether:
a) The person continues to be suitable to act as a foster carer and his/ her household continues to be suitable; and
b) The terms of his / her other approval continue to be appropriate.
1.2 Section 28(13) states that 'a foster carer may give notice in writing where upon his / her approval is terminated with effect from 28 days from the date on which the notice is received by the fostering service provider.
1.3 The following procedure outlines the steps to be taken when a foster carer tenders his/her resignation, or when a review considers that a foster carer or the household is no longer suitable to act as a foster carer.
1.4 This Policy should be read in conjunction with policy and guidance regarding the ‘Qualifying decisions’ and the Representations and Independent Review Mechanism
2. Terminating a foster carer approval in response to the foster carer’ resignation
2.1. A foster carer may at any point give notice in writing that they wish to resign from the role. The approval will be terminated with effect from 28 calendar days from which the written notice of resignation is received by Brent Placement service.
2.2 The Head of Service, Placements will write to the carer to acknowledge receipt of their resignation, toconfirm the date on which the approval terminates, and to acknowledge the service the carers have given to the Borough.
2.3 Upon receipt of the foster carer’s written notice of resignation, Brent Placement Service will within one working day send a copy of the notice to placing authority of any child placed with the foster carer other than Brent Council.
3. Terminating a foster carer approval following Review
3.1 The Placement Service will review the approval of each foster carer whenever it is considered necessary and at intervals of no more than one year. The purpose of the review is to consider whether the foster carer and their household continue to be suitable to be approved for the purpose of fostering. In conducting the review, the Placement Service will make whatever enquiries it considers necessary to inform this judgement. The review will take into account the views of the foster carer, any child placed and the responsible authority for any child who has been in placement during the previous year /
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last review.
3.2 From time to time concerns may arise about carers. Such concerns may arise through complaints, allegations and concerns raised by children, their carers, and / or professionals. Any concerns raised will be fully investigatedusing the appropriate procedures.
3.3 Where there is a serious concern, for example, which indicates the carer or someone in the household may have been committed an offence against a child, caused Significant Harm to a child or has through their actions demonstrated themselves to be unsuitable to be in a position of trust of a child, OR where there has been a pattern of several lesser concerns over a period of time, arrangements should be made to hold an urgent review of the foster carer’s suitability to continue to be approved having paramount regard for the safety and welfare of children who are or may be placed.
3.4 The review may determine that the carer and theirhousehold is no longer suitable for the task of fostering. The Placement Service will prepare a written report setting out the findings of their review.
3.5 The review report and recommendation, together with the original Form F assessment and report on carers’ progress since approval, previous panel minutes along with any other relevant papers will be submitted to the Fostering Panel. The reasons for proposed termination should be clearly stated.
3.6 The foster carer will have theopportunity to attend the Fostering Panel and be heard. Subject to the need to protect children and deal sensitively with third parties information the foster carer should be able to read in advance any reports concerning them which are beingpresented to the panel and to make any further written submissions themselves. The foster carer should be furnished with reports as appropriate,two weeks before the date of Panel meeting. Should the foster carer wish to make any submission, they should send their submission to the Placement Service no later than one week before the Panel date.
3.7 The Fostering Panel will decide whether or not to recommend termination of approval.
3.8 Where the Fostering Panel does not consider that there is sufficient evidence to support the termination of approval the Panel will define in writing matters for further review, e.g. where it is felt the carer might, with additional support and/or training, achieve the required standard.
3.9 Once these matters have been further reviewed an updated report and update will be presented to the Fostering Panel. Again the foster carer should have the opportunity to attend and be heard.
3.10 The Panel recommendations are passed to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) to make the final decision regarding termination.
3.11 When the ADM considers that the foster care and the household is no longer suitable to be a foster carer, the carer will be notified of that decision known as the ‘determination’ in writing setting out the reasons for this, including a copy of the panel’s recommendation.
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3.12 The foster carer has 28 days in which to make written representations against the decision to the agency decision maker or to apply to the secretary of state for a review of the determination by the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). The provision of the IRM does not apply to persons being considered under Regulation 26(8).
3.13 If representations are made thy will be considered by the Foster Panel and the Panel will make a further recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker.
3.14 If application is made to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), the Agency decision Maker will take into account the IRM recommendation as well as the original Panel recommendations in making the final decision regarding termination. (Further information regarding the Representations and IMR procedures can be obtained from Supervising Social Worker or any member of the Placement Service.)
3.15 The Agency Decision Maker will finalise the decision taking into account the recommendations from any IRM or representations made, and issue within 5 working days a letter confirming the final decision. If the decision is to terminate approval, the letter will state the reasons for the termination and the date from which the termination will take effect.
3.16 If no representations are made the Agency Decision Maker will finalise the decision at the end of the 28 day period and issue a letter confirming the termination stating the reasons for the termination and the date from which the termination will take effect.
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This chapter applies to all approved foster carers and explains the way in which WHOLISTIC FOSTERING provides supervision and support to foster carers so that they can be equipped to meet the needs of children in foster placements.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 21 Supervision and Support to Foster Carers.
All approved foster carers will have an allocated, suitably qualified Supervising Social Worker. The allocated Supervising Social Worker is responsible for supervising and supporting carers, ensuring that they have the necessary guidance, support and direction to maintain a quality service, including safe caring practices. This will include an understanding that they must work within the National Minimum Standards for Fostering and the agency's policies, procedures and guidance.
NB It is the social worker for the child or children in the foster placement who holds responsibility for specific advice or support in relation to the child and his or her Care Plan and Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
The Supervising Social Worker must also ensure that the foster carers' training and development needs are identified, and that newly approved carers work towards meeting the Children's Workforce Development Standards and gaining the CWDC Certificate of successful completion. They also have the responsibility to ensure foster carers are familiar and made aware of new policies and guidance.
A programme of supervision visits should be set up and agreed between the foster carer and the Supervising Social Worker from the time of the foster carer’s approval, and endorsed by the Fostering Service Manager.
Supervision is essentially a supportive and enabling two way process to:
The agenda for each meeting should cover:
The supervision visits should be recorded on a Foster Carer Supervision Record, signed by the foster carer the Supervising Social Worker, and Fostering Manager, it should include:
A record of all meetings will be kept on the foster carers' file and one copy will be given to the foster carers.
The supervision records will inform the Foster Carer’s review – see Review of Foster Carers Procedure.
Supervision meetings will take place at least once every month.
Additional visits may be made for the purposes of support (to the foster carer or any member of the foster family) and there will be weekly telephone contact.
For Fostering Families without placements WHOLISTIC FOSTERING will undertake 8 weekly visits and monthly phone calls.
Foster carers will be provided with information about what support will be available from the agency outside office hours, including the relevant contact details.
Unannounced visits will take place at least once a year. The main purpose of the unannounced visit will be to look at the home environment that a child is living in.
The unannounced visits will be undertaken by the foster carers' Supervising Social Worker or the Fostering Support Worker who will need to check:
If the foster carers are not at home, the Supervising Social Worker or Fostering Support Worker should leave a note for the foster carers to say that s/he has visited.
If the foster carers are not at home but the child is present and being looked after by someone else, the supervising Social worker or Fostering Support Worker should check the identity of that person but should not continue with the visit.
Unannounced visits should be recorded on this form http://eforms.wholisticfostering.co.uk/uncategorized/unannounced-visit-form/
There should not ordinarily be a regular programme of unannounced visits without particular reason – for example if a foster carer is being closely monitored. In such an event the reason for such will be explained to the foster carer.
Supervising Social Workers should ensure the following tasks are done:
For the detailed procedure, see Allegations against Staff and Foster Carers Procedure
Where allegations regarding childcare or child protection are made, the Supervising Social Worker should:
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This policy sets out the commitment, practice and review to learning and development within Wholistic Fostering. It has been developed in conjunction with the National Minimum Standards for Foster Care and the Training, Support & Development Standards Framework. It sets out expectations in relation to the agency, the work force and Foster Carers in relation to all aspects of learning and development.
Whilst fostering is often highly rewarding it can also be complex and challenging. The challenges of care are both diverse and extensive, often requiring a significant developmental journey for child and Foster Carer/s. The foundations of high quality professional foster care are built upon dedicated, committed and passionate people who receive rigorous and robust support and training.
We believe that Foster Carers must be enabled to access learning and development opportunities throughout their fostering career. The landscape of childcare is changing all the time and new thinking, research and practice developments is constantly becoming available. Our service is committed to reflect this in the training programme and ensure it becomes fluid and dynamic to capture these opportunities.
This will ensure they have the skills and knowledge they need, and allow them to develop their practice in order that they can help transform the lives of the children they foster.
Wholistic Fostering is dedicated to delivering a comprehensive suite of training that equips Foster Carers with the skills, knowledge and confidence important in supporting and engaging often very bewildered and vulnerable children and young people. As an organisation we recognise the developmental nature of Fostering and variety of learning styles.
Our core aims are to:-
To achieve this we will:-
Foster Carers must be enabled to access learning and development opportunities throughout their fostering career. This will ensure that Foster Carers have the skills and knowledge that are needed and allow for their development and growth in practice. This is recognised as an essential ingredient of parenting, supporting and assisting the children and young people placed at Wholistic Fostering.
In England, The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services state that all Carers maintain a Training Portfolio (NMS 20.4).
There is a section at the back of the Foster Carer Handbook for carers to keep their Learning and Development Records which can be held electronically or in hard copy. This should include all notices of training that are sent to carers and the record of their reply. Course notes; hand-outs; attendance certificate and the completed Record of Continuing Professional Development, should be kept here. There is also a list of courses that are available to carers and as carers they are able to add in the dates that they have attended.
There is an expectation that Foster Carers will:
All applicants (including where there is a second applicant) undertake the Wholistic Fostering two day Preparation Training programme called Tools to foster. This has been developed and is based on the nationally recognised Skills to Foster programme and been made specific to the fostering service of Wholistic Fostering.
The programme delivers the first two days prior to the commencement of the skills based fostering assessment (BAAF Form F).
The identification of areas for skills and knowledge development informs the creation of the personal development pathway and priority training needs post approval.
Tools to Foster to include:- | ||||
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Safeguarding | Equality and Diversity | Therapeutic Childcare | Education | Law and the Looked after Child |
Subject to approval by the Agency Decision Maker an individual training record is created for the Foster Carer and, where there is a joint Foster Carer household, for both applicants.
Induction is undertaken by the Supervising Social Worker and takes place within 3 weeks of approval. The TSD standards workbook is introduced and initial planning for completion is started. This is incorporated into a personal development plan that includes identification and completion of core training.
All newly approved Foster Carers for Wholistic Fostering are required as part of their approval to complete all the Probationary Grade training within the first two years of approval:-
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Safeguarding and Child Protection (Mandatory) To be completed 6 months after approval | Equality & Diversity E-learning (Mandatory) | Safer Care E-learning (Mandatory) | Secure Base Model for Carers | *Creating a Therapeutic Childcare Environment (Mandatory) | First Aid Refresher Due Every 3 years | BILD Accredited ISP Action Plus Level 1 & 2 3 day Course BILD Accredited | Internet & Mobile Safety CEOP Accredited |
*The Effects of Trauma and Abuse | Contact & Working with Families | *Speech Language and Communication | Helping Children Succeed at School | Promoting Sexual Health | BILD Accredited ISP Action Plus Level 1 1 day Course (Mandatory) | Child Sexual Exploitation |
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Safeguarding Refresher (Mandatory) Every 2 Years | Leaving Care | *Syndromes Complex Needs | The Positive Role for Men who Foster (Mandatory for all Male Carers) | Meeting the Needs of Children from other Cultures | *Developing Resilience |
The Health of the LAC | ISP Action Plus Refresher (Mandatory) Every Year | *Developing Healing Relationships |
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Safeguarding Refresher (Mandatory) Every 2 Years | ISP Action Plus Refresher (Mandatory Every Year | Mindfulness | |
Child and Parent Placements | *Therapeutic Care (Advanced Year 1) | *Therapeutic Care (Advanced Year 2) | Education of Looked After Children |
Drugs & Alcohol | Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent / Gangs |
Mandatory Courses have to be completed by Secondary Carers
This training is mapped to the TSD standards and NMS (see appendix 1). It forms a central part of the portfolio and it is the agency policy that this training is completed as part of The TSD Standards. At the end of the first twelve months it is a requirement that the TSD Standards is completed.
Where both partners in a household are approved foster carers the expectation of Wholistic Fostering is that the secondary carer completes all mandatory training as above. We respect completely the pressures of work and other priorities for partners We will always look at making elements of the core training as accessible as possible through different mediums; examples might include through, supervision, E learning courses, weekend training; external reading and abbreviated materials. Whilst we expect the carer to achieve the core training within the first twelve months, there is scope and acceptance this may take longer for a second carer. This is fine providing the term for completion is not open ended and there is a realistic plan for achievement in place.
We have made this commitment in accordance with guidance and best practice and in recognising the important support role second carers take in the lives and welfare of the children placed. Our commitment is to invest in core elements of learning for both parts of the carer partnership.
A common question asked is can I only undertake core training? Our policy response is no this is a minimum expectation and we welcome additional attendance at training events. We would ask that the PDP prioritises core training but if there is the space and capacity to do more we are happy for this expectation to be exceeded.
There will be training available for all Foster Carers throughout the year. Following the first annual review you will be expected to continue with your professional development through supervision every month and by attending training.
After the first two years the main carer is expected to undertake 15 courses within the 3 levels of the training pathway. These are in addition to any refresher requirements that will fall as part of a training year. In building a credible learning and development portfolio the minimum expectation is that the primary carer achieves 4 courses each year of approval. As stated this is the minimum requirement and the agency encourages and welcomes carers who exceed this standard.
The agreed and chosen programme for Foster Carers will be delivered between January to December. Training will not normally take place during the school holidays.
In acknowledging the working and personal commitments of Foster Carers especially where this is a Second Foster Carer the training calendar will look to include weekend and evening training opportunities. These will be detailed as such in the training calendar. Our commitment as an agency is to continue to connect the second carer to continuous professional development through a variety of flexible ways that reflect the competing demands on their time. Learning might be through E learning courses, directed reading, supervision, and attendance at group forums. It is expected that the second carer remains up to date with refresher requirements detailed in the core training.
The Training, Support and Development (TSD) standards form part of a Foster Carer’s induction in the role. They provide a national minimum benchmark that sets out what Foster Carers should know, understand and be able to do within the first 12 months after being approved. All Independent Fostering Providers and Local Authorities supporting foster carers throughout the UK have a duty to ensure that the ‘Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Care’ (TSDS) are implemented and to ensure that carers have access to pre-approval training, induction and on-going professional development. Ofsted who are responsible for inspecting social care services will be charged with regulating this.
A Foster Carer about to start the TSD standards can expect to receive help and advice in planning their evidence and completing the workbook by their supervising social worker. Additional support is available through workshops (detailed in the training calendar as part of the group forums).
Wholistic Fostering has developed in conjunction with the TSD standards an internal workbook that takes you through each section of the standards, and is available in PDF and editable Word formats. The workbook is a tool to help Foster Carers plan, gather and record evidence of their learning and development. It will enable Foster Carer/s to meet the evidence requirements. All Foster Carers will have a portfolio in which to keep their evidence and are encouraged to add to their portfolio each time they attend training or gain new knowledge.
Full guidance covering the completion of the standards is provided alongside the workbook and is available in hard or electronic copy.
Where there is a joint application then you have a choice. You could undertake a joint portfolio that includes the full evidence of the primary carer and that which relates to the role taken by the second carer. Alternatively if you wish you can do individual portfolios. Wholistic Fostering is happy to assist you in deciding the best option and how this can be achieved.
Where there are two full time carers and fostering is the primary role for both, in accordance with guidance and best practice Wholistic Fostering would accept a joint portfolio
Further information can be accessed through the website above and in the Foster Carer Handbook.
Wholistic Fostering is committed to assisting Foster Carers who have difficulties with language or literacy and who may equate expectations in training to fragile educational experiences. The agency will discuss and offer a range of ways that can assist Foster Carers in the successful achievement of learning and development. This may include peer mentoring, group sessions based on language/abilities, use of recording devices.
Where a Foster Carer has higher level qualifications the agency will acknowledge this.
In supporting, guiding and signing of the individual training standards, Supervising Social Workers will receive training and support from the Learning and Development team and be given comprehensive guidance.
The Foster Carer will be issued with a certificate of completion upon successful completion of the TSD Standards. Our policy is that the Supervising Social Worker signs of the individual standards and these are detailed in the evidence workbook. The Learning and Development team and or other Managers will sign off all workbooks and sign the certificates.
Wholistic Fostering is committed to checking the consistency and quality of the work and that agency standards for training and development are maintained. In accordance with best practice internal verification meetings are held to sample completed portfolios.
Carer role | SSW and Team Manager role | L & D Team role |
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* Use supervision to share fostering experiences and consider learning needs (NMS 21)
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This will be discussed as part of the supervision agenda and schedule, creating an opportunity to discuss progress, undertake planning and look at if there is a need for additional support. The first annual Foster Carer review will establish if completion has taken place or identify reasons why not and make recommendations for remedial action. The Fostering Panel will also consider compliance with the expectations set out in considering continued terms of approval.
Each individual training record (CHARMS) will track achievement in the first twelve months and beyond and detail certification.
As an organisation and in maintaining the highest standards in training alongside our valued Foster Carers we will always strive to assist in the completion of this timeline. Within this we accept that there may be a minority of Foster Carers whom may need longer than twelve months to complete the standards and core training.
This may be for the following situations:-
This is understandable, although in accordance with best practice we will seek to re-negotiate a timeframe for completion. This will involve checking if circumstances can be resolved by looking at different approaches. A proportionate, reasonable and common sense approach will always be taken.
Where a Foster Carer is unable to complete within the timescales the following process is followed:-
Wholistic Fostering will deliver a comprehensive training programme for all Foster Carers, staff members and managers reflecting The National Minimum Standards, Legislative, policy and best practice frameworks.
A Training Needs analysis will be undertaken at all levels of the organisation which will inform the programme for the next coming year. This will be undertaken in October (6 week completion) of each year in order that the findings can be used to drive the new programme which will be circulated by January 31st to begin in April.
The training needs analysis will provide the entire organisation -
The agreed and chosen programme for Foster Carers will be delivered between January and December, training will not normally take place during the school holidays.
In reflecting the Childcare demands on Foster Carers there is a policy commitment to where possible schedule the leaning hours between 10am and 2.30pm. There will always be exceptions to the principle set, reflecting a greater number of learning hours for some courses. Where this is the case there will be advanced warning allowing for planning and the learning hour requirement will be detailed.
In acknowledging the working and personal commitments of Foster Carers especially where this is a Second Foster Carer the training programme will look to include weekend and evening training opportunities. These will be detailed as such in the training programme.
The training programme will be sent out by January 31st each year to all Foster Carers in electronic copy by email. The programme of training events will be posted on our website and a hard copy can be made available by the training team at the request of a Foster Carer. All managers and supervising social workers will receive a copy.
The training programme will detail the date of the course, venue, start and finish time, whether level 1, 2, or 3, any special learning requirements details of Trainer/s.
The training programme for the year will include where already set dates of all 2 day preparation programmes for new Foster Carers. It will detail all the core training as referenced in section 6, Post Approval Training for new Foster Carers. It will also include dates where supporting workshops for the TDS Standards are taking place at the end of the Foster Carer’s group forums.
The training needs analysis incorporating training records will identify the refresher course requirement across the Foster Carer base. Each year the training department will collate the level of need in each refresher title as detailed in section 6, post approval training and include the required number of courses. In addition the core (mandatory) training, the programme can best be understood to deliver a range of relevant topics which are supplementary or complementary.
Training that updates and informs Foster Carers of changes in policy, legislation, guidance and regulations. An example would be national changes such as the introduction of the New National Minimum Standards Framework or legislative changes in Missing Children from Care. These can also reflect updates in the changes in the policy of Integrated Services Programme or perhaps changes in the policy of a local authority that will impact directly on practice.
ACCREDITATION OF PRIOR LEARNING (APL) Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) is a process that enables carers to receive recognition for courses attended and certificates and awards they already possess and have undertaken in last 3 years prior to approval at panel.
APL takes into account:
Following approval, Carers should inform their Supervising Social Worker of any APL that they would like to be considered and certificates or other evidence should submitted to the Learning & Development team for verification and if approved, will be added to the carer’s individual training record.
Some of the training will be delivered internally through the Learning & Development team and including staff members with specialist knowledge and an area of interest. Other topics will be commissioned externally from individuals and organisations with expertise, knowledge and working experience in their chosen fields.
At times we get opportunities for places on training courses of various local authorities and other providers through our working partnership. Where known in advance these will be denoted in the training programme. Otherwise they will be advertised in the organisational newsletter (training section) shared with SSW and emailed to Foster Carers. For an at a glance look at the approach of the organisation to training, learning and development please see diagram below:-
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The true success of any learning and development strategy can only be judged through consistent review and evaluation. Every course will have a brief description of the content, learning objectives and suggested audience. The TSD standards covered will be linked.
At the conclusion of each course Foster Carers will be given a written evaluation form and asked to share their comments on
These will be returned to the training department for consideration and used in future planning and commissioning. An electronic option will also be created.
They will also be given a reflective log to take away and complete for the next scheduled supervision.
This will capture the value of learning, consider how it might be used and assist in reflective practice.
Every Foster Carer is asked to keep this in their record of progress and achievement folder. This is a positive way of demonstrating and recording your own continuous professional development
The feedback from our Foster Carers, Children & Young People and Staff members is afforded great value and priority as it is the barometer of whether the learning strategy for the organisation is getting it right.
There will be other opportunities to gain direct feedback through supervision, group forums, and organisational newsletter and by directly contacting the training department.
The evaluations of each course will be held centrally in the training department. Evaluations across all courses will be subject to a sampling framework in providing an additional quality control that ensures this is robust and is linking to the strategy moving forward.
The training policy is a central component of the commitment of Wholistic Fostering to aspire to be a reflective and self evaluating organisation.
Wholistic Fostering has developed an internal E learning platform available to all carers. This offers level 1 training alongside currently a growing catalogue of other training.
The E learning will be managed by the Learning & Development team (part of the HR team) and centrally administered by the Training Administrator. On request carers will be issued with log in details for the two core topics and will have up to twelve months to complete. The learning hours for each, amount to 10 -20 hours and can be done in sections at the pace of the Foster Carer.
This can be achieved within your own home through a home computer or laptop and no special software is required outside of an internet connection. The learning is secure and confidential to the learner. The courses take the form of multiple choice questions and there are several opportunities to review answers. The Training Coordinator can check the status of the course completion and once completed the Foster Carer is issued with an electronic certificate. This is printed by the Foster Carer and will be added by a manager to your individual training record.
In understanding our Foster Carer base reflects a diversity of experience, ability and learning style, we aim to provide training in a format that meets these challenges.
Training will include a variety of ways to share learning including face to face classroom based, experiential workshops, E learning options, Peer mentoring, individual consultations, group workshops.
The training will include a range of teaching methods including presentations, discussions, table top learning, group exercises, case studies, scenarios, crafted role play, experiential exercises as examples.
This acknowledges the differing learning styles (auditory, visual, tactile, and kinaesthetic) within the target audience.
There is also a commitment to offer courses that incorporate the principles of adult learning (acknowledgement of past experience, direct relevance, involvement).
Some of our Foster Carers may have fragile educational experiences, find a re connection with learning environments daunting or struggle with issues of literacy. The training department is committed to the delivery of individual support strategies to enable or Foster Carers access, enjoy and benefit from training opportunities.
This section includes details of the process for Foster Carers in the selection and booking of training.
By January 31st of each year every Foster Carer will receive:-
The training administrator will run a mail merge and the training record will be posted to the carer with an email to each Supervising Social Worker and Fostering Advisor
It is recommended that the next supervision is used to discuss and identify training needs, aspirations and areas of interest for the coming year. This will reflect any outstanding core training, required refresher updates, gaps in learning resulting out of placement challenges, development of specialisms, recommendations, of Foster Carer Review and/or Panel as examples.
This creates the personal development plan for the Foster Carer/s for the next twelve months and is then easy to review progress. The course nomination form is completed and returned to the training administrator either by the Foster Carer, Supervising Social Worker. It is emailed electronically. It is recommended that both the Foster Carer and SSW put these dates in their diary and they are detailed in the PDP plan.
The training Coordinator will create a register of training for every individual course within the training database. On receipt of the nomination form the TA will place the name of the Foster Carer against the register of the chosen courses. The TA will also cross reference refresher nominations to check dates of expiry.
Where there are minimum participant numbers (example first aid) the training Coordinator will create a reserve list.
The Head of Learning & Development will assess the requirement for additional course allocation. The Learning & Development team will monitor course nomination returns in the first six weeks and will check stage of progress with the SSW and provide a written report of any gaps to the Registered Manager.
At a local level 5 days, and 1 day prior to the course, a text alert and what's app reminder is sent to the Foster Carer that they are booked on to attend the programme.
We want to make the training environment, welcoming, comfortable, accessible and conducive to a positive learning space. Meeting all the requirements of a diverse and geographically spaced Foster Carer base is always going to be a challenge. As the service experiences growth and develops it may be easier to localise the training in clusters on occasions.
Presently Wholistic Fostering will provide the courses at our office in Brook House.
All half day courses will provide light refreshments (coffee, tea, biscuits) full days will include a light lunch (sandwiches).
The policy has detailed the importance the organisation places on training, learning and development.
This can be costly but will receive the required investment to achieve an outstanding approach and outcomes. Achieving 100% attendance across our Foster Carer base is a key objective of the training strategy and policy.
Non-attendance by Foster Carer/s can be very costly and detract from an opportunity for someone else to benefit. There will be occasions when the organisation will have to take the decision to cancel courses due to unforeseen circumstances. This will always be a last resort and in doing so the Learning & Development team will provide as full as notice as possible, offer a clear rational and identify a replacement date as soon as is practicable
It is an expectation of Foster Carers that if they are unable to attend they notify the training dept as soon as is practicable. The TC will enter this on the register of the course and on the individual training record detailing the reason. If there is a reserve list the training co-ordinator will notify the next person on it and offer a place. The course register will then be amended.
It is the policy of the organisation to track non attendance and cancellations and in the first instance inform the SSW. This will then be explored through supervision and remedial action taken.
As an organisation and in maintaining the highest standards in training alongside our valued Foster Carers we will always strive to assist in the completion of the PDP
If there is a pattern of cancellation and non attendance resulting in issues of compliance with expectations agreed in the PDP, contained in this policy, National Minimum Standards, terms of approval as examples then the following action will be followed:-
Within this we accept that there may be legitimate circumstances when Foster Carers may not be able to meet all the requirements of their PDP. This may be for the following situations:-
This is understandable, although in accordance with best practice we will seek to re-negotiate the timescales for completion of the PDP. This will involve checking if circumstances can be resolved and by looking at alternative avenues of support. A proportionate, reasonable and common sense approach will always be taken.
Where a Foster Carer is unable to complete areas of the PDP the following process is followed:-
Supervising Social Worker discusses the circumstances with the Service Manager.
A brief report detailing the circumstances and a copy of the personal development plan is sent to the Registered Manager and Learning & Development team. The PDP is adjusted to include new proposals, actions, and timescales for completion.
Supervising Social Worker supports and monitors completion of the revised PDP.
On the day of the training, the training co-ordinator will print a register of attendance. It is an expectation that each Foster Carer signs the register of attendance and that this is done to evidence attendance. The register is returned by the course leader to the training dept.
Where the course is being delivered internally by Wholistic Fostering, then certification will normally be issued to the Foster Carer along with an evaluation form and reflective log at the conclusion of the session. It is recommended that certificates and reflective logs are kept as part of the Foster Carer’s CPD folder.
On receipt of the register, the training administrator will update all the individual training records on the (CHARMS database) This will include completion, non completion (not completed the required learning hours example had to leave first aid an hour early) apologies or where no apologies. If there is a refresher requirement this will be added to the record.
On the day of the training once the register is known the training co-ordinator will email all SSW with Foster Carers booked to attend details where this did not occur in order that it can be picked up in supervision.
A monthly report of all courses and register of attendance is emailed by the training co-ordinator to the Learning & Development team and circulated at a local level, as part of quality assurance compliance.
As part of a commitment to the continuation of continuous professional development for our Foster Carers Wholistic Fostering are working towards offering and funding opportunities for further learning and qualification where appropriate.
We aim to support the Foster Carer of each household with achieving the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s Workforce (replacing NVQ 3 Caring for Children and Young People)
This is a nationally recognised qualification in the field of childcare which splits into two pathways Early Learning & Childcare (fostering route) and Social Care. Vocational in nature this can be completed at your own pace up to 14 months duration. It is made up of some mandatory units and optional choices allowing you to study areas of interest. We commission the programme at a local level to you.
This can also be achieved through an Advanced Apprenticeship Children’s Care and Learning Development.
Either option will eventually be open to all Foster Carers within 2 years of first approval but requires completion of the TSD standards, all core training and a record of completion of the required number of additional courses. This is something that can be discussed through supervision and form part of your PDP.
An alternative qualification might be the BTEC Level 3 Advanced skills for Foster Carers aimed at Foster Carers who prefer a more academic E Learning route which is less vocational in nature.
BTEC Level 4 Advanced Practice in Working with Traumatised Children an opportunity to undertake a practice based E learning qualification over two years exploring the approaches and techniques involved in a therapeutic based approach to parenting
There should never be a ceiling to CPD and there may be Foster Carers who would like to continue on their learning and qualification. The training policy will set out a pathway that enables requests and applications to be considered on individual merits. It may be that the organisation fully or part funds alongside the Foster Carers/s
Short Courses each agency will need to see if this is relevant and personalise to their agency
In developing the service, there will be a number of opportunities to do short based courses; some accredited, others certificated in a number of areas. These can be valuable ways of increasing knowledge and specialism inclusive of recognised certification, whilst providing a challenging, informative and dynamic learning experience.
In supporting learning and development Wholistic Fostering have made a variety of learning resources available to support the training courses and develop your skills and understanding. These will include books, articles, DVD’S/Videos and useful websites.
Some examples include:
* A child’s journey through placement,
* Fostering attachment
* Attachment, trauma and resilience
* Working with anger and young people,
* Care Stories,
* Life Story work- A practical guide to helping children understand their past,
* Helping children to improve communication skills
These are available for loan from the training department and provide both pre-reading for courses and more detailed research.
In supporting the training, development and learning of our Foster Carers, we deeply value the contribution, priority, motivation and energy they invest in their self development in the interests of improving the care to and life chances of the young people and children in our service.
This takes dedication, an investment of time alongside all they provide to children and young people and whilst at times can be exhilarating it can also be a challenge. Wholistic Fostering wants to take opportunities to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our Foster Carers through a number of ways:-
Wholistic Fostering aim to achieve these objectives:-
This is not a stand alone document and integrates in to the current suite of policies and procedures that inform guide and determine the practice of the agency. An annual report will be produced by the Head of Learning and Development for the service for the Registered Managers and wider audience of the whole organisation.
The actual policy is subject to review lead by the Head of Learning and Development and in consultation with the Management, Staff and Foster Carers of Wholistic Fostering.
Any changes will be presented and ratified through the Head of Learning and Development prior to implementation.
Agreed by Michael Dennis, Head of Learning & Development
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Employees, foster carers and children have the right to access their personal records by putting their request in writing to the Quality Assurance Lead at Wholistic.
The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 require that a fostering service maintains a range of specific records, the details of which are outlined in regulations 22, 30 and 31 covering:
* a register of children placed with foster carers * a register of approved foster carers * a record in respect of each person working for the fostering service provider, whether an employee of the fostering service provider, or employed by someone else * a record of accidents occurring to children while placed with foster parents * a case record for each approved foster carer * a record for each person who applies but who is not approved as a foster carer.
Regulation 32 covers retention and confidentiality of records and also the duty to make records of formerly approved foster carers available to another fostering service provider (see Policy on Maintaining, Storing and Accessing Records).
These requirements are summarised in the Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations.
Schedule 6 of the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 specifies matters to be monitored by the registered person in a fostering agency, including a number of records.
National Minimum Standard 26 requires that the fostering service has a written policy concerning the information to be kept on files, that staff, volunteers, panel members and fostering households understand the nature of records, and that there is a system for monitoring the quality and adequacy of record keeping and to take action when needed.
This policy outlines the purpose, format and contents of files, and clarifies what information is to be kept on them. It also covers general security issues and what to do in the event a case record or file goes missing.
Wholistic Fostering recognises that children are looked after for a variety of sensitive reasons and they and their families have a right to be treated with respect for their feelings and privacy. The general principle is that you should not discuss the child’s circumstances with anybody who does not need to know. This includes your friends, neighbours and members of your extended family. There will be other people - for example, teachers and other professionals - who may need limited information in order to help them provide the correct service, but you, should consult the child’s social worker any your supervising social worker about what is appropriate.
It is sometimes easy to forget the need for confidentiality. For example, you may be with a group of foster carers support or training event and forget that other people may overhear your conversations. It is therefore important to be conscious of the need for confidentiality at all times.
Your friends and family will obviously know that you foster and they will also play an important part in the child’s life with you. They may need some information to help them form a relationship with the child, but you should think very carefully about what information is in the best interests of the child and make a clear distinction between that and everyday conversation. If you have any concerns please speak with your supervising social worker.
The foster child may also need to talk about their situation and attempting to place restrictions upon them would not be helpful. On many occasions you can take your cue from the child if they are of sufficient age and understanding, as they will be the best judge of what they feel comfortable with other people knowing. On the other hand, you do have a responsibility to protect the child from probing questions they do not wish to answer and which will cause anxiety and embarrassment.
Your own children play an important part in your family’s fostering and should be given an understanding of the reasons behind any placement. You should also ensure that your own children, if they are old enough, also understand the principle of confidentiality. However, care should be taken so that you do not inhibit the normal interaction that goes on between children. Again please contact your supervising social worker if you need guidance.
It is vital that you keep a daily record of the events in the life of the child and the rest of the household. This will help provide clear information when you contribute to making plans about a child's future. If kept properly, it might provide useful information for the child in later life. It will help to protect children in your care, and safeguard family members from false allegations. Records could be of use in a Court hearing and may be requested by the Courts. If you have more than one child placed, keep a separate record on each child.
Wholistic Fostering provides each foster carer with recording log for each child that is placed with them, so a carer with a sibling group which complete a separate log for each child that is placed. This is in accordance with Data Protection and confidentiality guidelines. In some circumstances these logs can be requested by the Court as evidence and this why accurate recording must be maintained.
It is the expectation that you will complete a daily log for each child or young person in your care. This information then helps the supervising social worker complete a placement report that is forwarded to the child’s social worker each month and this in turn provides ongoing an overview of how the placement is progressing.
Wholistic Fostering will also provide each carer with a diary in which you can record appointments, meetings and contact arrangements.
All written placement information about a child must be returned to Wholistic Fostering when the child leaves your home. You will be able to access this information if the need arises in the future.
All information relating to a child that you store on a computer must be deleted when the child leaves the placement.
Children, young people and their parents should be made aware that you are making written records. This can be explained at the placement agreement meeting.
Make sure that the child you are looking after knows that there are some types of information you cannot keep confidential. The information you record may be needed as part of an assessment or for court proceedings or it may become part of a life storybook for the child.
It is good to share your recording with looked after children where age appropriate
Records should ideally be made on a daily basis or as soon as possible after the event or incident, whilst things are fresh in the mind. This will help to ensure the accuracy of dates, time’s conversations and incidents. When giving evidence in Court it is particularly important that any notes referred to were made as soon as possible after the event.
Remember to include positive as well as negative events. The following list is not exhaustive but is meant to give some ideas about the sort of information that you should record:
The Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and the Fostering Services Regulations 2002 place duties on us to maintain specific information on carer’s files and retain these for specified periods of time.
The records kept by carers are important for a number of reasons:
You are uniquely placed to make observations about the child’s day to day behaviour.
The amount of recording needed will vary from placement to placement. As a minimum, you should maintain a daily log in which you not only record appointments but also significant events or incidents for the child on that day.
Some carers may use the daily log for more detailed observations on the child while others will use it as an aide for their memory when preparing reports for meetings such as statutory reviews.
In any fostering situation it will be useful to keep the following in mind:
You should record details of:
You should pay particular attention to ensuring that the outcome of contact arrangements and their perceived impact on the child are recorded.
While each child and each contact session may be different, you should consider the following issues in every case:
You must record all incidents involving physical restraint on the restraint form. You will need to exercise your own judgment as to when other forms of control and discipline warrant recording. An incident report should be completed for anything other than a minor sanction. For example if a child has had to be restrained in order to protect the child from self harm or harm to others.This would be recorded on a restraint form and the daily log. If a child becomes destructive towards personal or foster Parents belongings, this should also be recorded in the daily log, and additionally on an incident Form.
Some of the issues you need to take into account include:
If you are in any doubt about whether any action taken should be recorded or not, then this is probably an indication that it should. In such circumstances you should record the incident and bring it to the attention of the child’s social worker and your supervising social worker at the earliest possible opportunity.
You should record on an incident report all suspected and actual incidents of bullying against or by any child in your care. These should be reported to the agency and the child’s social worker as soon as possible. You have been given an incident sheet to record any specific incidents of bullying that you have observed or been involved in. This should be completed in addition to the recording you have made within your daily log and monthly log
You should also ensure that your supervising social worker is made aware of the incident. We will keep a central record of all reported incidents and the action taken to deal with them.
All accidents experienced by foster children must be fully recorded as soon after the accident as possible. And the agency should be informed as soon as possible. We expect foster Parent(s) to keep a record of all accidents in your daily log and in addition to this to complete the Accident/Illness Form and forward this to Wholistic Fostering as soon as possible following the accident. If you are concerned please discuss it with your supervising social worker. The child’s social worker must be informed of the accident verbally as soon as possible following the accident
Should a significant incident occur in or outside of the home this should be recorded on a the incident form, in your daily log, and verbally reported the supervising social worker as soon as possible following the incident. The incident record should be forward to the agency no later than the following day. An example may be an incident of bullying, physical aggression, destructive behaviour or the need to restrain (also fill in a restraint form). To safeguard yourself we advice that you complete the incident report whenever you feel something has occurred that has concerned you, alternatively you could call the agency if you are unsure.
National Minimum Standards for the Fostering Standards of the 24.5, 24.6 and 24.7 sets out the requirements for carers and local authorities to help children understand and reflect in their past. The Standards also makes clear the necessity and requirements for local authorities to give carers the relevant information about the child and to preserve appropriate memorabilia and photograph albums
Life work is often a requirement from the Courts or Children’s Guardians and it is a vital piece of work, which is considered to be good practice, and essential for all children, particularly those placed for adoption or permanence. A child or young person may come to you from home, another foster placement or residential unit. Whilst social workers will always try to minimise the number of moves a child has there may be situations where this is unavoidable. It is therefore very important that a good record is kept of each move from the day of placement until such time as a child leaves. The carer’s diary will record key events and issues for the child and this can be an invaluable tool at a later stage for beginning life work. There should be a record of all achievements, however small, and any developmental milestones. Within our own families most children will have a number of anecdotal memories that have been passed on over the years. These are just as important for children who are looked after, that first step or tooth falling out, the special toy or name the child had for someone are memories others take for granted but to a child who has had a traumatic and disrupted past they can help to create a history and through this an identity
All looked after children (other than in emergency or short-term placements) should have a life-story book. This normally takes the form of a photograph album with contributions from the child, their family and the foster carers. This is important for the child as it is vital that they should have a sense of continuity and be able to remember and talk about past experiences.
You will need to ensure that you have photographs of yourself and your family available and that you can help the child write in their own words why they are with you and what they would like planned for the future. In some instances a child may come to you without such a book and you will need to discuss this with the child’s social worker and/or your supervising social worker. In other instances, the gathering and sharing of information with the child will be part of the task you and the social worker need to share in order to help the child return home or move to a permanent placement.
Some of the issues that arise from this work may be painful for both you and the child. It is, however, very important that you are honest and explain as much as you can according to the child’s age and understanding. If however it has been agreed at a professional level that the
Child’s needs therapeutic input in respect of addressing their Lifestory then we advice our foster carers to maintain a low key approach and report any adverse information or reaction to us. We will then raise this with the child’s social worker and agree a plan of action in respect of what is expected of you. Foster carers are not therapists and we do not expect our foster carers to act as such.
At other times your foster child will just want to talk with you about things that have happened in the past, worries in the present or anxieties over the future. Again, you must be honest. Evasions and half-truths will lead to confusion and lack of trust. If you are in doubt about what to say or do not know the answer, you should suggest that the child either asks their social worker or parents or agree to do so yourself.
Research tells us that most children who have begun the process of coming to terms with their past settle and adjust more easily. The life-story book can help this process. Remember that children will only communicate deep feelings to people they trust. There must be a trusting, consistent relationship with the child before life-story work begins.
Collecting mementos and recording life events
Like life story work, collecting mementos can make an important difference to a child’s memories. This can be any item no matter how trivial it seems to you, as it may be important and have meaning for the child.
A child may bring mementos with them, or they may choose to bring nothing, hoping to wipe out difficult memories. On the other hand they may have nothing to bring. It is a good idea to keep a child’s mementos in a special place decided, and perhaps decorated, with the child. We refer to these as memory boxes
Significant items and events such as a newborn baby’s hospital identity tag or a child’s first steps should be kept and passed to the child or their social worker at the end of the placement. You should consider the use of video or photographic records for events such as birthdays or holidays, but be sensitive to the wishes and feelings of the child and their family. Care must be taken to ensure that no child is photographed or recorded in the bath or a state of undress.
Copies of any video or photographic material should be made available to the child and/or their parents when they leave a placement. Any additional costs incurred can be re-claimed via your supervising social worker.
During the course of a placement, you should ensure that information is kept secure and cannot be accessed by anyone else. Ideally this should be in a lockable file or cabinet that is also fireproof and waterproof.
At the end of a placement, any reports or other records provided to you or kept in respect of the child should be returned to the child’s social worker.
Other information, such as diaries, should be retained securely by you, and then passed to Wholistic Fostering via either your supervising social worker or the child’s social worker to be included in the child’s file. If you cease to foster and wish to dispose of any retained confidential information, you should first discuss this with your supervising social worker.
Records about foster carers
We are required by law to keep records of all approved foster carers.
All files in respect of approved carers will contain as a minimum:
We encourage all carers to contribute to their case records. There will be a number of formal opportunities to do this, including:
Where you identify a factual error in information held, this will be corrected immediately.
Where you disagree with an opinion or judgment of your supervising social worker or others and it is possible to reach agreement on amendments to the record, these will be made. If it is not possible to reach agreement, your views will be recorded alongside the social worker’s.
We are also required to maintain a register of approved foster carers, which includes the following:
Every carer has an electronic record which stores all information kept on you. This includes details of your original application, the Form F written on you, subsequent annual reviews and regular recording of your supervision meetings, any allegations or complaints, training and development records, including your annual PDP (personal development plan).
These will be retained for at least 10 years after the date that your approval was terminated.
The right of access to information is now determined by the most recent Data Protection Act 1998 (Data Protection Act) which came into force on 31st March 2000. It incorporates the Access to personal Files Act 1987 and Access to health Records Act 1990.
The Access to Personal Files Act 1987 encouraged a more open and sharing way of working with service users.
All information whether on manual or computer records is subject to the new Data Protection Act.
The Data Protection Act requires that personal data shall be:
Service users have a right of access to the information held about them, which includes:
Where access is refused, service users may appeal to the courts or the Data Protection Commissioner.
Information may still be restricted where:
Under the Data Protection Act all information given to carers in line with the placement and recording made by the carer about the child or young person must be returned to Wholistic Fostering Services who will arrange for them to be returned to the appropriate Department. Any information held about children must not be shredded.
Much of the information you give us, or which others give us on your behalf, is personal. We Respect this, and we make sure it is kept securely, remains private, and is not normally shown to anyone outside of Wholistic Fostering (including other members of your family) without your knowledge and consent.
On occasions, we may be asked to share information with other professionals, for example, your family doctor. However, this information would normally only be disclosed with your knowledge and permission.
There are some occasions when we are legally required to disclose information without your consent, for example:
If you have any doubts or questions then please raise them with either:
Your supervising social worker will of course be sharing information with you on an on-going basis. However, if at any time you wish to make a request to see your records, please contact the Fostering Manger who will supply you with a form that should be completed before a copy of your records can be accessed.
If you make a formal request to see your records, the process can take up to 30 days from the date all relevant information has been received from you.
If you think any information held in your file is wrong (including any computerised records), you should inform the Fostering Manager in writing, giving specific details of the inaccuracy or information omitted. If the query is straight forward, you will receive a reply as soon as possible. If it is complicated or requires further investigation then the reply will take up to 30 days.
If we agree that the information is wrong then we will correct it. If we don't agree, we will make a note in your file that you disagree with some of the information recorded.
If the placement is made in a planned way with introductions then you may be given the Statutory placement paperwork prior to the child arriving. Even if a child is placed in an emergency you must make sure that you have been given sufficient information to help you keep the child and you and your family safe. When a child leaves a foster placement all of the paperwork relating to them must be given back to his or her social worker, along with the life storybook and any other mementos you may have collected. You must ensure that you pass on any details about outstanding appointments too. After a child leaves you may find further information relating to them and you must always send this to the social worker’s district office to be placed on the child’s file. This must include either the original or a photocopy of your diary relating to the child’s time with you.
Children and young people have a right to see their file and they can make such a request at any time. They must be prepared for some delay, as the social worker will need to go through the file to check there is no information relating to other members of the family to which the child should not have access or there are reports from other professionals, which are deemed confidential. You will need to work closely with the social worker before and after a child has access to their file as it can, in some cases, be a very distressing event. Children may have rewritten their history in a way that they can cope with and a file can open up feelings that have been long buried. However it is important that children and young people know why they are living away from home, and often after the initial disruption children cope better knowing all the facts.
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The provisions for access to personal information or records held by WF are contained in the Data Protection Act 1998. Under this legislation, those in respect of whom personal information is held in any form have a right of access to the information, unless one of the exceptions set out below applies.
Access to foster carer’s assessment records can, with their permission, be made available to another fostering service if they apply to the new service to become carers.
Exceptions to the right to access are:
Access can also be refused if:
These exceptions do not permit the total withholding of information but only those sections of the material covered by the exceptions. The remainder of the case records should be made available to the service user.
The exceptions do not apply where disclosure is required by a court order or is necessary for the purpose of or in connection with any legal proceedings.
However, a Court may prevent disclosure of information where a person shows that he or she would be caused serious harm to his physical or mental health by the disclosure.
The practice of all WF staff should be to encourage ongoing and open sharing of information and recording, including providing copies of key documents.
If a person in receipt of services asks to see a particular document or wants to have information about a particular aspect of the case, the Supervising Social Worker should discuss this with them to see whether the request can be dealt with informally by showing them the relevant part of the recording or providing copies of relevant documents.
Those making a formal request for access to their records should be asked to put the request in writing. The receipt of the written request should be recorded by staff, who must verify the identification of the person making the request. If he or she is not known personally to those working at the agency, staff must ask for photographic evidence, either through a passport or driving licence.
Prior to access being given, all case records held on the person should be located and collected and the approval of the Fostering Service Manager should be sought. If approval is not given, this must be communicated to the person seeking access with an explanation.
Staff should carefully check the case records to ensure they are complete and maintained, and to ascertain whether any of the material comes within the exceptions to the rights of access (see Section 2, Exceptions).
There should be no disclosure of the identity of third parties or other sources of information, which fall within the second exception (see Section 2, Exceptions).
Any other information supplied by third parties should not usually be disclosed without the third party's consent. When it is not possible to obtain consent, discretion may be used to release information where there is no possibility of serious harm.
An appointment should be made at the earliest opportunity to share the case record with the person making the request, and he or she should be asked to bring appropriate proof of identity.
WF Staff should be available to explain the contents of the records, to answer questions and to help the person understand the information recorded.
Where the person making the request has specific needs in relation to language or disability, arrangements must be made to present the information in a suitable manner and to involve approved interpreters as needed.
Interpretative and supportive counselling may be advisable in certain cases using a number of interviews to disclose the information, if the person concerned is willing to proceed in this manner.
A request for copies of information disclosed must be met.
Access must be given to disclosable information within 40 days of receiving the request. This is the maximum time period allowed. The timescale can only be extended with the agreement of the person requesting access. Where he or she refuses to agree an extension, access should be given to all information open to disclosure at that point.
Requests from children should be treated in the same way as requests from adults. A judgement should be made by the staff, in conjunction with the child’s social worker as to whether the child making the request for access understands the nature of the request. Where appropriate, a parent should be asked to provide written confirmation that the child understands the nature of the application.
Children with disabilities have the same rights as others to have access to information held about them. No assumption should be made about their level of understanding. This should be assessed on an individual basis as with all children.
A child of sufficient understanding should be allowed regular access to information held about him or her, consistent with his or her best interests. He or she should read or be told what has been recorded unless it falls within one of the exceptions set out above.
A child should be encouraged to record his or her own observations on the case record including when there is disagreement about an entry in the file.
If any member of staff considers that the child does not understand the nature of the request, the parent may make a request on the child's behalf. However, the request must be in the interests of the child, rather than the interests of the parent.
If a parent seeks to have access to his or her child's records, the worker dealing with the request must assess whether the child might be able to request access to the records for him or herself. If this is the case, the worker should check that it is the child's choice for the parent to see the records on his or her behalf. If it is, the child will be asked to confirm this in writing and access to the parent can then be agreed.
Whether or not a child is capable of understanding the request or has consented to the parent making the request, it is important that a parent should only be given access to
the information about the child if the worker in consultation with his or her manager is satisfied that the request is made in the child's and not the parent's interest.
A request for access to records may be made through an agent (for example, a solicitor).
It is the agent's responsibility to produce satisfactory evidence that he or she has authority to have access to the records. This will always include proof of their identity.
The Fostering Service Manager will decide whether the representative will be allowed access, having sought legal advice if necessary.
Where a request is received for access to the records of some-one who has died, the person making the application should be asked to explain in writing their relationship to the deceased person, what information is needed and why. The staff should make a decision in consultation with his or her manager and advise the applicant in writing of the decision with reasons.
If a person considers that any part of the information held on his or her records is inaccurate, he or she has the right to apply in writing for it to be corrected or erased.
If the objection is justified, there is a duty to correct or erase the appropriate information.
If staff consider there are reasons to refuse a request for access to all or any part of the records (see Section 2, Exceptions), this should be discussed with his or her manager and legal advice should be obtained.
The Fostering Service Manager should be asked to make a final decision on refusal of access, having sought legal advice if required. If refused, the date of the request and reason for refusal must be recorded in the file.
The decision and the reasons for it should be confirmed in writing to the person requesting access, or in a format appropriate to the needs of the person concerned.
The person concerned has the right to apply to the Court for an order to disclose, correct or erase information held. They also have a right of appeal to the Data Protection Commissioner.
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 1, Children’s Wishes and Feelings, Standard 21 Supervision and support of foster carers, Standard 25 Managing effectively and efficiently and monitoring the service
For complaints about the decisions of the Fostering Panel, see Representations / Independent Review Procedure
A child, a parent or carer of a child, a foster carer or anyone else for whom WF has agreed to provide a service can make a complaint under this procedure. Individuals are also able to make complaints on behalf of others if it is considered they have “sufficient interest” to do so.
Children will be encouraged to take up issues in the most appropriate way and they will be supported to do this. If it is possible to identify a way forward with a complaint which is informal and therefore easily resolved, this should be the best way forward.
It is the responsibility of WF carers and support staff to help children to deal with their complaints sympathetically and actively, whether the complaint is about the agency, or the placing authority.
Anyone making a complaint is also able to withdraw their complaint at any stage.
All serious complaints will be notified to the Regulatory Authority.
If a child or carer is unhappy about a change in their Care Plan or their Placement Plan this should be brought to the attention of their social worker who may be able to resolve the matter. If this isn’t the case the child’s independent Reviewing Officer may be contacted. It is the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer to make sure that looked after children are aware of the local authority’s Complaints Procedure, which must comply with the Children Act 1989 and associated regulations, and to assist the child to access independent support and advice to enable them to use this procedure if they wish to do so.
Sometimes children and adults need help and support to make a complaint.
The child may have support from his or her parent, social worker, Independent Visitor or foster carer. As indicated above, a child who wishes to make a complaint about any aspects of his or her care should receive assistance to access independent advice and support from their Independent Reviewing Officer.
Foster carers may enlist the help of a supporter or advocate or their Supervising Social Worker, as appropriate, to make a complaint about the agency under this procedure or where appropriate, about the placing authority under the relevant local authority’s complaints procedure.
WF is committed to resolving conflicts and concerns at an early stage – Stage One - wherever possible, but in the interests of transparency and a commitment to individual interests/rights, individuals are able to complain at Stage Two in the first instance if they so wish. WF will ensure that complainants are kept up to date regarding the progress of their complaint. In the event that any complainant is not satisfied at any stage, they may and should avail themselves of the right to make a complaint to the Regulatory Authority.
Stage one is an informal process which consists of a meeting between the complainant and the Fostering Manager. This meeting will be scheduled once a complaint has been received in writing or recorded by means of other communication by the Fostering Manager.
Part of this discussion may cover whether it would be more appropriate for the complaint to be directed to the local authority with responsibility for the child’s placement under the local authority’s complaints procedure.
A letter of resolution or outcome will be issued in response to informal complaints by the Fostering Manager including details of how the matter was investigated, by whom and with the relevant facts to support the outcome.
This stage will be activated if the complainant is not completely satisfied with the outcome of Stage One, or if at the outset they require that the matter be dealt with by someone other than an employee of the fostering agency. The complainant will be advised that they must put their complaint in writing to the Director of WF who will then contact the complainant within five working days to advise that he/she has instructed an Independent Complaints Investigating Officer in relation to the complaint and will advise them of his/her name and the expected time frame for the investigation.
A report will be completed following the investigation, detailing how the matter was investigated, by whom and what outcome was reached with relevant evidence to support the report’s conclusions.
This is the final stage of the complaints process. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the Stage Two investigation, they must confirm this in writing, including reasons for their dissatisfaction, to the Director of WF who will undertake to arrange for the case to be reviewed by an Independent Panel within 28 days.
The Panel will be made up of:
In any event no person implicated in a complaint, or a relative or close association of theirs may sit on the Panel or be involved in any investigation, and the Panel will be constituted in such a way to afford true independent appraisal of the complaint.
The Panel will consider the documentation available in relation to the complaint and any further written representations that the complainant wishes to make in relation to the investigation. The Panel will reach a decision within 24 hours of meeting and the complainant will be advised of the outcome in report form to include any actions in order to resolve the situation within 7 days.
Should the complainant still not be satisfied with the outcome of Stage Three, they may take advice from the Regulatory Authority.
This section is concerned with allegations or complaints that foster carers have fallen below the high standards expected of them: - for instance, in using physical punishment, treating a child unfairly, or in any other way failing to promote the welfare or protection of children for whom they are responsible. This presupposes that a judgement had already been reached that any physical punishment does not constitute abuse and does not require a child protection response on the basis of what is currently known.
Allegations about standards of care should be dealt with jointly by an appropriate supervising social worker for the foster carers and by the social worker for any child involved, as directed by their respective managers.
Where an investigation is necessary, the foster carer will receive written notification, including information on:
The foster carers' supervising social worker will ensure that the foster carer has access to appropriate independent support and will seek to support the carer throughout the process. WF foster carers are able to access independent support through Foster Talk of which all WF carers are members of
Where it transpires that a foster carer has, for example, smacked the child, there needs to be a full discussion with the foster carers' supervising social worker and/or the child's social worker as to:
Any support needs;
At the conclusion of an investigation:
All standard of care incidents and investigations are taken seriously. The number of issues that are recorded will be monitored carefully by the Registered Manager and discussion will take place with the Director if there are more than 3 recorded incidents involving standards of care or where the standard of care is deemed to have failed to protect
Those responsible for the welfare of any children involved will need to consider whether any changes need to be made to their plans;
The foster carers should be informed clearly in writing and by visit of the outcome of the investigation at this stage, even if further consideration is necessary, i.e. even if it is only an interim response;
The manager of the Fostering Service needs to consider whether the carers' terms of approval should be reviewed under the Review of Foster Carers Procedure. The views of the Fostering Panel should be sought if appropriate. This decision will be taken by the Fostering Manager in consultation with colleagues and the Director. Referral to Panel will depend on the extent or the frequency, of problems, but if termination is thought to be the appropriate course, an urgent review of the foster carers should be held and a report must be taken back to Panel. Consideration should also be given to whether it is appropriate to refer the foster carer to OFSTED and the Independent Safeguarding Authority under the Vetting and Barring Scheme;
If a decision is taken to review the carers' approval at the Fostering Panel, the supervising social worker must complete a report and include a detailed chronology of all previous allegations, complaints or standards of care issues together with details of actions taken and the outcome. The report must also include a chronology of previous placements and any training undertaken by the carers. The report must be signed by the supervising social worker and the Manager.
If the matter is considered by the Fostering Panel, the foster carers should be advised of the outcome of the Panel process in writing and their right of representation and to appeal against the decision made (including to the Independent Review panel as set out in the Review of Foster Carers Procedure).
Following a review of a foster carer's suitability to foster as a result of an allegation or serious concern, the agency should review the circumstances of the case and the way any investigation was conducted to determine whether there are any improvements to be made in their procedures or practice.
In all cases, the Service Manager for Placements must be contacted, who will make the decision whether to suspend the carer's status during the investigation. This in turn will be marked on the Foster Carers' Register.
If the investigation then identifies serious concerns and/or unanswered questions about either the carer, or their care of a child, then further specialist assessments may be carried out. A report must be prepared for Panel who will make a recommendation about the carer's future registration.
The Agency Decision Maker will make the final decision. If consideration is being given to ending the approval for a carer, because of child care concerns, then they will be notified and offered representation and a meeting with the Placement Service Manager. Carers who have their approval terminated for child protection/standards of care will be notified in writing and offered 28 days to appeal against any decision made. Disagreements between the Agency Decision Maker and the Placement Service Manager will be referred to the Head of Service, who will make the final decision.
Carers should be aware that termination of approval resulting from a child protection investigation or standards of care could well result in a referral to the Independent Safeguarding Authority for inclusion on the Children's Barred List
Resignation should not prevent an allegation being followed up and a conclusion should be reached and recorded.
If the foster carer resigns before or during an investigation, the manager of the Fostering Service will immediately notify the senior manager/s in the local authorities responsible for all the children involved.
A report will be considered by the Fostering Panel, including where necessary a recommendation for referral to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) for inclusion on the Children's Barred List. Panel will submit a recommendation to the Agency Decision Maker. The OFSTED should be informed of any decision to refer a carer to the ISA.
Where a foster carer wishes to transfer to another fostering provider during the course of an investigation, the foster carer's current provider will notify the other fostering agency that the foster carer is subject to investigation/review of approval.
The payments and allowances received by a foster carer may be affected by an allegation. The Fostering Service will confirm in writing the details of financial support available to carers where children have been removed or who are suspended from taking further placements.
It is understood that there may be an occasion(s) when an allegation is made about a foster carer that is without foundation. In this event, the agency (or placing authority) will have undertaken its own investigation and have been satisfied the foster carer had acted entirely appropriately. If the fostered child(ren) remained in the care of the carer whilst the investigation had taken place, the payments to the carer will continue as usual.
If the allegation involved a safeguarding concern and the placing authority removed the child(ren) from the foster carer, or the carer had been suspended by the agency, then payments to the carer will cease immediately the child(ren) left the placement.
The agency will undertake its own review of the placement. There may also be an investigation carried out by the police and/or social worker.It is envisaged that all investigations should be completed within 6 months and in most cases within a shorter time frame.
The letter terminating a foster carer's approval should also confirm when payments will cease.
Arrangements for paying foster carers in the event of an allegation or serious concern should be set out in the foster carers' handbook and confirmed in writing to the foster carer if they are suspended from taking further placements.
All Children placed have a statutory right to an Independent Complaints Procedure through Ofsted.
All foster carers have a statutory right to an Independent Complaints Procedure through Ofsted
Ofsted Head Office
Piccadilly Gate Store Street, Manchester M1 2WD Tel: 0300 123 1231
This is a family operated business in which the company founders (Responsible Individual & Registered Manager) recognise that if a complaint needs to be brought against either of these parties then this would be handled through an independent party due to the close nature of their relationship.
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 26 Records.
WF assumes any information that identifies individuals personally and is not already in the public domain is to be treated as confidential information and the data protection laws will therefore apply.
WF staff and carers handling of information must ensure that:
Each member of staff, foster carer, volunteer or independent worker will be expected to sign a confidentiality statement, a copy of which will be retained in their file.
It is generally only appropriate to share confidential information with others if informed consent has been given to its disclosure by the person to whom it relates.
In some situations, however, WF will be required by law to share information, for example, when a court makes an order for certain information or case files to be brought before the court. These situations are relatively unusual.
However, there may be situations which arise when working with children and families where the sharing of confidential information without consent is appropriate. These are described in the paragraphs below.
Sharing information amongst those working with children and their families is essential. In many cases it is only when information from a range of sources is put together that a child can be seen to be at risk of Significant Harm. Where there are concerns that a child may be at risk of Significant Harm, it is essential that staff members and carers within WF understand when they can share confidential information lawfully for this purpose.
The key factors in deciding whether or not to share confidential information are necessity and proportionality, i.e. whether the proposed sharing is likely to make an effective contribution to preventing the risk and whether the public interest in sharing information overrides the interest in maintaining confidentiality.
It is not possible to give guidance to cover every circumstance in which sharing of confidential information without consent will be justified. It is possible however to identify some circumstances in which sharing confidential information without consent will normally be justified in the public interest. These are:
Where there is a clear risk of Significant Harm to a child, the public interest test will almost certainly be satisfied.
Confidence is breached where the sharing of confidential information is not authorised by the person who provided it or, if about another person, by the person to whom it relates or where there was no justification for sharing the information as set out in Section 2 above.
To minimise 'accidental' breaches of confidentiality, confidential information must only be shared with others within WF for genuine purposes and on a need to know basis. Confidential information should not be shared with members of foster carers’ families who live outside the household.
No person working within the agency shall knowingly misuse any information or allow other to do so.
Breaches of confidentiality will be regarded seriously and may result in action being taken for example a review of approval for foster carers, disciplinary action for staff.
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The Directors of Wholistic Fostering are committed to prioritising the safety of young people and to preserving the integrity of decision making processes in all areas of the agency. Clarity, openness and honesty are essential for integrity.
Conflicts of interest should be avoided by close adherence to the procedures outlined in this policy and by adherence to the spirit of the policy as stated above. It is the duty of all members of staff and foster carers to be open and vigilant. A policy is necessary because: Conflicts may create problems, they can:
The aim of this policy is to protect both the agency and the individuals involved from any appearance of impropriety.
If you consider a possible conflict of interest may arise from caring for a certain child/ren, you should feel free to raise it with your supervising social worker. If you are not sure whether you should declare an interest and wish to discuss the matter in confidence, the Fostering Network can offer advice. Fostering Network can be contacted at:
87 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA Tel: 020 7620 640.
Although you can be offered advice about declaring an interest, it is ultimately your responsibility: if you are not sure, then it is always best to declare an interest. It is important to remember that declaring an interest does not imply that you may act improperly, but that it could protect you from claims or the potential appearance of impropriety.
Once a declaration has been made the supervising social worker, in consultation with their manager, will agree an appropriate course of action with you to ensure the care of a child to be placed or placed is not jeopardised. A declaration of a possible conflict of interest to your supervising social worker should help to prevent inappropriate placements occurring. A declaration of a possible conflict of interest once a placement has started does not necessarily mean a placement should be terminated. Once a potential conflict of interest has been identified, all involved need to be aware of potential difficulties and jointly plan how matters should be handled and/or resolved.
Decisions should be made in the interests of young people and not influenced by individual needs of staff or influenced by loyalties external to the agency.If the conflict concerns other employment they may be required to take appropriate action to minimise conflict.
Interests should be declared at or before a meeting at which the decision in question will be considered. If the issue will not be raised within the next 4 weeks, it should be declared to the line manager or a Director at the earliest opportunity.
There are numerous ways of addressing a conflict of interest. The person in question might absent themselves completely from all consideration, or they may participate in the discussion but not the decision.
Wholistic Fostering aims to limit the risk of any conflicts of interest arising during the assessment and approval of foster carers. Conflicts are likely to be exceptional and would be unlikely to affect overall membership of the panel.
Independent members of the panel should not be employed by the agency.Members of the Management Team may not be appointed as independent members of the Panel.
Persons related to any employee of the agency may not be appointed to the Panel. Persons related to the management team may not be appointed to the Panel.
In addition to this, panel members are asked at the beginning of every panel meeting to declare any interest they may have in the Foster Parents presented to panel. This may range from knowledge of the family through links in the community to a family connection or some involvement in the assessment process. The Chair of the panel will then ask the panel to decide whether the level of interest should eliminate that member from participating in the discussion and/or decision making process.
The Agency Decision Maker has no part in the assessment or panel processes and makes their decision based on the recommendations of the panel and their own independent assessment of the assessment report, checks and references obtained.
Line management and staff supervision are areas where conflict of interest might arise,if staff members are related to each other or are friends outside of the agency. The management team discuss any such issues in monthly management meetings and ensure such conflicts are avoided.
Members of staff who supervise and support foster parents may know them through links in the community. This should become apparent through the assessment process and again the Directors have a clear expectation of honesty and openness from all employees.
The Management Team will take appropriate steps to ensure that carers are not supervised by someone known to them in another capacity.
Wholistic Fostering aims to employ an Independent Reviewing Officer as soon as the
agency is of sufficient size for this to be practical. In order to avoid conflict of interest in the meantime, annual reviews are undertaken by panel.
Members of staff are required in their Terms and Conditions of Employment to declare to the Directors of the agency any other employment that may lead to a conflict of interest with Wholistic Fostering. They are required not to undertake any employment or outside activities that may conflict with the aims or operation of the agency.
Information on conflicts of interest will be recorded in the appropriate minutes. The information will be processed in accordance with data protection principles as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. Data will be processed only to ensure that the Directors and senior members of staff act in the best interests of Wholistic Fostering and those associated with the agency. The information provided will not be used for any other purpose.
If you are a user of Wholistic Fostering services or the foster parent of someone who uses the service, you should not be involved in decisions that directly affect the service that you,or the person for which you care, receive(s). You should declare your interest at the earliest opportunity and withdraw from any subsequent discussion. The same applies if you face a conflict for any other reason. You may, however, participate in discussions from which you may indirectly benefit, for example where the benefits are universal to all users or where your benefit is minimal. If you fail to declare an interest that is known to senior staff members they will declare that interest on your behalf. In the event of the Directors having to decide upon a question in which a member of staff has an interest, all decisions will be made by a vote with a simple majority required.
Where an undisclosed conflict of interest is found or suspected, investigation will be made by either the line manager or Director as appropriate.If the conflict is related to a Director an independent investigator will be appointed and disciplinary procedures may apply.
All decisions under a conflict of interest will be recorded by the chair of the meeting and reported in the minutes of that meeting. The report will record:
The Responsible Individual and Registered Manager are common-law partners as such if the conflict is related to either of these then an independent investigator will be appointed and disciplinary procedures may apply.
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This chapter explains the membership, purpose, functions and arrangements for meetings of the Fostering Panel. It should be read in conjunction with the following procedures:
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 14 Fostering Panels.
The Fostering Panel plays an essential and highly valued role providing objectivity and a space where practice that is felt to fall short of the Standards or Regulations can be appropriately challenged.
Panel brings a level of independence from the fostering service and the recommendations and feedback are taken into full account by the agency decision maker. Refer also to the section Role of the Panel
Under Regulation 24 Fostering Regulations 2011 require that no business may be conducted by a Fostering Panel unless at least the following meet as the Panel:
Panel members can resign at any time, giving one month’s notice in writing, obviously as much notice as possible is preferable. Where it is considered that a member of the fostering panel is unsuitable, or unable to continue, Wholistic Fostering may terminate their appointment by giving one month in notice.
Each Panel Member receives a Panel Pack which contains necessary information such as the Child Protection Policy, the Panel Policy the Annual Foster Carers' Review Policy.
Panel Induction with each new Panel Member is completed online when they are appointed. Panel member’s performances are reviewed annually through appraisal by the Panel Chair. The Panel Chair’s appraisal is carried out by the Agency Decision Maker with views on the Chair’s performance sought from other panel members.
The Panel Feedback forms also provide information about the performance of the Chair, Vice Chair and panel members
There can be situations where a panel member knows or has worked with the applicant or approved foster carer to be considered by the panel. It is important that the panel member should declare an interest in such situations. The panel member should say whether he or she thinks this knowledge will prejudice their consideration of the case. If he or she thinks so, they should not participate in that case and it is probably best if they leave the room. If the panel member does not think their knowledge will affect their consideration of the case, it will be the responsibility of the Chair, possibly with the help of the professional adviser, to make the final decision. It is important for panel members to alert the professional adviser or Panel Chair as early as possible to avoid a possible problem over quoracy.
If the decision maker considers that an applicant is unsuitable to become a foster carer/continue as a foster carer they must send them a ‘qualifying determination’ giving their reasons, and explaining that they have 28 days within which to make a representation to the decision maker or to apply to the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) for an independent review. If no response is received within 28 days the decision maker is free to implement the decision. If, within the 28 day period the applicant/carer makes representation this must be considered by the Panel and the decision maker must take account of the Panel recommendation in reaching a decision. If an application is made to the IRM then WHOLISTIC must supply the relevant document within 10 working days. The decision maker must take account of the recommendations of both the IRM and the fostering panel in making a decision.
Independent Review of Determinations (Adoption and Fostering) Regulations 2009.
Powers to make Regulations implementing the IRM (Fostering) were introduced by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 and made under the Children Act 1989 and the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
The Regulations apply in relation to England and Wales.
The Wholistic Fostering’s Foster Care and Placement Panels were originally established in April 2015 in accordance with the Children Act 1989, The Fostering Services Regulations 2002, and The National Care Standards 2002 – Section 9: Standard 30: Regulations: establishment of fostering panel, meetings of fostering panel, functions of fostering panel.
The establishment and role will be kept under review in line with legislation particularly Fostering Regulations and Guidance and National Minimum Standards 2011
In addition to these regulations and minimum standards, The Foster Care and Placement Panels comply with The Wholistic Fostering's published statements of Quality Assurance, Principles and Equal Opportunity. The Foster Care and Placement Panels adhere to The Wholistic Fostering's Confidentiality/Conflict of Interest Statement, and Data Protection Act, with The Wholistic Fostering's Complaints Procedure applying and the Child Protection and Safe Guarding Policy being of particular relevance.
The Wholistic Fostering's Foster Care and Placement Panels undertake a significant role in the process of ensuring that the Agency’s Foster Carers are providing the best possible service for the Children accommodated and that the accommodated Child’s welfare is paramount. This process is undertaken through the Granting and Termination of Approval Status, Change in Approval Status and Variations/Exemption to Approval Status.
The IRM was implemented in England on April 1st 2009 and in Wales on 1st April 2010 to consider fostering cases, where a fostering service provider issues a Qualifying Determination not to approve prospective foster carers, or to withdraw or change the terms of an existing foster carer’s approval
Whenever a panel is set up from people on the Central List, one of those members must be appointed as the Chair and either one or two must be appointed as the Vice Chair. A Vice Chair could chair any meetings of the particular Panel if the appointed Chair is unable to attend.
In order that any Panel is not unduly influenced by the fostering service in carrying out its quality assurance role, Chairs must be an independent person, e.g. not a foster carer, employee or trustee of the IFP. A Vice Chair does not have to be independent but at the WHOLISTIC the Chair and the Vice Chair are independent.
The role of the Panel Chair is central to the effective operation of the Panel, they must ensure that all members contribute effectively and they are able to reach the right decisions based on the needs of children. The Panel Chair is also responsible for ensuring that full and accurate minutes are kept.
Temporary Approval is granted pending presentation at a future Panel Meeting when further information has been gained.
The final decision on Approval Status is passed up to the chief Decision Maker.
If the Area Manager, Supervising Social Worker and Foster Carer agree that a change can be made to the Foster Carers Approval Status then the following course of action must apply:-
The Wholistic Fostering Foster Care and Placement Panels undertake a significant Gate Keeping role in ensuring that the Form F Home Study Assessments and Annual Foster Carer Reviews are maintained to the highest possible standards.
To maintain this Quality Assurance function The Wholistic Fostering’s Foster Care and Placement Panel Gate Keeping role includes:-
Panel Statutory Checklists are completed on all cases that are presented to Panel to ensure that Statutory and Agency requirements are kept up to date.
All Form F's, Annual Reviews and Variation Reports are checked and signed by the relevant Assessment or Area Manager before presentation at Panel. Wherever possible, Panel Membership should include the appropriate Assessment or Placement Manager to ensure that up to date information is flowing between Panel Members, Assessment Managers and the Placement Desk.
WHOLISTIC’s Quality Assurance Managers are involved in the recruitment, assessment and approval of all Foster Carers. Quality control of all Form F’s submitted to Panel includes identifying any additional work, proof reading and correction of the report.
The Quality Assurance Policy was established in April 2015 and revised in February 2018. The QA lead has a central role and responsibility for developing and setting standard across the business.
Quality Assurance and Policy are involved in the recruitment, assessment and approval of all Foster Carers monitoring and ensuring consistently high standards across the regions. A Quality Assurance Manager is present at each Panel and is instrumental in the high standards of all of its processes.
The Wholistic Fostering’s Foster Care and Placement Panels decision making process is undertaken in accordance with the Children Act 1989, The Fostering Services Regulations 2011, NMS 2011 and The National Care Standards 2002 - Section 9: Standard 30: Regulations: establishment of fostering panel, meetings of fostering panel, functions of fostering panel.
In addition to these regulations and minimum standards, decision making process complies with The Wholistic Fostering's published statements of Quality Assurance, Principles and Equal Opportunity. The Foster Care and Placement Panel adhere to The Wholistic Fostering's Confidentiality Statement, with The Wholistic Fostering’s Complaints Procedure applying.
The Roles of the Decision Maker include:-
If a case is presented to The Wholistic Fostering Foster Care and Placement Panel and agreement of granting Approval Status cannot be reached between Panel Members then three options apply:-
At the end of each Panel Meeting the Panel chair conducts an evaluation process of the day’s events with the Panel Members. Every three months the Panel Coordinator conducts a longer evaluation process on the progress of the Panel Meetings. This is then fed back to the Decision Maker and Assessment Managers to form the basis of any changes needed within the Assessors/Panel Members Training Pack.
Assessors presenting to Panel are asked to give their views on the ‘Panel experience’ in a Consultation form Applicants are asked within Panel to comment on their experience of the both the assessment and training process. Applicants are also asked to give their views on the ‘Panel experience’ in a Consultation form.
See also ‘Performance’ towards the beginning of Policy
A channel of communication exists between WHOLISTIC fostering forums such as the Children and Young People’s Consultation Group. WHOLISTIC know that children and young people’s views and the ability to ascertain those views are essential to service design and delivery.
Questions prepared by children and young people are presented on their behalf to prospective foster carers at Panel. Children and young people both looked after and birth children from WHOLISTIC forward qualities they want to see in foster carers.
Wholistic Fostering is committed to delivering and promoting an excellent fostering service and the effects discharge of panel’s responsibilities and duties is recognised as being a critical component of outstanding fostering provision. To this end, an annual appraisal will be undertaken with individual panel members conducted by the Panel Chair and Panel Advisor.
This is not a legal requirement but is an opportunity for members of the central list to give feedback about their experience of participating in panel, the function of panel, required training and any emergent issues or concerns they may have and suggestions for improvement in addition the annual review allows the central list member to identify any further training they may require in order to carry out their role as Panel Member. The fostering panel chair will have an annual appraisal conducted by the Agency Decision-Makers.
Persons joining the central list of persons considered suitable to be fostering panel members are provided with an opportunity to observe a fostering panel meeting.
Each person on the central list is given induction training which is completed within 10 weeks of joining the central list.
The Panel Member undertakes an online Panel Induction when they are appointed. The Panel Manager needs a minimum of one day’s Panel Training per year with Panel Members. Panel members will be updated on Policies and Procedures and activities of the Organisation through regular virtual meetings run via the online academy. Panel Members Packs are updated to include feedback from Panel Evaluation Meetings and current legislation.
Each person on the central list is given the opportunity of attending an annual joint training day with the fostering service’s fostering staff.
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This chapter provides procedures for managing allegations or concerns that any foster carer or member of staff has:
The term ‘member of staff’ includes volunteers.
There is a separate procedure for referring concerns that a child placed with an agency foster carer has been abused by someone who is not a staff member or foster carer of the agency, see Child Protection Policy.
There is also a separate procedure for dealing with complaints made about or by foster carers, see Complaints Procedure.
This chapter is compliant with Appendix 5 of Working Together to Safeguard Children
2010 and the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 22 Handling Allegations and Suspicions of Harm.
All children are entitled to the same level and standard of protection from harm including those receiving services from statutory or other agencies. For this reason, enquiries and investigations relating to children in receipt of such services must be dealt with under the Local Safeguarding Children Board's Inter Agency Procedures. Allegations will be dealt with in a manner that provides effective protection and support for children and the person making the allegation, and at the same time supports the person who is the subject of the allegation.
Allegations or suspicions that a member of staff or foster carer has caused Significant Harm to a child will be investigated thoroughly, speedily and sensitively under those procedures and will involve open and honest communication with and support to all those affected.
It is important to note that, although there may be insufficient evidence to support a Police prosecution, this does not mean that action cannot be taken to protect a child nor that the termination of a member of staff’s contract of employment or foster carer's approval cannot be considered.
Complaints about the quality of care will be dealt with under the Complaints procedure.
It should also be noted that it may be necessary to consider during an investigation what action, if any, should be taken with regard to other children with whom staff or foster carers against whom allegations are made have contact, including their own children.
The expectation is that at the time of a child's placement, foster carers will be provided with detailed information as to the child's background and in particular the context of any abusive experiences of and/or previous allegations made by the child.
All foster carers will receive preparation, training and guidance to help them provide a safe environment for the child and all members of the foster family.
All members of staff and foster carers will also have received information about this procedure and the Local Safeguarding Children Board's Inter Agency Procedures, in particular their procedure for managing allegations against staff and carers.
All foster carers will be familiar with and adopt the procedures for recording on a daily basis the progress of children placed with them, including any incidents or complaints, and understand that these procedures have been made to protect all those involved in the child's placement, particularly at times of high stress, and will provide important evidence if an allegation is made.
In addition, it is an expectation of the Fostering National Minimum Standards 2011 that:
The Designated Person for the agency is: The Registered Manager, Patricia Nettleford
As stated above, the role of the Designated Person is to liaise with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) in relation to any allegation made or concern raised about staff or carers within the agency.
The Designated Person must be informed immediately where there is any allegation or concern that a foster carer, member of staff or volunteer has:
If the concern relates to a member of the agency’s management team or owners and the referrer is concerned that the matter will not be dealt correctly, they can directly inform the local authority’s Children’s Social Care Services or the Regulatory Authority.
On receipt of any such information, the Designated Person must immediately:
If the allegations or concern relates to a foster carer, the Designated Person must also immediately:
The Supervising Social Worker will:
The Designated Person must implement the Local Safeguarding Children Board's Inter Agency Procedures in relation to the allegation/suspicion. A clear and comprehensive summary of the allegation should be made including details of how the allegation was made and dealt with.
Other investigative routes may be identified as more appropriate at this stage, for example, the complaints process, and should be considered as a more appropriate alternative to a Section 47 Enquiry. Such decisions must be made in conjunction with the LADO.
Where the allegation relates to a member of staff, the Designated Person must consider, in consultation with other relevant managers in the agency, whether the member of staff should be suspended.
At this stage, the Regulatory Authority must be informed of the allegation/suspicion and the action taken. Where a Strategy Meeting is to be convened, the Designated Person must ensure that they are invited to be represented there.
In exceptional cases were immediate action may be necessary to safeguard the welfare of the child, the child's social worker and his or her manager may decide to request that a new placement be identified for the child in question and other children placed in the household.
The purpose of the meeting will be to decide if a Section 47 Enquiry and/or criminal investigation is necessary and, if so, how it should be carried out. The following people will be invited:
The Strategy Meeting must consider:
Whether or not the Strategy Meeting considers that the allegation or suspicion has any foundation, the matter should be investigated unless there are exceptional circumstances, and the Regulatory Authority must be notified of the decision and the outcome.
The minutes of the meeting must contain clear action points and clear time-scales for each action. The action points and timescales will be circulated immediately after the meeting. Actions agreed must be recorded and be the responsibility of named individuals.
Copies of the action points and the minutes should be held on the child's and the foster carer's records.
Any decision to take no further action following the Strategy Meeting must be clearly recorded by the decision-maker on the child's and the foster carer's records, and reported to the Regulatory Authority.
The actions agreed at the Strategy Meeting should be implemented by those responsible within the agreed timescales.
In anticipation of the outcome of an investigation in relation to a foster carer being reported to the Fostering Panel, the Supervising Social Worker or his/her manager should contact the Panel Chair to consider whether a special Panel meeting will be required.
Unless there are circumstances when the details or nature of the allegation cannot be shared immediately, the member of staff or foster carers should be advised of the allegation as agreed at the Strategy Meeting and of the process to be followed in the investigation, including the possibility that a Child Protection Conference may be convened in relation to their own children.
When an allegation has been made against a foster carer and where considered appropriate by the Strategy Meeting, the foster carers should be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations before any final decision is made about necessary action to protect the child and other children in the household. Such protective action may include asking the person against whom the allegation has been made to leave the household while the investigation is conducted.
Any decision to suspend making further placements with the foster carer while the investigation is being conducted should be communicated in writing to the foster carer by the Designated Person or the Manager of the Fostering Service.
Members of staff and foster carers must be informed how they will be supported during the investigation.
Foster carers must be informed how they will be paid during the course of the investigation.
The agency must identify the most appropriate persons to provide support to the member of staff or the foster carer during the investigation – usually from a source independent of the agency.
Those identified to provide support must be requested to contact the member of staff or the foster carers as soon as practicable after the member of staff/foster carers are made aware of the allegation, and explain their role. They must make clear their responsibility to report to the local authority, the Police and in some circumstances to the Court if any information relevant to the investigation comes to their attention.
It should be confirmed that the foster carers are aware of the following.
It should be confirmed that the member of staff concerned is aware of the following.
If a Child Protection Conference is convened, the Conference Chair must be consulted in advance to discuss whether the foster carers should be invited to attend. In any event, the foster carers' views must be obtained for and communicated to the Conference.
The social worker undertaking the investigation will prepare a report on the investigation and a copy will be provided to the member of staff/foster carers and their representatives.
The Strategy Meeting will be reconvened to conclude the investigation. The same people will be invited and the same person will chair the meeting; the member of staff/foster carers and their representative will be invited to participate as considered appropriate by the Chair.
The purpose of the final Strategy Meeting is to agree on the outcome of the investigation and responsibilities for any further action including reporting on the matter to the Fostering Panel (in relation to foster carers) and/or considering whether it may be appropriate to make a referral to the Independent Safeguarding Authority for inclusion of the member of staff or foster carers on the Children's Barred List. .
Although this will always be envisaged as the final meeting, should new information come to light further actions may be required thereby necessitating the suspension and rescheduling of the meeting.
The Chair will notify the member of staff/foster carers (if not in attendance), the child, the parents, other children in the placement or involved, other relevant agencies and the Regulatory Authority (if they do not attend the meeting) of the recommendations made at the meeting.
In any event the meeting may wish to draw to the attention of Fostering Panel members certain areas of the foster carer's practice in need of their close consideration.
Where the investigation related to foster carers, a report should be presented to the next available Fostering Panel. The social worker preparing the report should consult with the Chair of the Fostering Panel who will advise on who should attend the Panel meeting (usually the child's social worker and the Supervising Social Worker for the foster carers) and whether or not a special Panel meeting should be convened.
Prior to Fostering Panel, the foster carers and their representative should have seen, and had time to comment on the report being presented to the Panel. The procedure to be adopted for the Fostering Panel will be the same as for any other foster carer review - see Review of Foster Carers Procedure.
All relevant documents in relation to the investigation, whatever the outcome, must be retained on the child's and the member of staff/foster carer's records.
Consideration should be given to holding a debriefing meeting for all involved as to the impact of the allegations and the investigation, whatever the outcome, and any necessary assistance should be made available as necessary.
The summary record of the allegation should be kept on the member of staff/foster carer’s confidential file which includes the manner in which the allegation was resolved and decisions that were reached. A copy of this should be provided to the member of staff/foster carer. This record should be kept until the person reaches the normal retirement age or for ten years if this is longer.
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Wholistic is committed to the highest possible standards of professionalism, service delivery, openness and accountability to its employees, foster carers and children that they look after.
Wholistic wants to know about unacceptable behaviour, corruption, bad practice or fraud and has introduced its whistle blowing policy to encourage employees, foster carers and children in feeling confident about raising concerns whilst being protected from possible reprisals or victimisation if disclosures are made in good faith.
All information received through the whistle blowing policy is kept confidential and that the person you talk to is independent, experienced and has sufficient authority to ensure proper enquires are carried out.
Initially, employees, foster carers and children may wish to use Wholistic's existing complaint or grievance procedures as set out in the foster carer and supervising social worker portfolios. However, Wholistic recognises that there are times when concerns are so serious that the employee, foster carers and children may not feel confident about using these methods but would be happy to raise them in a more confidential way. The whistle blowing policy allows you to do this.
The whistle blowing policy should not be used for issues that have been through Wholistic's existing grievance or complaints procedure but is intended to cover major concerns. These include:
Wholistic encourages employees, foster carers and children to put their name to any allegations through its whistle blowing policy whenever possible, however, anonymous allegations will also be considered. Employees, foster carers and children may wish to consider discussing their concern with a colleague first and may find it easier to raise the matter if there are two or more people who have the same concerns.
Concerns may be raised verbally or in writing, and the earlier a concern is expressed, the easier it is to take action. Although employees, foster carers and children are not expected to prove beyond doubt the truth of an allegation, they will need to demonstrate to the person contacted that there are reasonable grounds for concern.
Those who wish to make a written report should try to use the following format:
Within ten working days of a concern being raised, the Whistle Blowing Officer responsible for whistle blowing will write to you acknowledging that the concern has been received and where applicable, will supply you with information on staff support mechanisms. Some concerns may be resolved by an agreed action without the need for investigation. If urgent action is required then this will be taken before any investigation is conducted.
In order to protect all individuals concerned, initial enquiries will be made to decide whether an investigation is appropriate and what form it should take. Concerns and allegations that fall within the reach of existing specific procedures will be considered under those procedures, for example, child protection or discrimination procedures. Where appropriate, the matters raised may:
Employees, foster carers and children may invite their trade union, Fostering Network representative or a friend to be present during any meetings or interviews in connection with the concerns you have raised. Meetings can be arranged at a mutually agreed location.
The amount of contact between employees, foster carers and children raising a concern and the Whistle Blowing Officer will depend on the nature of the concerns, the potential difficulties involved and the clarity of the information provided. If necessary, the Whistle Blowing Officer may seek further information from you and subject to any legal constraints, the employees, foster carers and children will be kept informed of the progress of enquiries.
Wholistic ensures that any difficulties the employees, foster carers and children may experience as a result of raising a concern are kept to a minimum. For example, if you are required to give evidence in criminal or disciplinary proceedings, Wholistic will arrange for employees, foster carers and children to receive legal advice about the procedures.
Wholistic accepts that employees, foster carers and children need to be confident that the concerns raised have been properly addressed. Subject to any legal constraints, Wholistic will inform you of the outcome of any investigation.
Wholistic's whistle blowing policy is intended to enable employees, foster carers and children to raise concerns. If employees, foster carers and children are not happy with the outcome of any investigation and want to take the matter outside Wholistic, the following are possible contact points:
If employees, foster carers and children do take the matter outside Wholistic they should ensure that confidential information is not disclosed.
Wholistic's Whistle Blowing Officer is Mike Dennis and he can be contacted on either 07985 747530.
Wholistic Fostering is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children. Any matter that comes to the attention of carers, staff, volunteers and Panel members and is of a child protection nature will be reported to the relevant authorities under the Child Protection Referrals Procedure.
Where a member of staff, volunteer, Panel member or foster carer considers that a child protection matter has arisen within the agency and has not been dealt with appropriately, s/he may make use of this procedure and report matters of concern to the senior manager within the agency or a report can be made to the local authority (for the area where the child is placed or the relevant person lives) or to the Regulatory Authority.
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All notifications should be submitted through the eform:
https://eforms.wholisticfostering.co.uk/notification/
This is a very similar form to the form used by Ofsted and will create an internal ticket on the help desk that will form the basis of documenting progress until a notification has been concluded,
This chapter lists the agencies that must be notified by the fostering agency where certain events occur within the agency’s foster homes or in relation to children placed in one of the agency’s foster homes.
It reproduces the table in Schedule 7 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 and is compliant with Standard 29 of the NMS standards for Fostering Services
Wherever an event listed in the table occurs within one of the agency’s foster homes or in relation to a child or children placed in one of the agency’s foster homes, the person receiving the information must immediately inform the Designated Manager, who is responsible for sending the notifications to the agencies listed.
Notifications will be sent as soon as practicable after the even has occurred.
Event | To be notified to: | |
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| Chief Inspector | Responsible authority | Secretary of State | Area authority | Police | Primary Trust | Care |
|
Death of a child placed with foster parents | yes | yes | yes | yes | | yes | |
|
Information is provided to the Independent Safeguarding Authority under any of sections 35, 36, 39, 41 or 45 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006(1) in respect of an individual working for a fostering service | yes | yes | | | | | |
|
Serious illness or serious accident of a child placed with foster parents | yes | yes | | | | | |
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Outbreak at the home of a foster parent of any infectious disease which in the opinion of a general practitioner attending the home is sufficiently | yes | yes | | | | yes | |
|
serious to be so notified | | | | | | |
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Allegation that a child placed with foster parents has committed a serious offence | | yes | | | yes | |
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Involvement or suspected involvement of a child placed with foster parents in prostitution | yes | yes | | yes | yes | |
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Serious incident relating to a child placed with foster parents necessitating calling the police to the foster parent’s home | yes | yes | | | | |
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A child placed with foster parents is missing from the placement | | yes | | | | |
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Any serious complaint about any foster parent approved by the fostering agency | yes | yes | | | | |
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Instigation and outcome of any child protection enquiry involving a child placed with foster parents | yes | yes | | yes | | |
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| |
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 6, Promoting Health and Wellbeing.
WF will ensure that carers and children have access to up to date information, guidance and advice on the risks and strategies that may be adopted in relation to smoking, alcohol or other harmful drugs and substances.
If children are known to be at risk of smoking or misusing alcohol or other harmful drugs, it must be addressed in their Placement Arrangement/Placement Plan with strategies for cessation or reduction.
All reasonable measures must be used to reduce or prevent children from obtaining drugs or substances which may harm them.
If it is known or suspected that children are obtaining products which may harm them, whether off the streets, from dealers or traders of any kind, carers must notify the agency, who will consult the social worker to decide what actions to take.
Children and Young People
Under no circumstances may children consume alcohol without the approval, in writing, of the social worker - and then only on special occasions, such as Christmas lunch.
Where it becomes evident or carers suspect that a child or young person has indulged in alcohol, a range of responses are relevant given variations in the severity and extent of the abuse. These options are outlined below:
Carers should never simply ignore a child or young person who appears drunk or under the influence of another substance.
Foster carers and their visitors should not consume alcohol in the presence of children, except on special occasions, and then the amount consumed should be reasonable.
Once children have gone to bed or are visiting their parents, carers and visitors may consume alcohol but should always be in a position to respond to emergencies, which may mean that one carer should abstain.
As a guide, carers should be mindful of the consequences of drinking prior to looking after a child or young person. Work, performance and the ability to drive can be affected the day after drinking. Similarly, the after effects of drinking could be bad breath, shaking, excessive thirst, indigestion, headache, etc. This may be apparent to children or young people and have serious effects on the foster carers' ability to perform their duties in a professional manner.
In England and Wales, licensing is governed by the Licensing Act 2003; In Scotland the primary legislation is the Licensing Scotland Act 1976. (However, despite what it says legally, some Placing Local Authorities/parents may have different views).
Age | The law in England, Scotland and Wales | |
Under 5 | It is illegal to give an alcoholic drink to a child under 5 except in certain circumstances (e.g. under medical supervision). |
|
Under 14 | A young person under 14 cannot go into a licensed premises unless they have a 'children's certificate'. If it does not have one the child/young person can only go into parts of licensed premises where alcohol is either sold but not drunk (e.g. an off-licence or a sales point away from a pub), or drunk but not sold (e.g. a garden or family room). |
|
14 or 15 | 14 and 15 year olds can go anywhere in a pub, but they cannot drink alcohol. |
|
16 or 17 | 16 and 17 year olds can buy (or be bought) beer or cider (and wine in Scotland) as an accompaniment to a meal, but not in a bar (i.e. only in an area specifically set aside for meals). |
|
Under 18 | Except for 16 or 17 year olds having a meal, it is against the law for anyone under 18 to buy alcohol in a pub, off-licence, supermarket or other outlet; or for anyone else to buy alcohol in a pub for someone who is under 18. |
|
| |
Carers must ensure that aerosols, gas, glue, petrol and similar substances are only used for the purpose they were designed for; and that all reasonable measures are taken to restrict their use to children who are known to pose no risk to themselves or others if they have access to them.
If it suspected that a child is misusing harmful drugs or substances and no strategy exists to reduce or prevent the behaviour, the Supervising Social Worker or Fostering Team Manager must be notified, who may consult the child's social worker. If there is an immediate urgent risk e.g. that the child or another person may be injured or that a serious crime may be committed, the carers should take what action is necessary to protect themselves, the child or others e.g.
If there is a risk of serious harm, injury or of a serious criminal offence and carers are unable to manage safely, the Police should be notified.
If solvents are involved, allow air to circulate freely and extinguish naked lights.
If any person is unconscious, in a fit or convulsing or otherwise seriously ill, emergency first aid should be given and an ambulance requested. The emergency services should be informed that there are suspicions of drug or solvent misuse.
The drugs/substances should be removed or confiscated, preferably with the cooperation of the child(ren).
No further action, beyond making the situation safe and attempting to confiscate harmful drugs or substances, should be taken without consulting the Supervising Social Worker or Team Manager.
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This chapter provides guidance for carers and staff in relation to supporting and promoting positive behaviour.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 3 Promoting positive behaviour and relations
Whilst children bring their own values and behaviours to placements, foster carers play a key role in influencing children.
The culture of the household, generated by the carers, is crucial. Foster carers are expected to understand, manage and deal with children’s behaviour including encouraging them to take responsibility for their behaviour and helping them to learn how to resolve conflict. A restrictive, unsupportive, discouraging and punishing culture will result in instability, hostility and possibly severe disruption.
All foster placements will have clear, fair boundaries, to enable children to feel safe, encouraged and appropriately rewarded; and to help ensure that they will thrive and do well. Foster carers who adopt this approach will also experience less instability and disruption.
When caring for foster children, foster carers should at all times endeavour to:
Rewards should be used in a creative and diverse way, specific to children's needs, capabilities and interests.
This may mean that children are rewarded with toys, games, activities or monetary rewards. However, all 'tangible' rewards should be accompanied by use of 'non tangible' encouragement and support - by carers demonstrating to children that they have done well. Such 'non tangible' rewards include praising, smiling, touching and hugging children.
Children usually benefit, early on, from rewards which may appear to outweigh that which is expected. This is normal; over time rewards can be more relevant as children's self esteem and skills improve.
For example:
However, it should also be borne in mind that some children cannot tolerate praise as it undermines the low perception they have of themselves. For these children smaller more specific praise is needed.
All carers should have house rules, setting out their expectations for how things are managed within the home. This should be explained to children, with the reasons for the rules and they should also know that that there are rules for everyone. They should not feel that they are being treated with less regard than other members of the household. Ideally children should know these expectations before they are placed.
House rules will cover the following expectations:
Sanctions can be very effective but, before imposing them, think about it.
Most looked after children have come to view themselves, and are viewed, as failures. They have had their fill of sanctions, usually imposed inconsistently, unfairly or as acts of revenge.
Before imposing sanctions, carers should do all they can to support and encourage children to do well. If children do not behave acceptably, strategies should be adopted that are encouraging and rewarding.
Rather than noticing and sanctioning misbehaviour it is always better to notice and reward good behaviour - or any step in the right direction. For example, it may be more effective to allow a child to have use of a video or TV at bedtime for getting up on time; rather than taking the TV away for getting up late. Same deal, different meaning!
The former is discouraging and causes resentment; the latter is encouraging, can improve self esteem and relationships between children and carers.
Be creative, think outside the box!
If children continue to behave in unacceptable ways, they should be reminded about what is expected and given further encouragement to get it right. If misbehaviour persists or is serious, effective use of reprimands can act as a disincentive or firm reminder. If this does not work, or may not, sanctions may be effective.
Where sanctions are used they must be reasonable and the minimum necessary to achieve the objective. Also, there should be a belief that the sanction will have the desired outcome - increasing the possibility that acceptable behaviour will follow.
If sanctions are imposed, carers should apply the following principles:
The following sanctions are non-approved, which means they may never be imposed upon children:
The person's with whom the child may have contact, in relation to c. above,
The following sanctions may be imposed upon children:
If a child receives a sanction it is recorded on the carer’s daily recording log.
Relationship with the Police and planning for change
Everyone involved in looking after Young People must develop co-operative relationships with the Police and should seek their advice on matters of concern, security and crime prevention.
Illegal behaviour should not be condoned, but it is important to be mindful of our duty to consider the overall welfare of Young People; which may mean recognising that illegal activity is taking place and working to minimise risks and consequences.
Unless otherwise set out in writing, for example in a child’s Placement Plan any suspicion on the part of staff/carers that a child has or is likely to commit an offence must be discussed with the manager or carers supervising social worker; who should consult the child’s social worker if the behaviour is persistent or serious.
Any decision to report matters to the Police or consult them should normally only be taken in consultation with the manager of the placement / senior care manager of the foster placement and the Senior Care Manager of child’s social worker.
If staff or carers are considering contacting the Police at times when social work or WF offices are closed and they cannot contact their manager or supervising social worker, they must contact either the on-call worker for WF or the placing authority’s Emergency Duty Team.
Where there are concerns that a child is engaged or likely to be engaged in offending behaviour, measures must be adopted to reduce or prevent it. Where the behaviour is persistent or serious, the child’s Placement Plan must include a summary of the concerns and the strategies being adopted to change the behaviour.
In this respect, other relevant agencies, including the Police, may be consulted and involved.
If necessary the Placement Plan should indicate whether and in what circumstances the Police should be contacted should suspicions arise about offending behaviour.
4.2 Managing serious disruption
Staff/carers are expected to do all that is reasonable to manage the behaviour of Young People Looked After, which includes the management of confrontational and disruptive behaviour.
As a Last Resort, Physical Intervention can be used to prevent Young People or others being injured or to prevent Damage to Property. (see Restraint policy)
If the potential injury is significant or the potential damage is serious, Restraint can also be used but if this is not possible or control is lost and the risks of injury or damage escalate, the Police must be called for assistance.
If possible, the child’s social worker or WF Registered Manager/Director should give authorisation to such action, but if this is not possible, staff/carers should act as they see fit and then inform the child’s social worker as soon as possible thereafter.
If a child is known to be violent, the concerns and Strategies designed to reduce or prevent the behaviour must be set out in his/her Placement Plan.
Apart from individual Placement Plans, staff/carers must do all they can to create a safe and positive living environment for Young People. However, staff/carers must take what action is immediately necessary to prevent violence or assaults from occurring.
This may include the use of Restraint or other forms of Physical Intervention.
The Police will not normally be contacted unless the violence is serious, persistent or the victim wishes to make a complaint to the Police.
If victims wish to make such a complaint they should be encouraged only to do so after having given consideration to the implications and consequences for all concerned.
If victims do decide to contact the Police they should be offered support and advice by a manager/supervisor or supervising social worker.
If there is a suspicion that a child may be engaged or likely to be engaged in any criminal activity including theft or malicious damage, staff/carers must act to reduce or prevent the behaviour.
This may include taking steps to recover, repair or restore the property rather than contacting the Police.
If the offending behaviour is persistent or serious, the Police may be contacted. However, unless there are immediate risks that a serious offence may be committed, the child’s social worker and the cares supervising social worker should be consulted before a decision is taken.
If the Police are called to provide assistance in managing an Incident of any kind in a home, the child’s social worker and manager must be notified as soon as practicable afterwards.
There are a number of records that must be completed in the event of an Incident, whether or not the Police were called for assistance
Self-harming or self-injury behaviour is the deliberate act of causing harm to one-self, with or without an intention to die.
It can take many forms from scratching to the swallowing of harmful substances and taking overdoses. It can include under-eating or over-eating.
If a child is suspected or found to be self-harming, the strategies that should be taken are those determined by any existing plan, for example, in the child’s Behaviour Management Plan which if known prior to placement should have been agreed at the placement agreement meeting.
If no plan or Strategy exists, all reasonable measures should be taken to reduce or prevent continuation of the behaviour.
This may include providing additional supervision, confiscation of materials that may be used to self-harm or, as a last resort, using of Physical Intervention or calling for assistance from the emergency services.
If there is any suspicion that the child may be involved in self-harming, the social worker and supervising social worker must be informed and a risk assessment undertaken with a view to deciding whether a strategy should be adopted to reduce or prevent the behaviour.
If necessary, specialist advice or support should be sought. This may be most forthcoming from the CAMHS Team who has a specialist worker who supports Looked After Children.
Notifications of Minor or Non Persistent Self-Harming
Minor or non persistent self-harming should be notified to the child’s social worker and the carer’s supervising social worker at the first opportunity. A decision about whether to notify the parents will be taken by the social worker.
Notifications of Serious or Persistent Self-Harming
Serious or persistent self-harming is deemed to be an Incident and must be notified to the child’s social worker and supervising social worker immediately following the incident as is possible.
The social worker should decide whether to inform the child’s parent(s) and, if so, who should do so.
Depending on the seriousness of the self-harming, other people/agencies may have to be notified.
Recording of Minor or Non Persistent Self Harming
Minor or non-persistent self-harming should be recorded in the carer’s daily record, including if first aid or medical treatment is provided in which instance the medical log additionally has to be completed
Recording of Serious or Persistent Self Harming
Incidents of persistent or serious self-harming are deemed to be Incidents, and must be recorded as such.
Please see Incidents guidance below for details of the records that must be completed in the event of an Incident.
If First Aid or medical treatment is provided, it must also be recorded in the carers daily record.
If there is any risk that a child may lock or barricade him/herself in a room so as to prevent access by the carers, a Risk Assessment must be undertaken and a suitable strategy adopted to reduce or prevent it, preferably in writing.
If there are risks relating to an individual child known prior to placement this should be accounted for in a Behaviour Management Plan agreed at the placement agreement meeting
If children lock or barricade themselves in a room so as to prevent access by those caring for them, the actions that are necessary will depend on the risks posed.
If the risks are low, which means that there is no perceived risk of Injury, damage to property or of any offence being committed, the situation should be monitored and efforts made to obtain the child’s co-operation to resolve it satisfactorily.
The strategies that should be adopted will depend on the age, level of understanding of the child and other circumstances on the day. However, carers should do what they can to maintain a low risk, and not to escalate the situation.
If there is a risk of Injury, damage to property or of an offence being committed, the action taken should depend on the immediacy and seriousness of those risks.
The strategies that should be adopted will depend on the age, level of understanding of the child and other circumstances on the day. However, carers should monitor the situation, doing what they can to reduce the risks. All decisions and actions taken must be recorded.
If possible, the child’s social worker and the carers supervising social worker/registered manager should be consulted before actions are taken. However, it is for carers, on the spot, to decide what actions are necessary, having considered all the risks and strategies that are available to them.
If at all possible, carers must act so as to reduce or prevent the need to act with force but, if the risks escalate to an extent that Physical Intervention, including forced entry is necessary; the carers may only act in keeping with relevant procedures in this manual.
If it is not possible to deal with the matter in any other way, it is preferable for carers to act in pairs when entering a room. When this is possible the person who has physically opened the door should not be the first to enter the room
There are different notification procedures depending on whether matters are concluded with or without the co-operation of children.
If the occurrence is concluded with the co-operation of the child, in that no force has been used, the supervising social worker/registered manager should be notified at the first opportunity; either one will then decide whether to notify the child’s social worker. The care must always record the incident in their daily recording log
If carers have to use forced entry or physical Intervention, or the Police are called for assistance, it is deemed to be an Incident and the supervising social worker and child’s social worker must be notified as soon as possible.
Depending on the seriousness of the Incident, other people/agencies may have to be notified. The Registered Managers, contains details of who should be notified
Carers are not permitted to conduct body searches, pat down searches, searches of clothing worn by children or of their bedrooms.
Should carers suspect that a child is carrying or has concealed an item which may place the child or another person at risk, they should try to obtain the item by cooperation/negotiation.
If carers suspect that a child is concealing an item which may place themselves or another person at risk, they must notify the agency or, in an emergency, the Police, where it may be decided to be appropriate to conduct a search of a child or a child’s belongings if there is reasonable cause to believe that the child has concealed weapons, illegal drugs, other dangerous items or stolen goods and it is unlikely that the items will not be given up without searching for them. Such searches include searches of children’s bedrooms
Any search carried out without the child’s agreement may only be undertaken where it is necessary to do so to prevent Significant Injury or Serious Damage to Property.
The child must be informed at the first possible instance of what has happened.
In the event of any serious incident (e.g. accident, violence or assault, damage to property), carers should take what actions they deem to be necessary to protect children/themselves from immediate harm or injury; and then notify the agency immediately.
If there is a risk of serious injury/harm or damage to property, carers should not use any form or Physical Intervention except as a last resort to prevent themselves or others from being injured or to prevent serious damage to property. If any form of physical intervention is used, it must be the least intrusive necessary to protect the child, carer(s) or others.
At no time should carers act unless they are confident of managing the situation safely, without escalation or further injury.
The agency will endeavour to deal with as many of the challenges that are involved in caring for children without recourse to the involvement of the Police, who should only be involved in two circumstances;
If any serious incident occurs or the Police are called, the supervising social worker, or Registered Manager or the out of hours duty officer must be notified without delay who will notify the relevant social worker(s) and arrange for a full report to be made of the incident and actions taken. The Regulatory Authority must also be notified.
Restraint is an act or the quality of holding back, limiting, or controlling something or somebody. Physical restraint is by definition against the child’s stated will. Its aim is to take control from the child, to stop them from doing whatever they are doing, using the minimum amount of force and therefore the minimum amount of time necessary. Recognising restraint
Carers have to bear in mind that the legal “duty of care” that applies to all those working with children means that “doing nothing” may be construed by the law as “negligence” in terms of this duty. There are circumstances when it would be appropriate to intervene physically to prevent behaviour that is harmful to the child or others. Examples of such circumstance might include:
In such circumstances:
In themselves, none of the above interventions require any particular recording although carers must always be mindful of the circumstances of their intervention and if in doubt follow the instructions below for recording physical constraints.
Physical restraint must only be used:
Restraint should never be used:
Carers should:
• Use physical restraint as a measure of last resort • Ideally involve more than one carer, even if the second carer does not physically intervene but witnesses the intervention • Always seek to avoid the need for physical restraint through dialogue or diversion • Where possible pre-warn the child that a restraint might take place if their behaviour continues • Have sound reasons for believing that other methods of intervention would not be appropriate or would fail. • Give consideration to the age and understanding of the child • Take into account disability and cultural factors that might also be significant in determining the type of intervention. • Be mindful at all times of a child’s previous experiences. A child who has been physically or sexually abused may experience any form of physical contact differently from how it was intended. • Not attempt any intervention if they do not think it is achievable. • Give consideration to the involvement of the emergency services, the timing and the place of the restraint, paying attention to minimising the involvement of other children, as to witness a restraint may be distressing for any child. • Not use restraint to force compliance on the child’s part or when there is no immediate risk involved, or as a means of punishment. • Record any use of restraint as soon as possible after incident. • Verbally advise the child’s social worker of the use of restraint within one working day at the latest.
Special Needs and Children/Young People with a Mental Disorder or a history of behaviour that has necessitated the use of restraint
Wholistic Fostering promotes social inclusion, equality, and the social model of disability. All disabled children will be treated with dignity. It is accepted that some disabled children may have some behaviours which are so challenging that restrictive physical interventions may be needed as a last resort to safeguard the child following a duty of care. These children should not be marginalised from living in a family home because they may need to be restrained for their own safety, or that of others. However, Wholistic Fostering would not offer a match if a suitably experienced foster carer was not available.
Where a suitably experienced foster carer is available then In cases involving children who are disabled and/or may have special needs and/or a mental health disorder, or a history of needing to be restrained then a risk assessment should be undertaken prior to the placement being agreed. The risk assessment will address the specific issues involving the child and any foreseeable issues that may arise, likely to warrant the use of force to restrain them. Any holding form of restraint would only be agreed when all other alternatives have been exhausted and subject to risk assessments and behaviour management plans. An example where this may be necessary is where a child whose Special Education Needs (SEN) and/or disability (whether physical or a learning disability) is associated with extreme behaviour.
An individual risk assessment and management plan will be essential for children or a young person who’s SEN and/or disabilities are associated with:
Those involved in the care and management of these children should ensure they are as well informed as possible about the child’s behavioural characteristics or patterns stemming from their special needs, disability or mental disorder, and make use of the knowledge and insight that the child, their parents and other professionals involved with the family can provide.
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Children learn how to behave by watching, listening and talking to the adults who care for them. Children develop their morals and values from what they observe of how adults treat others.
Children need clear boundaries and consistent rules. You should have high aspirations of a child/young person placed with you and be clear about what is acceptable and not.
You are expected to understand, manage and deal with young people’s behaviour including encouraging children to take responsibility for their behaviour and help them to learn how to resolve conflict.
Since your foster child is new to your home they will not know or understand your rules unless you explain them. You will need to be mindful of the child’s background and early life experiences when setting boundaries and expectations.
It is important that the child is treated consistently by everyone who is dealing with them particularly when there are two carers.
Everyone needs to agree on an approach and stick to it. Depending on the age of the child it is useful for them to be involved in conversations about what behaviour is accepted and when appropriate to consider possible consequences. On-going communication is really important and can be helpful as you start to get to know each other.
All Wholistic carers will be expected to attend the tools to foster course which gives some very helpful advice and tips on behaviour management and positive reinforcement of good behaviour.
It is easy to only notice difficult behaviour, but by praising good behaviour it encourages the child/young person to do this more. This is an effective method of managing behaviour used by childcare professionals.
The child needs to be aware of what they did well and when and should be told as it is happening, not later or after the event.
You should record behaviour in the Children’s Information file to help you and other professionals understand it.
There are many techniques for helping to manage children’s behaviour but remember, children and young people respond best to people that they like and respect and regardless of which technique you use, a positive relationship is the key to helping them to behave positively.
One technique is the use of star charts which can be effective for young children. They must be set up as a reward for the hard work a child puts in. They must also be geared to a child’s age.
Older children and teenagers can have similar systems. It may be useful to talk to them about what they would really like and set something up that rewards them for positive behaviour.
As a child/young person gets older they need to understand the consequences of their behaviour and take some responsibility for it. You might find that giving rewards at both agreed and less specified times when you think that they are deserved can be the most effective way to encourage good behaviour. It is also useful to try and talk to a child when they are calm about a situation that may have happened, to not only try and understand it but agree how it may be different in the future.
A child/young person placed with you may be at a low point in their lives. They are vulnerable and may 'act out' their feelings.
This may show itself in ways such as bed-wetting, stealing food or money, being rude or aggressive, destructive or running away.
You should talk to the child/young person to check out their reasons for the behaviour and discuss the situation with the child’s social worker and your supervising social worker to agree how the behaviour can be best managed.
Sometimes the child or young person might not understand the reasons that things are going wrong for them and they might need your help to make sense of what is happening. Children who experienced emotional trauma may not be able to respond to reasoning or guidance in a positive way. Patience, acceptance and consistency by the foster carer is most important.
Remember that children and young people often do things wrong because of their age and understanding and these things are hard to help or to iron out. Examples of this might be clumsiness, sleeping in and being grumpy. On the other hand, their experiences might leave them behaving badly and until you both recognise this, it will be hard to change.
All children need rules and boundaries but these should be focused on keeping them safe.
Try not to burn your bridges with threats and sanctions - use these little and often, and when you feel they will be most effective.
Praise and positive responses often go a lot further than sanctions. Remember that body language and the tone of your voice can sometimes make things worse, e.g if you raise your voice they may also.
Most children present behaviour that needs to be responded to with some form of discipline at some point. Because of their formative experiences, some children may display very challenging behaviour.
Foster carer training, support and care planning should equip you with a range of positive strategies for managing challenging behaviour and discipline that is appropriate. Remember, in managing any unacceptable behaviour, it is the behaviour that is not acceptable and not the child.
Within the Foster Care Agreement signed by you, you have agreed not to use any form of corporal punishment
The term ‘corporal punishment’ should be taken to cover any intentional application of force as punishment including smacking, slapping, pinching, squeezing, shaking, throwing missiles, rough handling and all other humiliating forms of treatment or punishment.
Similarly, restriction of contact visits to and from the birth family and friends must not be used as a punishment, nor withholding of receiving or sending of letters or phone calls.
Children and young people must not be stopped from getting in touch with their social worker, Children’s Guardian or Solicitor.
There are many different techniques used to help children and young people with behavioural problems. Examples such as positive reinforcement and contracts are all based on some sort of negotiated agreement between a carer and child or young person.
In order for the technique to work, the adult must give clear messages, be consistent, be persistent, watch what happens, draw conclusions, and decide what must change.
This guidance does not prevent a person taking necessary physical action, where any other course of action would be likely to fail to avert an immediate danger of personal injury to the child or another person, or to avoid immediate danger to property.
Sometimes children become so excited that it affects their behaviour. You may need to take them to one side and tell them that they are going to remain there until they feel able to behave properly. Time-out must be age appropriate and should not be used to increase distress in a child.
A bedroom is not an appropriate place to use for punishment or time out.
With many children it is sometimes easier to remove yourself from a situation to prevent further escalation, and promise to return when they have calmed down.
Looked After Children should not receive any physical/corporal punishment. The Foster Care Agreement you sign when you became a foster carer says that this is not acceptable. The children you will care for have frequently suffered Sexual, Physical and Emotional abuse. Therefore it is important that you teach children about love and care rather than anger and violence. It is the behaviour that is not acceptable not the child/young person.
If serious incident such as an accident, violence, assault, damage to property takes place, you should do what is needed to protect children/yourself from immediate harm; and then notify the fostering service immediately. You should record the incident as soon as possible on an incident sheet.
You should not use any form of Physical Intervention except as a last resort to prevent you or others from being injured or to prevent serious damage to property. Some carers receive training on understanding behaviour and physical intervention but the rule above still applies in these situations.
If any form of Physical Intervention is used, it must be the least intrusive to protect the child, you or others.
At no time should you act unless you are confident of managing the situation safely, without escalation or further injury.
You should endeavour to deal with as many of the challenges that are involved in caring for children without the involvement of the Police, who should only be involved if;
An emergency occurs that requires their immediate involvement to protect the child or others;
Or
Following discussion with your supervising social worker or their manager;
If any serious incident occurs or the Police are called, the child’s social worker and your supervising social worker must be notified without delay. You may be asked to provide a full written report of the incident and actions taken. This will also involve notification to Ofsted.
Discipline and control can prove difficult even in the best-run families. There are extra challenges for the foster carers who care for children and young people on behalf of Wholistic Fostering
All carers must attend training on behaviour management. When you were approved by the Fostering Panel the foster carer agreement you signed clearly stated that you must not use any form of corporal punishment. This will include any intentional application of force as punishment. Also it includes slapping, shaking, punching, rough handling and throwing any missiles e.g. slippers, objects to hand. It would also include pushing or punching in the hea of the moment or in response to violence from the young people. It also includes other humiliating forms of treatment or punishment (Standard 9 National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services 2002).
There may be times when the behaviour of a child or young person is such that it poses a serious risk to themselves or others or property.
The Fostering Services Regulations 2002, the National Minimum Standards for Fostering and the UK National Standards for Foster Care make it clear that:-
The fostering service ensures that: -
Many of the children and young people in foster care have experienced rejection, abuse or loss and others have not had consistent boundaries set for them in the past.
Children will grow up into a world where people will not always take account of their difficult past. They need to be able to act with consideration for others and for themselves.
The most effective means of maintaining control is by building good relationships with children where there is an expectation of reasonable behaviour. The disapproval of a respected adult without the withholding of affection is an important way for children and young people to learn about “right” and “wrong”. Discipline should not be seen as a negative act. Children who behave reasonably and considerately are more likely to grow up into well-adjusted adults who feel good about themselves.
This policy is intended to help foster carers to make it clear what is not allowed, and just as importantly, to make suggestions about what you can do.
Firstly, some general hints for foster carers:-
The purpose of guidelines …..
The issue of sanctions and their implementation will be regularly reviewed by the Fostering Service.
Sanctions must be
The use of any sanction by a foster carer is a matter of choice but should take into account the age, understanding, physical condition, situation and maturity of the child or young person.
REMEMBER NEWTON’S LAW: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. This law of physics applies to sanctions too! Every time that you impose any form of control there will be a consequence for you and not just for the child or young person. For example, if you “ground” (keep in) a youngster, they will be in your house and you may get a feeling of them being under your feet, they may be sulking about, or playing their music at loud volume.
OUR ADVICE WHEN FACED WITH BEHAVIOUR THAT YOU DISAPPROVE OF IS:
If you have taken the time to consider these questions and your options the chances are that you will not have reacted hastily or regret your actions. The child or young person is also more likely to know exactly what you disapprove of and why; this is important if you wish to change their behaviour.
Here are some sanctions that might work in your home:-
This is not a fine but a case of you withholding the young person’s pocket money for a suitable length of time. (This should not last longer than a week.) The rules for children’s homes say that you should only withhold one third of their pocket money. This does not apply to foster carers but is a useful guide for you. Withheld money should be saved by you and returned to the young person in kind or directly at an appropriate time.
You can deduct pocket money to pay for deliberate damage or loss. This should be at a reasonable level with regard to the young person’s means rather than seeking to cover the full cost of the damage or loss. (Remember that as a foster carer we have advised you that have house insurance for damage or loss caused by a foster child.)
There is an expectation that any child living in a family should have some responsibility for domestic chores as a matter of principle. You may choose to impose extra tasks, for example, washing the pots (or stacking the dishwasher!). Make sure they can do the job and that you can put up with the broken crockery!
Instead of banning children from going out at all you can insist that they don’t go out on their own, and that you therefore supervise them. An example would be to be with a young person if they cannot be trusted to spend their clothing money on clothes. Make sure that you really want to spend Friday nights hanging around before you use this one for a week!
If a child is misusing possessions such as a computer, Gameboy, music system or water pistol and is causing a nuisance to others or acting dangerously with possessions you can remove them. Make sure children know what they have to do to get the items back or how long they have to wait. Any dangerous item should be confiscated and returned to their family directly or via their social worker.
We are talking here about extras such as special trips or treats, late bedtimes etc. These privileges can be stopped by you; again they should be stopped for a set time that you can keep to. A common example would be stopping a child watching a favourite TV programme. Depriving a child of regular meals is NOT an appropriate sanction.
You can alter a child’s normal routine – for example, by an early bedtime or exclusion from an activity. Think hard about this sanction. What does it mean to the child to be sent to bed early if they have experienced sexual abuse for instance? The use of computer, TV or cd player by a child and its replacement with more mundane tasks (like speaking to you!) can be helpful.
We would not, however, recommend extra school homework as a punishment – the completion of homework should be encouraged as a matter of routine.
Control over place and timing of such visits is appropriate in many circumstances. Most young people you care for will have great difficulty in making and maintaining friendships so do think carefully about the use and length of this sanction.
Restricting contact with family and relatives should NOT be used as a sanction in any circumstances. If such contact is problematic and you think it needs to change then you should discuss this with your supervising social worker or the child/young person’s social worker BEFORE taking any other action.
Remember to record your concerns in the Contact book you have been provided with by your supervising social worker.
Generally referred to as “grounding” this is an appropriate sanction for many young people. Try to be specific and time limited in the use of this sanction, being kept in for 10 minutes may seem trivial to you but will not be seen that way by the young person.
Groundings for more than a week should be the exception not the rule. You can encourage youngsters’ sense of being trusted by allowing them to stay out later on appropriate occasions.
Definition
Restraint is an act or the quality of holding back, limiting, or controlling something or somebody. Physical restraint is by definition against the child’s stated will. Its aim is to take control from the child, to stop them from doing whatever they are doing, using the minimum amount of force and therefore the minimum amount of time necessary.
Recognising restraint
Carers have to bear in mind that the legal “duty of care” that applies to all those working with children means that “doing nothing” may be construed by the law as “negligence” in terms of this duty.
There are circumstances when it would be appropriate to intervene physically to prevent behaviour that is harmful to the child or others. Examples of such circumstance might include:
In such circumstances:
In themselves, none of the above interventions require any particular recording although carers must always be mindful of the circumstances of their intervention and if in doubt follow the instructions below for recording physical constraints.
Physical restraint must only be used:
Restraint should never be used:
Guidance on use of restraint
Carers should:
Special Needs and Children/Young People with a Mental Disorder or a history of behaviour that has necessitated the use of restraint
Wholistic Fostering promotes social inclusion, equality, and the social model of disability. All disabled children will be treated with dignity. It is accepted that some disabled children may have some behaviours which are so challenging that restrictive physical interventions may be needed as a last resort to safeguard the child following a duty of care. These children should not be marginalised from living in a family home because they may need to be restrained for their own safety, or that of others. However, Wholistic Fostering would not offer a match if a suitably experienced foster carer was not available.
Where a suitably experienced foster carer is available then In cases involving children who are disabled and/or may have special needs and/or a mental health disorder, or a history of needing to be restrained then a risk assessment should be undertaken prior to the placement being agreed. The risk assessment will address the specific issues involving the child and any foreseeable issues that may arise, likely to warrant the use of force to restrain them.
Any holding form of restraint would only be agreed when all other alternatives have been exhausted and subject to risk assessments and behaviour management plans. An example where this may be necessary is where a child whose Special Education Needs (SEN) and/or disability (whether physical or a learning disability) is associated with extreme behaviour.
An individual risk assessment and management plan will be essential for children or a young person who’s SEN and/or disabilities are associated with:
Those involved in the care and management of these children should ensure they are as well informed as possible about the child’s behavioural characteristics or patterns stemming from their special needs, disability or mental disorder, and make use of the knowledge and insight that the child, their parents and other professionals involved with the family can provide.
Situations may arise where, for all sorts of reasons, a foster carer loses their cool and reacts in an unacceptable way.
If this happens discuss it as soon as practicable with your supervising social worker, or, in their absence, with their team manager. An investigation may have to follow to ensure the child’s well-being and protection.
This form must be filled in within 24 hours of the restraint incident. Restraint Form.
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Contact with Parents/Siblings and Social Visits/Overnight Stays with Relatives and Friends
This chapter explains the arrangements that need to be in place in relation to the contact that children placed with agency foster carers have with parents and siblings, as well as social visits (including overnight stays) to other relatives and friends.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 9 Promoting and Supporting Contact.
Wherever possible and appropriate, children should be encouraged and supported to maintain contact with their parents and siblings, and parents and siblings should be encouraged to take part in activities organised for their children. Such contacts should be consistent with the child's Care Plan; which, itself, must take account of any Child Protection Plan or Contact Order that may be in force.
Contact between children and parents or siblings may only be permitted if previously agreed by the child’s social worker and set out in the child's Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
Both direct and indirect contact arrangements should always be clearly detailed setting out the purpose, how contact will take place, the venue (or type of meeting place), the frequency and how the arrangements will be evaluated and reviewed.
Contact arrangements must not be withdrawn as a sanction imposed on a child.
Children may only have unsupervised contact with parents and siblings with the agreement of the Placing Authority and where the arrangements for such contact are set out in the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
The decision about the need for supervised contact will be made by the Placing Authority as part of the assessment and planning process, the reasons should be clearly recorded and the arrangements set out in the child's Placement Agreement/Placement Plan, which will be regularly reviewed as a minimum at the Looked After Review.
The arrangements will include the details about the role of the supervisor, the extent of the supervision required (it may be sufficient to supervise from an adjacent room) and if the visit is confined to a certain identified area, for example a specified contact centre.
Those supervising such visits should familiarise themselves with the requirements as detailed in the Placement Agreement, follow the requirements specified and fully record their observations as soon as possible after the contact visit takes place.
If it is likely that foster carer(s) will visit children or supervise them in the family homes, they must consult their Supervising Social Worker beforehand - and a risk assessment should be completed. Advice should be provided to the foster carer on any risks and strategies they should adopt.
If foster carers are confronted with unacceptable behaviour during the visit, they should attempt to comply with the guidance provided by their Supervising Social Worker, but if they consider that they and/or the child are at significant risk, they should leave, preferably with the child, and contact their Supervising Social Worker in the first instance and the child’s social worker.
Whenever the foster carers and/or the fostering agency’s staff are concerned about a child’s reaction to contact, this will be communicated to the child’s social worker and the discussion will be recorded.
Should foster carers or other agency staff have any concerns during contact and consider that immediate action is required, they should take what reasonable steps they can to reduce or prevent any risk – wherever possible this action should be taken by a foster carer after first consulting their Supervising Social Worker or by other agency staff after consulting their line manager. In exceptional circumstances, they should notify the Police.
Emergency restrictions on contact can only be made by the agency to protect the child from significant risk and must be notified to the placing authority (child’s social worker) within 24 hours.
As stated above, contact should always be agreed with the Placing Authority and no restrictions on contact should be made by the foster carers without the agreement of the child’s social worker. The only exception to this is in an emergency situation where the foster carer or a member of staff within the agency reasonably believes that they need to safeguard or promote the welfare of the child; if foster carers takes any such action, they must notify their Supervising Social Worker and the child’s social worker immediately afterwards.
When the child's placement is made, information regarding existing relationships with relatives and friends and the approach to the child continuing to have social visits to and with them, as well as visits involving friends and family of the foster carers and new friends who the child meets when in the foster placement, should be obtained from the child’s social worker. The child’s parents' views on such contact should also be obtained.
Arrangements for such contact (including overnight stays) should be set out in the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan. This will include the parameters within which visits or stays away from the foster home may be agreed by the foster carer without prior consultation with the child’s social worker, and whether before giving agreement to such visits the foster carer is required to obtain parental consent.
The circumstances in which these situations may arise include the following:
It is important that, unless there is a specific reason why contacts or overnight stays should not take place (for example the child has harmed other children and they may still pose a risk) looked after children should be given the same permission to take part in normal and acceptable age appropriate activities, such as staying over with friends, as any child would.
Where there are exceptional reasons to require foster carers to seek the permission of the child’s social worker, a manager or a parent, or place specific restrictions on permitting a child to stay overnight with friends, this should be because of reasons necessary to safeguard the child’s welfare. If there is such a reason, the required arrangements should then be appropriately recorded including whether there is a need for CRB checks on the people involved in the contact, and these should be explained to the child.
Foster carers considering a request from a child to stay overnight with a friend should base their decision on the following factors:
The arrangements for supervising or caring for the child must not compromise the safety of the child or of anyone else; and the following considerations should apply:
In all cases, discussions should be held with the child, dependent on his or her age, as to what, if any, information should be shared with other adults to enable them to look after the child appropriately.
This might include:
Any decision to share information should be on a ‘need to know’ basis and recorded. If the child refuses to allow appropriate information to be shared, then he or she needs to be made aware that this could affect the decision to allow the child to stay away from home.
If satisfied that it is appropriate to allow the child’s stay away, a decision to allow it to go ahead may be made. If not, it may not be allowed. The decision and the arrangements agreed should be recorded in full in the carers daily record.
Even if it has been agreed that the social worker does not have to be consulted in making these arrangements, s/he must still be informed as soon as practicable afterwards and the social worker should inform the parents as appropriate.
Whenever the foster carers and/or the fostering agency’s staff are concerned about a child’s reaction to contact with relatives and friends, this will be communicated to the child’s social worker, the discussion will be recorded and the need to review the arrangements will be considered.
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This chapter explains the way in which the fostering agency promotes education for children in its care.
This chapter is compliant with National Minimum Standards for Fostering 2011, Standard 8 Promoting Educational Achievement.
Obtaining a good education can be the key to vastly improving everyone’s chances in life. Children in care can be particularly disadvantaged educationally. They will often have had their education disrupted as a result of changes of placements and circumstances, and may not have had the opportunity to develop to their full potential. They may have little sense of their abilities and will need encouragement to develop greater self-esteem.
WF is committed to providing foster placements that provide a stable, supportive environment from which children can take full advantage of educational opportunities. It is vital that this chance is taken to promote education as valuable in itself and as part of preparation for adulthood.
Foster carers should ensure that their house has a routine that is organised so as to further children’s participation in education, including private study and maintaining effective links with any schools attended by children at the home.
The foster carers and staff of the agency will be actively involved with Designated Teachers and relevant others to support and plan each child’s educational arrangements.
If a child is absent from school, the foster carer will inform the school on the morning of the day of absence unless an alternative arrangement (for example for a recurring appointment) has been made.
WF actively demonstrates that education is valued throughout the organisation by ensuring that:
Foster carers will actively demonstrate that education is valued throughout the organisation by ensuring, in relation to children placed with them, that:
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Nutrition is a significant factor in the growth, development and overall functioning of a child. Good nutrition provides the energy and nutrients essential to sustain life and promotes physical, emotional and cognitive development. The development of healthy eating practices and physical activity can prevent disease and support a lifetime of good health. Good nutrition is critical to optimizing each child’s potential for success. Meeting nutritional requirements throughout childhood is essential to full intellectual development. Research documents tell us that under nutrition impacts on children’s behaviour, performance and overall quality of development. Children require sufficient energy and essential nutrients each day to concentrate on accomplished learning tasks. Even mild and under nutrition and short term hunger are barriers to learning. Meals and snacks served should meet children’s nutrition needs, provide models of healthy eating patterns, and help children establish good eating patterns at an early age.
To work in partnership with families and other professionals to support children in developing healthy eating practices which will become embedded for life.
A nutritionally balanced diet is important in childhood to ensure optimum development at a time of rapid growth. A balanced diet in childhood is not only important for growth but for learning and promoting positive habits towards healthy eating. An inadequate or unbalanced nutritional intake may not only affect growth and development in childhood but may also impact on health problems, such as heart disease and obesity in later life. It is the types and varieties of food eaten at this time that ensure nutrient requirements are met and that the diet is nutritionally balanced. Children’s diet must include an appropriate intake of foods from the four main food groups:
All staff should support the children in recognising that they need to drink water when they are thirsty, hot or tired, or feeling unwell.
Special dietary needs and food allergies
All staff and Foster Parents should be sensitive to the catering needs of children with specific dietary needs, including religious considerations.
Meals can be times of pleasant social sharing. Opportunities for foster parents to eat and drink together. This also provides an opportunity for Children and young people to learn good social skills and behaviour associated with eating and drinking.
Festivals and celebrations
Wholistic Fostering recognize and will encourage their foster parents to celebrate festivals. Festivals can provide a valuable opportunity for children and young people to experience diversity from a wide range of cultures and nationalities and the contribution they make to the variety of foods eaten in Britain today.
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 6 Promoting Good Health and Wellbeing.
Home Remedies are medicines, suitable for children, which can be bought 'over the counter' without prescription, including Paracetomol.
Foster carers must seek advice and guidance in relation to the management and administration of medication and this will be done together with the prescribing doctor whether this is a GP or a hospital consultant/Doctor.
Although Aspirin may be purchased 'over the counter', without prescription; it may not be given to children unless prescribed by a medical practitioner.
Other Home Remedies may only be given to a child with the consent of the parent (which should be recorded in the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan) WF recognise that this may not always be possible to obtain an therefore in such circumstances liaise with the child’s social worker. Home Remedies may be given if the child is over 16 years of age, or having consulted the child's GP to ensure that no adverse reactions may result.
Home Remedies must be kept in a locked cabinet that is only accessible to the foster carers, unless a child is permitted to keep his/her own Home Remedies, in which case the arrangements for this must be set out in the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
Home Remedies, other than Paracetomol, should only be given for a maximum of 48 hours. If the symptoms persist beyond that time the child should see a medical practitioner before further dosages are given. However, if Paracetomol is given for 24 hours and the symptoms still persist, the child should see a medical practitioner before further dosages are given.
Where children are deemed not to be capable of administering Home Remedies themselves, care must be taken to ensure they consume the product as required, in the presence of a foster carer.
Fully equipped First Aid boxes must be kept in each home and in each vehicle used to carry children. The Supervising Social Worker for the foster carers must ensure that suitable arrangements exist to keep First Aid boxes equipped.
Children may administer their own First Aid if they have a suitable First Aid certificate or under the supervision of a certified carer.
If children are not deemed to be capable of giving First Aid themselves or under supervision, a certified carer must administer it.
The following steps must be followed when administering medication:
Check the medication to ensure that it is prescribed for the child in question and it is within the expiry date.
Ensure that the child’s name, the name of the medication, and the dosage instructions are correct, and that the dosage has not already been administered. Establish how the medication is to be administered.
Record each administration of the medicine including the date, time, dosage, balance, the carer’s name and signature.
Record the refusal or non-administration of medicine including the reason why. Please view the 'Child Health Record and Monitoring Form here.
All medicines brought into the home from whatever source, including discharge medication from hospital, medicines prescribed in an acute situation as well as medicines prescribed on a regular ongoing basis or those brought from another home, should be recorded.
The record should show:
To provide a full audit trail of medicines, a record is required to identify a removal of the medication from the home. This record should detail the following:
If a child is at risk or requires First Aid/Medical attention, carers should apply first-aid procedures if it is safe to do so, and notify their Supervising Social Worker as soon as possible. However, carers must not compromise or delay the process of getting medical help by doing so. If in any doubt, call medical help.
If there is a risk of serious harm or injury, or the carers are unable to manage safely, the Police should be notified.
Foster carers should always assess the situation and in a medical emergency, send for medical help and an ambulance. Before assistance arrives:
When medical help arrives, pass on any information available, including vomit and any drug samples.
No further action, beyond making the situation safe and attempting to confiscate harmful drugs or substances, should be taken without authorisation from the Supervising Social Worker or an agency manager, preferably in consultation with the relevant child’s social worker.
First Aid and records of all medicines that have been administered will be recorded within the daily recording and the child health monitoring form mentioned above; if advice is sought from a General Practitioner or pharmacist, carers are supposed to include details of the discussions within the summary as confirmation. If an accident occurs, (which results in a visit to GP/hospital,) it is recorded within the carer’s records and on the accident/illness record form that is supplied to all WF Foster Parents.
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This chapter explains how carers and staff should deal with children when they go missing. This chapter should be read in conjunction with the Local Safeguarding Children Board Inter Agency Safeguarding Procedures and Protocols.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 5 Missing From Care
Foster carers will work with children in the foster home to help them to feel safe enough in to stay in the placement. Foster carers will work positively with children to prevent them running away.
WF will always follow the guidance contained within in the Local Safeguarding Children Board Procedures and Protocols for Young Runaways and Children Missing from Home and Care.
A preventative, educative approach is expected from foster carers encouraging them to deal with situations where the missing child’s whereabouts are known and to work alongside the Police.
On their return the child must be seen alone by an independent person and a return home interview undertaken. The foster carer must work with the placing authority (child’s social worker) and WF to create a strategy to keep the child safe in future.
The terms ‘Missing’ or ‘Absconding’ means:
As part of the referral, placement and ongoing planning process, consideration must be given to the risk of the child becoming missing. If there is a risk, a plan must be drawn up to reduce or prevent it. WF will ensue that this is discussed and developed at placement planning meetings and reviewed at each LAC review.
Foster carers should know when to try to prevent a child or young person leaving the home and should do so through dialogue, but they should not try to restrain the child should they be intent on leaving, or in any other circumstances, unless it is necessary to prevent injury to the child or others, or serious damage to property.
On a day to day basis, carers should be alert to signs or indications that a child may be likely to 'run away' or become missing. If carers suspect that this may happen, they should take any actions already agreed with the Supervising Social Worker and the child’s social worker, or do what they reasonably and safely can to reduce or prevent the child from leaving - this includes circumstances where a child is refusing to return to the home.
If the risk increases, they should contact the Supervising Social Worker or, if out of hours, the on-call Social Worker for advice.
If there is a serious risk e.g. the child is behaving in a violent manner or threatening to damage property, the carer should contact the Police, then contact the Supervising Social Worker at the first opportunity.
In the event of a child being absent without permission the foster carer should:
At no time should the foster carer pass any information to the press. All information should only be shared between the Local Authority, Police and the Fostering Service Manager.
The Fostering Service Manager will arrange to log this information for monitoring purposes. A copy of the report will be retained on the child’s file and a copy forwarded to the child’s social worker. A copy of the report will also be sent to Regulatory Authority in accordance with Schedule 7 of the Fostering Service Regulations (see Notification Procedure).
It will be the responsibility of the child's social worker or Local Authority EDT to inform the child’s parents where appropriate.
Once the child has been reported missing, the police will interview the foster carer to obtain relevant information including the child's details, name date of birth, hair/skin/eye colour, distinguishing features, any disabilities, clothing and jewellery believed to be worn. A recent photograph may be required. Carers should be aware that the police have the right to search their property and may do so to ascertain that the child is still missing and not just hiding.
The foster carer should take the following steps when a child returns after an unauthorised absence:
Should there be any suspicion that the unauthorised absence is linked to an abusive incident; the Child Protection Referral Procedure should be invoked.
A safe and well check should be carried out by the police as soon as possible after a child who has been reported missing has been found.
<font 16px/arial;;#000000;;#ffffff>On the child's return, as soon as practicable, an independent person Designation Required (NOT the Supervising Social Worker or the foster parent), will interview the child and complete a Return Interview.</font>
Here is a link to a flowchart showing the roles and responsibilities when a child/young person goes missing.
Government Missing from home guidance.
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 6, Promoting Health and Wellbeing.
Carers must provide a level of care, including physical contact, which is designed to demonstrate warmth, friendliness and positive regard for children.
Physical contact should be given in a manner which is safe, protective and avoids the arousal of sexual expectations, feelings or in any way which reinforces sexual stereotypes.
Whilst carers are actively encouraged to play with children, it is not acceptable to play fight or participate in overtly physical games or tests of strength with the children.
Children must be supported and encouraged to undertake bathing, showers and other intimate care of themselves without relying on carers.
Such arrangements must emphasise that children's dignity and their right to be consulted and involved will be protected and promoted; and, where necessary, carers will be provided with specialist training and support.
Unless otherwise agreed, children will be given intimate care by adults of the same gender.
Each child over 3 will have their own bedroom or, where this is not possible, the sharing of the bedroom will have been agreed by the Placing Authority, and the Supervising Social Worker must have conducted a risk assessment and any arrangements must be outlined in the child’s Placement Arrangement/Placement Plan.
Children should be encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, with posters, pictures and personal items of their choice.
Children of an appropriate age and level of understanding should be encouraged and supported to purchase furniture, equipment or decorations. For older children this should be part of a plan to prepare the child for independence.
Children's room should be kept in good structural repair and be clean and tidy. The furniture should conform to standards of flame retardant materials as advised by Trading Standards.
Where a child's bedroom window is large enough for a child to climb out of, a risk assessment should be carried out as to the likelihood of the child putting themselves at risk by climbing out of the window. If a risk is identified, the Supervising Social Worker should consider strategies to reduce/prevent the risk, which should be outlined in the child's Placement Agreement/Placement Plan. It is however, part of WF’s Health and Safety procedures that all windows have locks that are in working order, with the necessary keys available to the carer in order to provide periods of ventilation.
Children's privacy should be respected. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, Carers should knock the door before entering children's bedrooms; and then only enter with their permission.
The exceptional circumstances where carers may have to enter a child's bedroom without asking permission include:
Carers must adopt a non-judgemental attitude toward children, particularly as they mature and develop an awareness of their bodies and sexuality.
Carers must adopt the same approach to children who explore or are confused about their sexual identity or who have decided to embrace a particular lifestyle so long as it is not abusive or illegal.
Children who are confused about their sexual identity or indicate they have a preference must be afforded equal access to accurate information, education and support to enable them to move forward positively.
As necessary this must be addressed in each child’s Placement Arrangement/Placement plan
All materials published, circulated or available to children (including the internet) must promote and encourage healthy lifestyles and images of men and women that are positive and encouraging.
Children must be positively discouraged from obtaining material that is potentially offensive or pornographic.
If they obtain such material that is suspected to be illegal it must be confiscated. This should be discussed with the child’s social worker and if there are concerns that the child has been exposed to extreme pornography, the concerns should be shared with the Fostering Manager
If children obtain material legally they should be required to keep it private.
Children under the age of 13 are deemed to be incapable of giving consent to sexual activity. Therefore, children of this age who engage in sexual activity must be referred to the local authority’s Children’s Social Care Services under the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Inter Agency Safeguarding Procedures (as a Child Protection Referral) as potentially suffering from Significant Harm.
WF must be alert to such relationships when considering the placement of children under 13. Children of this age who are likely to be at risk from each other (or from older children) should not be placed together.
When considering the placement (or ongoing placement) of children over the age of 13, the risk of sexual relationships developing must be assessed and strategies put in place to reduce or prevent risk if they are likely to be exploitative or abusive.
Where children aged 13 - 18 are placed together with no identified risk of exploitative or abusive behaviour, carers must monitor any developing relationships, sensitively but positively discouraging children from engaging in under aged sexual relationships.
Overall, carers should be mindful of their duty to consider the overall welfare of children and this may mean recognising that illegal activity is taking place and working to minimise risks and consequences. If there is any suspicion that a child is engaging in illegal behaviour it must be discussed with the Supervising Social Worker, who should consult the child’s social worker and consideration should be given to consulting the Child Protection Agencies. The fostering agency must be alert to the possibility that the child may be being sexually exploited and if there are concerns of this nature, the Fostering Manager should be informed (see Section 8, Sexual Exploitation below).
Any actions taken in this respect will be subject to consultation and must be addressed in Placement Agreements/Placement Plans.
Should foster carers suspect children are engaging in sexual relationships, they should:
Access to contraceptives will not be conditional on children giving information about their lifestyles and contraception will never be withdrawn as a punitive measure.
Whilst not encouraging it, it is understood that children may engage in sexual activity; some before they reach the age of consent. In such circumstances the Supervising Social Worker should consult the child’s social worker to agree what reasonable steps can be taken to minimise risk of pregnancy or infection, including facilitating contact with relevant agencies providing contraceptive advice.
If a child is suspected or known to be pregnant the carers should notify the Supervising Social Worker, who should consult the child’s social worker to decide on the actions that should be taken.
Children may have previously exchanged sex for rewards, gifts, drugs, accommodation and money. Some maintain this lifestyle whilst continuing to be accommodated by the authority. Such situations must be reported to the fostering Manager
The Supervising Social Worker and carers must be alert to such behaviours and should do all they can to create an environment which encourages children to be open about their past or present attitudes and behaviours and which demonstrates they will be supported to guide them away from such lifestyles.
Where there is any suspicion that a child is engaged in such behaviour it should be addressed in the child's Placement Arrangement/Placement Plan together with strategies to be adopted to help the child find alternative lifestyles.
In addressing these behaviours consideration must be given to the extent to which the child is suffering Significant Harm - and whether it is necessary to refer the child to the local authority’s Children’s Social Care Services in the area where the child is living under the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Inter Agency Safeguarding Procedures.
If there is any suspicion that a child is involved in prostitution, the Regulatory Authority must be notified.
If it is known or suspected that a child has a sexually transmitted disease (including HIV and AIDS), the Supervising Social Worker and child’s social worker must be informed so that they can decide what measures to take.
See also Countering Bullying Procedure.
The possibility of peer abuse will always be taken seriously but we recognise it is equally important not to label or stigmatise normal sexual exploration and experimentation between children.
Behaviour is not a cause for concern unless it is compulsive, coercive, ageinappropriate or between children of significantly different ages, maturity or mental abilities.
If at any time carers suspect children are engaged in abusive sexual relationships as perpetrators and/or victims, they must immediately inform the Supervising Social Worker, who must consult the social worker and make a referral to the local authority’s Children’s Social Care Services in the area where the child is living under the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Inter Agency Safeguarding Procedures.
Young women should be supported and encouraged to keep their own supply of sanitary protection without having to request it from carers.
There should also be adequate provision for the private disposal of used sanitary protection.
If it is known or suspected that a child is likely to experience enuresis, encopresis or may be prone to smearing it should be discussed openly, with the child if possible, and strategies adopted for managing it; these strategies should be outlined in the child's Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
Foster carers and Supervising Social Workers, together with the social workers for the children concerned should consider the possible reasons for enuresis and encopresis. There may be a variety of reasons but it is likely that such behaviour is symptomatic of anxiety and worries about previous experiences including abuse and neglect.
It may be appropriate to consult a Continence Nurse or other specialist, who may advise on the most appropriate strategy to adopt. In the absence of such advice, the following should be adopted:
The term 'Touch' is used throughout these procedures in two different contexts.
'Touch' as a form of physical intervention designed to prevent a child or others from being injured or to protect property from being damaged; and the use of 'Touch' to enable carers to demonstrate affection, acceptance and reassurance.
This section provides guidance relating to the demonstration of affection, acceptance and reassurance.
It is acknowledged that touch raises particular issues for those working with children. Some people have views about applying a “hands off” or “hands on” policy with children result from scandals of child abuse, or fear of violence from children. Carers may be anxious about allegations of inappropriate physical contact with children.
However, touch is acceptable; but carers should consider the following:
The child may have had particular experiences which make it difficult to accept touch from an adult; or the child's experiences may lead to a need for more touch than is acceptable.
It is therefore important for carers to obtain information about the child's background before acting in any way, not just in terms of the use of touch.
If there are particular needs that the child has or if it appears that the child may respond more or less favourably to touch, this must be shared with the foster carers during the placement planning process.
Dependent on the age and level of understanding of the child, s/he should be involved in this assessment and planning; and should be encouraged to consent to being touched; or to place conditions on it.
The culture or values of the household should be such that touch is encouraged; as a positive and safe way of communicating affection, warmth, acceptance and reassurance.
Carers and children should be encouraged to use touch, positively and safely. But it is important for carers and children to know if boundaries exist for individual children within the foster home.
If boundaries or expectations exist for individual children, they should be set out clearly in their Placement Agreement/Placement Plan, for example, if carers are not expected to allow children to sit on their laps, or to carry children, this should be stated in writing.
In the absence of any plan or expectation, the following should be taking into consideration
It is essential that all carers are aware that the use of foul and abusive language directed towards children is totally inappropriate and unnecessary. This will only have the effect of demeaning children, have a negative effect on the child/carer relationship and lead to an escalation of disruptive and challenging behaviour.
All carers and Staff need to be aware that any complaints relating to foul and abusive language will be treated seriously and may lead to disciplinary measures.
Confidence in and promoting a good rapport for a child with particular adults is a fundamental element in good care practices. Whilst children are in foster care a variety of problems will arise, and at times of stress or crisis every child needs an adult to turn to.
One of the prime tasks for foster carers is to work with the children to maximise opportunities for forming and benefiting from such relationships with adults.
Warmth and understanding are essential, but everyone needs to know and understand when a relationship is inappropriate. What is important is that carers need to be putting the children's interests first and always considering what is appropriate in any given situation with a particular child.
Where it is known that a child has been a victim of sexual abuse and it is likely he or she will behave towards carers in a sexual manner, particular rules will have to be drawn up for carers. This may involve the need to avoid being alone with the child, by always having a third person present.
Children who have suffered many unexpected losses in adult relationships are likely to be constantly fearful of being abandoned again.
Carers must have knowledge and understanding of the child and his or her background, and be able to recognise and respect any emotional barriers the child has erected.
Carers should be sufficiently aware of their own feelings, so that they can recognise the dangers of a relationship with a child becoming sexualised and stop to consider what is happening and what they are doing.
Other people’s feelings and views, both adults and children, need to be taken into account. If there is any indication that a relationship is viewed as inappropriate, the foster carers should discuss the matter with each other and their Supervising Social Worker in order to understand what the concerns may be, explain their own perspectives and consider how they should modify their behaviour to ensure they are acting in the child’s best interests.
In general, if they feel in any doubt about their own or other people's feelings, foster carers should step back, consider what they are doing and discuss the issues with their colleagues.
It is not a matter of carers never becoming involved in close one to one relationships with a child, it is a vital part of the 'caring' task, however, carers must be aware of the dangers that this type of work can bring and be clear where the boundaries in such relationships lie.
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This chapter explains the way in which the fostering agency promotes independence for young people in its foster placements.
This chapter is compliant with National Minimum Standards for Fostering 2011, Standard 12 Promoting independence and transition to adulthood
Regardless of the age of the young person in the placement, their need to develop skills so that they can become as independent as possible should be borne in mind and they should be encouraged to take responsibilities when they are able to do so.
Foster carers are expected to give the young person opportunities at appropriate times to practice independence tasks such as cooking, washing and ironing, within the foster home.
Young people should, from time to time, be involved in supermarket shopping with the carers and should be helped to compare value for money of different items. They should be helped to understand the relative expense of convenience foods and of fresh foods.
Foster carers should help children learn to prepare food and drinks, from making tea and coffee, to preparing cold and later hot snacks, and on to preparing simple meals. Sometimes, a camping, caravanning or self-catering holiday can provide a fun opportunity to develop these skills.
As the child matures, they should gradually be given responsibility for paying for certain of their own needs from their pocket money. Examples could include comics or magazines, leisure activities, toiletries and mobile phone vouchers.
These expectations should gradually be increased as the young person reaches the age of 15. By the time they reach this age, unless inappropriate because of their level of understanding, they should be encouraged to open a bank or building society account in their own name, and should be helped to do this themselves.
Foster carers should use the ordinary course of events within their household to make children aware of the process of paying bills, and of the ease with which debts can build up when offers of loans are constantly dropping through the letter box. Young people should be helped to understand the dangers of this.
The fostering agency will actively support and participate in preparing and reviewing the young person’s Pathway Plan and, as part of this the foster carers should support the Personal Adviser to identify the ways in which they can provide practical, financial and emotional support to young people as they become independent. WF have devised a leaving care programme entitled ‘Let’s get started’. Supervising social workers will work with the Personal Advisor, Foster Carer and the young person to implement this programme.
17.1 UK National Standard 12: Preparation for Adult Life
Each child or young person in foster care is helped to develop the skills, competence and knowledge necessary for adult living; she or he receives appropriate support and guidance for as long as necessary after being in foster care. (See Pathway Plan)
Wholistic Fostering has a clear leaving care policy statement which meets statutory requirements, is well publicised, fully integrated within its children’ services plan, and monitored and regularly reviewed.
Each young person preparing to leave foster care is consulted about her or his future and encouraged to be actively involved in decision-making processes and the implementation of agreed plans. This takes the form of a Pathway Plan.
The care plan for each young person preparing to leave foster care clearly states the work to be undertaken, by whom, and when, with particular reference to the role of the foster carer in preparing the young person of independent living.
Each carer receives training and support to enable her or him to provide effective support and guidance to a young person preparing to leave foster care.
Each young person leaving foster care receives a comprehensive, accessible leaving care guide; this includes details of continued support available.
Each young person leaving foster care is provided with full, clear information on the financial support available; in the manner of a good parent, Wholistic Fostering ensures that the young person has an income from appropriate sources sufficient to maintain her/himself within the community.
Each agency and other leaving care provider has effective joint working arrangements with housing agencies, education, employment and training services and benefit providers to support each young person leaving care.
The needs of each disabled young person leaving foster care are identified, recorded and addressed in co-operation with appropriate health and education authorities; where appropriate particular attention is paid to co-ordinating transition of support and care provision from children’s to adult services.
Each young person leaving care for independent living can chose a safe and affordable accommodation, with support systems where necessary, which takes into account the young person’s individual preferences and need to maintain relationships both with her or his own family and with foster carers.
Financial and other support is made available to each carer able to offer care and support to a young person they have fostered during the transition to independent living and in the period immediately after leaving care.
Each agency monitors and evaluates the outcomes of its leaving care services and applies its findings to future services planning.
National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services, Standard 12 states Children are prepared for, and supported into, adulthood so that they can reach their potential and achieve economic wellbeing
The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 has been implemented to ensure that young people leaving the care of the Local Agency have a plan for their future and continue to be supported. Every Local Agency has a duty to assess and meet the needs of eligible and relevant young people aged 16 and 17 year old.
To be eligible a young person has to be aged 16 or 17 and be looked after.
To be relevant a young person has to be 16 or 17 and previously looked after for a minimum of 13 weeks. Young people who are 18+ and were looked after by a Local Agency will be termed former relevant children.
Each Social Service Department has a duty to keep in touch with young people who have left the care of the Local Agency and that they receive the support they require. This duty ends at the age of 21 years unless a young person continues in training or education in which case it can continue until the age of 24. Every young person will have to have a Young Person’s Pathway Adviser they will monitor the progress of each young person for whom they are responsible and provide advice and support. Each young person will also have a Pathway Plan, which will plan ahead until they are at least 21 and will be reviewed every 6 months. This will cover all aspects of a young person’s life from the practical aspects of living more independently to family and social relationships. The Leaving Care Act is recognition of the vulnerability of young people who have been looked after and it is there to ensure that guidance and help is available if required.
Young people who are in care or are care leavers and are 16 or 17 will not be eligible for Job Seekers Allowance or Income Support. The Social Services Department must provide financial support for them. Young people can remain with their foster carer or will be helped to identify independent accommodation. They will also be given support to enter education, training or work. Young people from the age of 18 to 21 can claim benefits but Social Services will continue to have a duty to advise and assist. Carers can be offered supportive lodging allowances for all young people of 18+ where the plan is that they remain in their foster placement. Wholistic Fostering Services will seek to act in the young person’s interest and will negotiate on behalf of the carer and child.
Young people who are being looked after should start to learn self help skills at a basic level when entering their teens and should be well advanced in them by the time they leave care. Young people with a disability may have faced particular barriers to acquiring the skills and experiences listed below. Whatever the reason for them, these barriers will need to be addressed, with the aim of increasing the young person’s ability to make choices, take risks and assume responsibility
Identity and cultural background should be presented in a realistically positive light and not as something about which to feel defensive. The use of life work may be helpful in achieving this end, but Wholistic Fostering Trusts and other agencies looking after children will need to ensure that young people are enabled to accept themselves and their backgrounds emotionally and not simply intellectually.
Young people leaving care will need preparation in acquiring practical and financial skills. These include:
Young people who are being looked after should start to learn self help skills at a basic level when entering their teens and should be well advanced in them by the time they leave care. Young people with a disability may have faced particular barriers to acquiring the skills and experiences listed above. Whatever the reason for them, these barriers will need to be addressed, with the aim of increasing the young person’s ability to make choices, take risks and assume responsibility.
The following is a link to a young people’s pack developed and published on leavingcare.org / catch 22
WF will support the work of the local authority in their duties to help young people to ‘Stay Put’ and avoid an unnecessary or premature move to independence due to their chronological age, namely 18 years.
If it proposed that a young person stay with the agency foster carers beyond the age of 18, the foster carers will be assessed in terms of their ability to meet the young person’s needs into adulthood.
For more info
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This chapter explains how the fostering agency contributes to the reviewing of the Child’s Placement Plan and Care Plan as well as the arrangements for Disruption Meetings.
Each child placed with foster carers must have a Placement Agreement/Placement Plan, detailing the arrangements and care for the placement of the child. This should be drawn up by the child’s social worker in conjunction with the foster carer and the foster carer’s Supervising Social Worker, at the pre-placement planning meeting. Where the placement is made in an emergency, the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan should be drawn up within 5 working days of the placement – see Placements with Foster Care Procedure.
The Placement Agreement/Placement Plan will be reviewed at the child's Looked After Review.
Where it is necessary to review the placement arrangements between Looked After Reviews, then this can be done by the child’s social worker in conjunction with the foster carer and the foster carer’s Supervising Social Worker as well as with the child, parents and others affected. This will usually take place at a placement plan review meeting convened by the child’s social worker.
If the outcome of any review is that the Placement Agreement/Placement Plan is amended, then the amendment should be circulated by the child’s social worker to all those participating in the review process.
When a placement ends prematurely, a disruption meeting will be convened to review the child's case history. This may take place under the procedures of the Placing
Authority. However, where this is not the case and it is considered that a disruption
meeting should take place under this procedure, a discussion should take place with the Placing Authority about whether they are prepared to engage with the agency convening the meeting under this procedure.
In this case, the Fostering Service Manager will usually chair the meeting and the child and parents should be invited unless it is considered inappropriate to do so. The child’s social worker, the foster carers and the foster carers’ Supervising Social Worker should also be present.
Ideally the meeting should take place within 14 days of the end of the placement and the notes of the meeting should be kept on the child's record.
The purpose of a disruption meeting is to examine various elements of the placement in order to understand the sequence of events leading to the disruption and learn lessons from what occurred.
This will:
Please note: The Disruption Meeting is not a planning meeting, but is an opportunity to review the past as a preparation for the child’s future. Future planning should occur within the child’s Looked After Review.
In order to understand the placement, it is necessary to consider the child’s history and experiences of parenting the child has received, previous placement moves and any relationships in the child’s life. The child’s wishes and feelings will be central in this process. A crucial stage to look at is the matching process – i.e. the assessment of the child’s needs at the time of seeking the placement to see how accurately these were understood at the time and the assessment of what the foster carers could offer and the support they were given in understanding and providing for the child’s needs. The meeting will also look at the child’s introduction to the placement and any other issues relating to the placement.
Looked After Reviews, sometimes called 'Statutory Reviews', are convened and conducted by the Placing Authority. The fostering agency will play their part in these reviews through the foster carers and/or the Supervising Social Workers by providing information and, if appropriate to do so under the Placing Authority’s procedures, attending the meetings.
They are formal meetings, chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO).
The purpose of the Looked After Review is to:
The review should also take account of the child's Placement Agreement/Placement Plan and any other plans or strategies (e.g. behaviour management strategy), ensuring that they are up to date or that arrangements are in place to update them.
Looked After Reviews should normally be convened at the following intervals:
Looked After Review should also be convened:
If Looked After Reviews are not arranged or conducted as set out above, the Supervising Social Worker will initially raise concerns with the child’s social worker. If matters are not resolved, s/he will contact the child’s Independent Reviewing Officer.
Discussion should take place at least 20 days before the review between the child’s social worker and the child regarding where the meeting should be held and who should attend. It is the child’ social worker’s responsibility to ensure that invitations and papers are sent to those involved in the review at least 10 days before the meeting takes place.
When arrangements are made to conduct a Looked After Review, the Supervising Social Worker should collaborate with the child's carer(s) and arrange for a full report to be devised and forwarded to the child's social worker in time for them to circulate documentation 10 days prior to the review date. The report should detail events surrounding the child's care, education, health etc. since the last Review. The report will be forwarded to those attending prior to the date of the meeting.
Children should be encouraged to complete a review questionnaire or prepare their own report/letter for the review.
If it appears to be necessary or the child requests it, an advocate or, if appointed, an Independent Visitor should be asked to accompany the child to the Review.
The IRO may adjourn a review meeting once, for not more than 20 working days, if not satisfied that sufficient information has been provided by the Local Authority to enable proper consideration of any of the factors to be considered. The IRO should consider the effects on the child of delaying the meeting, and seek the wishes and feelings of the child, carer and parents where appropriate. No proposal under consideration at the review can be implemented until the review has been completed.
Following the review:
Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) should be allocated to a child for the duration of the time that they are Looked After. Siblings should share the same IRO.
Before the first review the IRO should meet the child.
As well as the role of chairing Looked After Reviews, the IRO has a duty to have effective and independent oversight of a child’s case which they should monitor. The child’s social worker should provide the IRO with information about the child’s progress and any significant events.
As part of the monitoring function, the IRO also has a duty to identify any areas of poor practice, including general concerns around service delivery (not just around individual children).
The responsibilities of the IRO now include:
Up to 1 April 2011, IROs had the authority to refer the case of any looked after child to CAFCASS if they were of the view that the child’s human rights had been breached and all attempts to resolve the matter had been exhausted. The scope for such referrals is now extended.
The IRO now has the authority to refer a case to CAFCASS if he/she ‘considers it appropriate to do so’
The IRO must consider whether it is appropriate to refer a case to CAFCASS if:
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This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 6, Promoting Health and Wellbeing.
LEGAL REFERENCES
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES
This policy is intended for use by all staff employed with Focused Fostering Services.
It is applicable to both prospective and existing foster carers.
Every Child Matters is the Government's statement and approach to the welfare of all children and young people. One of the five key outcomes for children and young people is: “Be healthy”. The aspiration is that children and young people should develop healthy lifestyles and opportunities to achieve optimum health and well-being within the context of high quality preventive and treatment services.
One of the outcome targets linked to the above and other initiatives includes:
There are specific health objectives for children looked after by local authorities. Local authorities and Primary Care Trusts are required to ensure that children looked after enjoy a standard of health and development as good as all children of the same age living in the same area.
For Focused Fostering one of the key corporate objectives is “A place where people can live healthy lives”.
The 1989 Children Act requires that the wellbeing of children who are looked after is safeguarded and promoted. The physical, emotional and health needs of each child are to be identified and appropriate action taken to secure the medical, dental and other health services needed to meet them.
Good practice guidance has outlined the need for clear policy in relation to the issue of smoking in relation to the assessment of potential carers and foster carers
Smoking is now one of the factors considered within the health report/medical assessment of foster carers
There are well-documented adverse health effects from smoking and these are not only for smokers but for those affected by “passive” smoking. Adverse effects have been known for many years but a number of studies have demonstrated the effects of smoking on young children:
Additionally:
There is, therefore clear evidence that cigarette smoke is harmful to young children, to those with breathing difficulties and other medical conditions.
Additionally, as children copy the behaviour of adults it means that “.. Growing up in a household where adults smoke often means that children perceive smoking as the “norm”.
As assessments will be dealt with on a case by case basis it is important that each and every prospective assessment/assessment is considered on its merits. It is important to balance positive qualities of prospective foster carers who smoke against the adverse effects of smoking upon children. Prospective carers should not be given the impression if they smoke that they will automatically be excluded from fostering. Primary consideration will be given to the welfare of the child and smoking, whilst not a debarring factor to fostering, is an important factor which is considered. Smoking should be covered at an early stage with prospective carers. The discussion should centre on the following:
Where it appears that a prospective foster carer's smoking and the needs of children to be placed are incompatible it may be appropriate for a brief foster carer's report outlining the issue to be placed before a Fostering Panel. If this is the case the Social Worker should consult with the Line Manager. It may be appropriate to seek the advice of the Panel's Medical Advisor, Legal Advisor or both.
Subject to subsequent recommendations of the Fostering Panel and Agency Decision Maker's decisions, staff considering potential matches will evaluate all relevant factors when considering which placement can meet a child's needs. An assessment of each child's individual needs will form the basis for such consideration. The potential for harm as a result of exposure to passive smoking will be one of the elements for consideration.
Where approved foster carers are subject to review, the implications of the Policy should be discussed with those approved carers who smoke or where another member of the household smokes. The approved carers will need to understand the significance of the Policy to their approval and have the opportunity to fully explore those matters outlined in Section 4, Advice to Prospective A Foster Carers. The outcome of the discussion will inform the report to Review Chair or Fostering Panel as required. Where they are currently registered to take children aged less than five years of age the issue should be highlighted within the report for the Review chair or Fostering Panel.
E-cigarettes
Due to the lack of research surrounding e-cigarettes using e-cigarettes will be classified as smoking. Whilst current research evidence suggests that the use of electronic cigarettes is effective in helping people to stop using traditional tobacco cigarettes, there is little to suggest that it is encouraging smoking the current research evidence provided no compelling reasons for restricting the use of e-cigarettes. Therefore foster carers should not be prevented from fostering or applying to foster because of their use of e-cigarettes. However it is good practice not to use them in front of children and young people until more evidence is gained about this role modelling effect of this on the smoking behaviour of children more generally. The briefing paper produced by ASH foster care adoption and electronic cigarettes which give a comprehensive overview of the topic. As the use of e-cigarette is a recent development we will be reviewing this position in 12 months time. The links documents can be found below. http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_928.pdf In addition a useful background report produced by Public Health England can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311887/Ecigarettes_report.pdf
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This chapter applies to all approved foster carers and explains the way in which WHOLISTIC FOSTERING provides supervision and support to foster carers so that they can be equipped to meet the needs of children in foster placements.
This chapter is compliant with the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards and Regulations 2011, Standard 21 Supervision and Support to Foster Carers.
All approved foster carers will have an allocated, suitably qualified Supervising Social Worker. The allocated Supervising Social Worker is responsible for supervising and supporting carers, ensuring that they have the necessary guidance, support and direction to maintain a quality service, including safe caring practices. This will include an understanding that they must work within the National Minimum Standards for Fostering and the agency's policies, procedures and guidance.
NB It is the social worker for the child or children in the foster placement who holds responsibility for specific advice or support in relation to the child and his or her Care Plan and Placement Agreement/Placement Plan.
The Supervising Social Worker must also ensure that the foster carers' training and development needs are identified, and that newly approved carers work towards meeting the Children's Workforce Development Standards and gaining the CWDC Certificate of successful completion. They also have the responsibility to ensure foster carers are familiar and made aware of new policies and guidance.
A programme of supervision visits should be set up and agreed between the foster carer and the Supervising Social Worker from the time of the foster carer’s approval, and endorsed by the Fostering Service Manager.
Supervision is essentially a supportive and enabling two way process to:
The agenda for each meeting should cover:
The supervision visits should be recorded on a Foster Carer Supervision Record, signed by the foster carer the Supervising Social Worker, and Fostering Manager, it should include:
A record of all meetings will be kept on the foster carers' file and one copy will be given to the foster carers.
The supervision records will inform the Foster Carer’s review – see Review of Foster Carers Procedure.
Supervision meetings will take place at least once every month.
Additional visits may be made for the purposes of support (to the foster carer or any member of the foster family) and there will be weekly telephone contact.
For Fostering Families without placements WHOLISTIC FOSTERING will undertake 8 weekly visits and monthly phone calls.
Foster carers will be provided with information about what support will be available from the agency outside office hours, including the relevant contact details.
Unannounced visits will take place at least once a year. The main purpose of the unannounced visit will be to look at the home environment that a child is living in.
The unannounced visits will be undertaken by the foster carers' Supervising Social Worker or the Fostering Support Worker who will need to check:
If the foster carers are not at home, the Supervising Social Worker or Fostering Support Worker should leave a note for the foster carers to say that s/he has visited.
If the foster carers are not at home but the child is present and being looked after by someone else, the supervising Social worker or Fostering Support Worker should check the identity of that person but should not continue with the visit.
Unannounced visits should be recorded on this form http://eforms.wholisticfostering.co.uk/uncategorized/unannounced-visit-form/
There should not ordinarily be a regular programme of unannounced visits without particular reason – for example if a foster carer is being closely monitored. In such an event the reason for such will be explained to the foster carer.
Supervising Social Workers should ensure the following tasks are done:
For the detailed procedure, see Allegations against Staff and Foster Carers Procedure
Where allegations regarding childcare or child protection are made, the Supervising Social Worker should:
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These aims can be achieved if employees:
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Respite care is regarded by Wholistic Fostering as any relief care that includes overnight stays. An exception to this, as outlined in the Overnight stays, is when a child or young person has occasional overnight stays or ‘sleep-overs’ at a friend’s house.
The overnight stay should not be used to circumvent the need for those providing respite care for Foster Parents to undergo due assessment by Wholistic Fostering.
Respite care differs from babysitting in that babysitting usually takes place in the foster home and would not normally involve overnight care. If, exceptionally, it does involve overnight care, then this can only be for a maximum of 24 hrs and cannot take place without full agreement first being obtained from Wholistic Fostering.
Wholistic Fostering recognises that access to respite care can be a key factor in promoting placement stability both in relation to long and short term fostering. Whilst fostering can be very rewarding, equally it can be a particularly demanding and sometimes stressful occupation. Not only can it be so for foster parents themselves but also sometimes for the children of foster parents.
Wholistic Fostering recognises Foster parents are asked to provide the experience of a ‘normal family life’ for the children they foster and that they take respite whilst a child or children are in placement. However, Wholistic Fostering recognises that foster parents are often caring for children whose previous life experiences have been anything other than ordinary and whose resulting needs are such that their foster parents are required to utilise considerable personal resources in order to meet those needs.
Wholistic Fostering therefore accepts that there may be occasions when Foster parents may need to take some ‘time out’ from fostering whilst a child or children are in placement in order to recharge themselves, so enabling them to continue with a particular placement or placements.
However, where at all possible, the agency believes that it is preferable for Foster parents to take respite between having a child or children in placement, as this would avoid causing disruption to children. When this is not possible, for example in relation to long term placements, then Wholistic fostering will endeavour to provide their foster parent with respite by providing an alternative placement for the child or children in the foster parent’s care.
Respite will be provided by the Wholistic Fostering for up to a maximum of two weeks for every 52 weeks a child is in placement. This would be on a pro rata basis. For example, if a foster parent has had a child in placement for only 6 month of the year and no other child in placement for the rest of the year, then that foster parent would only be able to have paid respite for up to a maximum of one week.
When considering taking respite when a child or children are in placement, a careful balance needs to be struck between why respite is needed at that time and the general situation of the child in placement.
Examples of significant events:
In such circumstances Wholistic fostering will in consultation with the Foster parent and the Responsible Local Authority, look to see if it would be better to support the foster parent in other ways during that period.
The following factors also need to be borne in mind when considering respite:
It is important to avoid arranging respite when there is a significant event or celebration due to take place in the fostering household, so excluding a child.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the agency agree to respite if this meant that a child could not attend school.
It is important to avoid differentiating between children in the foster home by having a particular child or children going on respite whilst another child or children remain in the home. However, the agency recognised that especially for those Foster parents who have children of their own, this may not always be achievable.
Whilst respite might be needed as a consequence of a child’s behaviour, it should not be presented as a punishment to the child - to do so would not only be unfair to the child but also on those providing the respite.
Where there is more than one child in placement, and the respite is needed as a consequence of the behaviour of a particular child, then it should not be assumed that every other child in placement should also go on respite at that time. Consideration always needs to be given to the individual needs of each child in placement.
All respite care has to be arranged through Wholistic Fostering and can only be provided by individuals whom the agency has assessed as suitable to provide respite care.
Wholistic Fostering encourages a team ethos amongst Foster parents whereby Foster parents will be open to providing respite for other foster parents when they are in a position to do so.
Respite requests should be made at least 6 weeks in advance of the allocated date. The only exception to this would be in the case of an emergency.
The respite notice period is required in order to allow enough time to
Wholistic Fostering will endeavour to make respite care available for foster parents. However Foster parents must bear in mind that this is a very much dependent on appropriate provision being available.
We would like to highlight that making a request does not in itself guarantee that respite provision will be made available.
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It is important that all managers and employees working with children, young people and foster carers (directly or indirectly) have read the WF [Child Protection Policy] and that this is referred to as necessary.
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The four main functions of supervision and the standards required are detailed in the following sections: Management, Development, Support and Negotiation.
The style and model of supervision may vary; however, sessions should involve:
Accountability, safe working practices, providing advice, clarifying actions and responsibilities, meeting individual and team objectives.
Responsibilities of Supervisor | Responsibilities of Supervisee |
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Ensure that supervision meetings are held regularly. Supervision should occur monthly. | To attend on time and be reasonably prepared for the supervision session. To inform the manager if they are unable to attend. |
Regulate the case workload, clarify accountability and responsibility, and ensure effective case workload management is carried out. | Prepare and share relevant information relating to case workload (particularly in the event of safeguarding concerns and child protection issues). Take responsibility for communicating ideas, and planned actions. Take responsibility for requesting advice and support when needed. |
Monitor and review the workload priorities in relation to strategic objectives and action plans. | Keep supervisor informed about issues arising from operational activity from a practice, administrative or management perspective. |
Track and monitor the progress of work in relation to individual cases. Support the supervisee in reflective practice and decision making. | Track and monitor progress and maintain accurate up to date records according to service requirements. Reflect on case work and review methods, models and theories. |
Provide clear concise feedback to employees on aspects of their work and performance. | Contribute to the supervision process by reflecting on work related strengths and weaknesses. |
Create a climate for good practice in which shared problem solving can take place. | Share concerns about work being done and participate actively in problem solving. |
Ensure the role and responsibilities of the supervisee are clearly understood, including the boundaries and limits of their role. | Willing to be open and honest in raising practice issues. |
Advice and keep employees and management informed about resource issues. | Keep supervisor informed about resources and communicate the needs of staff to management. |
Maintain Supervision Records The supervision record must include an and a record of the decisions made and of the actions that have to be followed up, when appropriate time scales must be made clear. To maintain clarity and understanding as to key accountabilities and ensure that the relevant policies and procedures relating to the supervisee's work are understood and properly carried out. Supervision meetings should begin and end promptly. |
Reflective practice to improve service skills, identifying learning and development needs and identifying opportunities to address those needs and enabling employees to develop their own abilities
Responsibilities of Supervisor | Responsibilities of Supervisee |
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Encourage supervisee to identify their preferred learning style and any barriers to learning. | Develop self awareness of own preferred learning style e.g. Honey and Mumford's learning styles. |
Gain an understanding of supervisee's value base in relation to equality and diversity and its impact on practice. | Reflect on own value base in relation to equality and diversity and its potential impact on practice. |
Gain an appreciation and assessment of the supervisee's skills, knowledge and individual contribution. | Prepared to increase their capacity for self-appraisal and ongoing professional development. |
Support supervisee to obtain learning experiences with a view to how this learning can be applied to practice. | Reflect on learning experiences, and provide evidence of how the learning has been applied to practice. |
Support supervisee in identifying learning and development gaps. | Reflect on own development and bring identified learning and development needs to the supervision meeting. |
Ensure colleagues are treated equally regardless of disability, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, or religion. | |
The supervisee is given the opportunity to reflect on their own professional competence and supported to develop their capacity to set professional goals. |
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Supervisee provides constructive feedback to the supervisor. |
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The supervision process is used to support the annual performance appraisal and review process. |
This function recognises that supervisees may experience difficult situations and require additional support in relation to their practice/work performance, emotional state and how best to provide this support.
Responsibilities of Supervisor | Responsibilities of Supervisee | |
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Provide a positive environment where practice any and issues impacting on work can be discussed in confidence. | Confidentiality is maintained and the supervisee brings a commitment to making the supervision process work. | |
Provide advice, information and support for all cases which involve children who either have a Child Protection Plan or are in the process of legal proceedings. | Inform manager of any concerns relating to children and young people with a child protection plan or pending legal processes. To have knowledge of safeguarding recommendations. | |
Clarify the boundaries between support and counselling, and the limits of confidentiality in supervision. | Ensure personal understanding of the supervision process, of confidentiality and of the Data Protection Act 1998. | |
Respond with care to any professional or personal issues that may impact on work. Ensure that any adverse effects of stress are identified and managed. | Alert supervisor at the earliest opportunity of any problems that may impact on work performance. Take responsibility for emotional well being. | |
Discuss issues of absence with a view to supporting employee and improving future attendance. | Notify supervisor of any specific health problems impacting on attendance or work performance. | |
Help supervisee to reflect on difficulties in colleague relationships, to assist them in resolving any conflict. | Be prepared to share information around professional relationships and take responsibility for resolving conflict. | |
Ensure that grievances are dealt with at the earliest stage possible; adhering to the agency’s procedures. | Be prepared to raise issues and attempt to resolve them. | |
Provide the opportunity to explore any issues arising from bullying or discrimination in a safe setting and act to eliminate any risks. | Be aware of and WF’s anti-bullying and anti-discriminatory policy and discuss any issues with your supervisor. |
This is to ensure that the relationship between the supervisee, their team, the agency and other agencies with whom they work are effective.
Responsibilities of Supervisor | Responsibilities of Supervisee |
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Negotiate and clarify the supervisee's and team's role and responsibilities in relation to the business plan and enable the team to contribute as appropriate to team plans. | Understand own role in relation to the team and the agency’s goals, aims and objectives. |
Report lack of resources and other issues to higher management and keep supervisee informed. | Raise concerns around resource/ practice issues with supervisor; Keep supervisor informed about resources and staff issues. |
Help the supervisee to reflect on their position as a team member; mediating or advocating between workers, or other parts of the agency or with outside agencies as appropriate. | Be respectful and anti-oppressive in discussing foster carers, looked after children, colleagues and other agencies; Take responsibility for creating constructive relationships with colleagues and play a constructive role in resolving conflicts. |
Consult with and brief the supervisee on changes and developments that affect their area of work. | Take responsibility for keeping up to-date and informed on organization and team developments. |
Provide a route for the two way flow of information between front line workers and managers at all levels. |
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Initiate, clarify or contribute to policy formulation and practice development. |
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It is good practice to programme monthly supervision meetings for the year. Frequency of supervision will reflect:
There will be occasions when dates have to be changed but this should be avoided whenever possible and alternative dates set. It is the supervisor's responsibility for rescheduling the meeting. It is important that supervision meetings begin and end promptly.
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The process of developing a Supervision Agreement is as important as the written document itself. This process should begin at the first supervision session though it may not be completed in one session.
The purpose of the Supervision Agreement is to establish a basis for which the supervisor and supervisee will work together during one to one supervision meetings. This establishment of 'ground rules' clarifies the rights and expectations on both sides to create a safe, secure and effective supervisory setting.
When establishing the supervision agreement with new employees the following should be discussed:
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The recording of supervision sessions is the responsibility of the supervisor, who must adhere to the following standards of recording. This will be checked during the quality assurance process.
N.B. Where supervision notes refer to other staff/services, staff should treat this as confidential in relation to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. Where possible the use of initials will help to safeguard this information. Supervision files and records are the property of WF and when employees leave; their Supervision Records should be passed to their line manager. The file will be kept for at least ten years. The supervisor will need to take appraisal records into account.
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Wholistic Fostering is committed to ensuring that children are appropriate matched and placed with approved foster carers who are capable of providing a high standard of care.
We believed that planned placements are the essence of good practice, but sometimes placements happen on the same day as the referral. This is particularly true where there are child protection issues, or asylum seeking children who have just arrived in the UK. It is essential at these times to get as much information as possible from the Social worker or the agency making the referral. Matching will still be of paramount importance and the most suitable foster carer will be approached.
Our referral process is child-focused and we aim to make it as u ser friendly as possible for all those concerned. Most of our referral are generated from Local Authority commissioning departments officers. The initial information is received and transcribed onto our initial referral form.
Once it has been agreed that Wholistic Fostering will provide an appropriate placement and can assist the young person and their social Services Department, the contract arrangements are agreed as follows
The above procedure will be specific to the child or young person involved in that referral is informed by the initial risk assessment and other reports provided by the placing authority
Full consideration must be given to the foster carers need for additional equipment and support
The matching report must address the proposed foster carer’s ability to provide
To be placed with a family from the same or similar ethnic background should be the key priority within the child’s hierarchy of needs.
However, where a child or young person has a diverse hierarchy of needs these should be prioritised, taking into account the wishes and feelings of the child or young person and his or her family. A “good enough “match to the child’s full range of needs should then be sought, with each case being considered on its own merits.
Language for instance, the language needs of a child or young person will have particular significance for someone who is newly arrived here and if no appropriate placement is immediately available then a decision will need to be made as to which aspect of a child’s identity is to be given precedence. For example a newly arrived black French speaking child from Zaire could feel most comfortable with another black African family even though they were non French speaking but with whom they are more likely to share some racial and cultural similarity than with a French speaking white family. Any such decision should be led by the wishes of the child or young person where ever this is possible to do so.
Where it has not been possible for a child or young person to be placed appropriately in an emergency such that their needs in terms of gender, religion, ethnic origin, language, culture, disability and sexuality cannot be adequately met, steps will be taken to achieve a suitable placement as soon as possible. This may mean that the placing authority will want to move the child to a placement outside of Wholistic Fostering and as such we will deem to support this in the best interest of the child.
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This document provides guidance with regard to Transracial placement. Transracial placement is the placement of looked after children and young people with foster carers of a different racial background.
Due to the individual nature of each case this guidance aims not to be prescriptive but rather to raise awareness and provide a framework to assist those making placements to consider how to plan what is best for each child.
This Article states that: ‘A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the state. When considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of continuity in a child’s upbringing and to the child’s ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background.’
This requires local authorities to give due consideration to: The child’s religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background. (Section 22(5) (a))
This states that: ‘It may be taken as a guiding principle of good practice that, all things being equal and in the great majority of cases, placement with a family of similar ethnic origin and religion is most likely to meet a child’s needs as fully as possible and to safeguard his or her welfare most effectively.’ (Vol 3, 2.40)
‘Choice of placement should also take account of a child's previous family experience and his or her wishes and feelings while recognising that their wishes and feelings may be restrictive or unrealistic. Placement with a family of similar ethnic origin and religion is very often most likely to meet the child's needs as fully as possible, safeguarding his welfare most effectively and preparing him for life as a member of a multi-racial society. These are, however, only some among a number of other significant factors and should not of themselves be regarded as the decisive ones.
Where no family can be identified which matches significantly closely to the child's ethnic origin and cultural heritage, the agency's efforts to find an alternative suitable family should be proactive and diligent; this work should also include setting agreed and realistic time limits to avoid a child having to wait indefinitely. A child's concept of time differs considerably from that of an adult.’
The Government has made it clear that it is unacceptable for a child to be denied loving carers solely on the grounds that the child and carers do not share the same racial or cultural background.
All foster families should assist children placed with them to understand and appreciate their background and culture; this can include providing opportunities for children to meet others from similar backgrounds, to practice their religion, both in a formal place of worship and in the home. Maintaining continuity of the heritage of their birth family in their day-to-day life is important to most children; it is a means of retaining knowledge of their identity and feeling that although they have left their birth family they have not abandoned important cultural, religious or linguistic values of their community. This will be of particular significance as they reach adulthood.
Children develop their sense of identity from the environment in which they live and the role models and relationships that are significant in their lives. The identity of a child from the majority groups develops partly from seeing that they are the same as others in the dominant majority, assuming they have the same rights and can realise the same achievements and acquire the same status. This is likely to instil a positive sense of confidence and self-esteem.
Children from minority groups observe that others like them may be less likely to be in positions of power and control and will see and or experience the prejudice and discrimination that exists towards those who are the same as them. Unless this imbalance is redressed this will impact adversely on the child’s self-image and confidence. This can be compounded for a child in care who has been removed from a parent from the minority group (“the bad parent”) and placed with a carer from the majority group (“the good parent”).
The development of a positive racial identity is extremely important to the overall well being of a child or young person, and a positive identity is unlikely to be acquired without positive support and reinforcement.
Life story work is a very important tool to assist a children or young person in understanding and feeling positive about their identity. Various forms of support including advocacy and mentoring may be offered to children and young people who have difficulties with their identity. The department should aim to ensure that support is provided by a staff team who have the expertise to address these issues.
The effects of racism and stereotyping are often subtle and insidious and negative beliefs are not only held by some of the majority population but may also become internalised by minority groups who may acquire negative feelings about themselves or people from other ethnic minority groups.
Where either apparent or covert racism is perceived to be part of the attitude or behaviour of anyone involved with the care and placement of looked after children this must be challenged in accordance with any policy and/or regulations that applies to their role.
Like all children and young people, children and young people of mixed parentage should wherever possible be placed with families who reflect their ethnicity e.g. with a carer who is also of mixed parentage or with a couple who between them reflect thechild or young person’s ethnic mix.
Where this is not possible the wider needs of that child or young person need to taken into consideration. A child or young person of mixed parentage who is positive about their ethnicity should feel comfortable being placed with carers who reflect either part of their ethnicity. However this may not always be the case if perhaps that person has only experienced being cared for by one parent. It may then be more appropriate to make a placement with a carer who is of the same ethnicity of that child or young person’s main caring parent. The decision should take into account the wishes and feelings of the child or young person and also those of his parent(s).
When a child or young person is placed with a carer who does not reflect their ethnicity that carer should have a good understanding of the issues that face children and young people of mixed parentage and be competent to meet the child or young person’s needs. Where a child or young person does not have a positive self-image, work should be undertaken to enable that person to feel positive and be comfortable with their identity.
Where a child of mixed parentage (non-white) or the parent of a child of mixed parentage does not acknowledge the full ethnicity of the child, efforts should be made to work with them to explore and resolve this. The child and parent need to be supported to attain a positive view of their origins and to acknowledge that in general someone of mixed parentage will not be seen as being white by the wider society.
To be placed with a family from the same or similar ethnic background should be the key priority within the child’s hierarchy of needs. Family finding should be undertaken to recruit carers from the same or similar background.
However, where a child or young person has a diverse hierarchy of needs these should be prioritised, taking into account the wishes and feelings of the child or young person and his or her family. A “good enough “match to the child’s full range of needs should then be sought, with each case being considered on its own merits.
Language for instance, the language needs of a child or young person will have particular significance for someone who is newly arrived here and if no appropriate placement is immediately available then a decision will need to be made as to which aspect of a child’s identity is to be given precedence. For example a newly arrived black French speaking child from Zaire could feel most comfortable with another black African family even though they were non French speaking but with whom they are more likely to share some racial and cultural similarity than with a French speaking white family. Any such decision should be led by the wishes of the child or young person where ever this is possible to do so.
Siblings should always be placed together where possible and this may only be possible with a foster family who do not match the ethnic origin of the children to be accommodated. It is always preferable to keep siblings together, particularly since a white sibling placed with a family of a different ethnic origin will have easier access to white culture and role models than his or her black/mixed parentage sibling is likely to have to the minority culture. It is important that all children within a family group with diverse origins are placed with a family where all aspects of their background will be understood and valued.
Where a child or young person from an ethnic minority for instance has a disability, learning difficulty or child mental health issue and it is not possible to identify a carer from that same ethnic background with relevant experience, it may well be more appropriate to make a placement with a carer who has that experience and a good understanding of the health and/or disability issues. Their ability to manage those matters on a day to day basis and their ability to impact positively on that on the child’s quality of life would then be the overriding factor.
Location is an important issue for children and young people from minority ethnic groups. Care should be taken not to place children and young people in areas where they may feel isolated or vulnerable. For instance it may not be in the best interests of a child or young person from an ethnic minority to be placed in a predominately white rural area.
Continuity of school placement is also an important consideration. It is desirable to maintain existing links with teachers and other school staff on whom children may have to come to rely and identify with and to enable them to continue their studies without a break.
Defining suitability of placement with regard to religion may be a complex issue. For example an Indian Muslim family and an Indian Sikh child may well be described as of the same racial origin. However in such circumstances the religious needs of the child may well take precedence and although the match may be of the “same race” other factors may actually make the placement inappropriate.
In some cases the need to safeguard the child or young person from restricted or prohibited contact with parents or previous carers from whom they have experienced harm must be an overriding priority. In these circumstances the need to place children away from a particular locality will be override other considerations.
Alternatively, where there is a requirement for frequent contact between the child and their natural parents the choice of placement should not unnecessarily restrict these arrangements. This may apply in contested care proceedings
Any foster parent or parent caring for a child or young person from a different minority ethnic background should have the necessary skills, attitudes, support network and knowledge to meet the child or young person’s needs. They must be able to demonstrate that:
The following issues should be considered as part of any specific assessment aimed at determining the suitability of any carer to look after a child from a different ethnic background to their own:
Caring for children from different backgrounds, challenging racism and implementing strategies for children and young people to deal with racism is a core requirement of training programme for our foster carers.
Carers must be able to show a sound level of understanding and meet the recognised BAAF competency requirements in showing ‘an ability to promote equality, diversity, and rights of individuals and groups within society.
All staff and managers should undertake regular training on issues of equality. Managers should ensure that all workers involved in the making or supporting of placements where children and young people are placed transracially have the knowledge and competence to ensure that the cultural, religious and linguistic needs of each child or young person are met.
Details of a child or young person’s ethnicity, religion and language must always be recorded correctly on the child or young person’s file. Any subsequent information that is verified and differs from the initial recording must be added and the original entry amended as necessary.
All placements should take fully into account the child or young person’s race, ethnicity, culture, religious and linguistic background.
The specific needs of each child or young person must be identified in all care plans and other written assessments.
Where possible all children and young people should be placed with carers who reflect their identity.
Although a child or young person’s race, ethnicity, culture, religious and linguistic background should always be given priority Wholistic Fostering recognise that this will not always be possible in an emergency when there are other important factors to consider, such as the need to Safeguard a child.
Where it has not been possible for a child or young person to be placed appropriately in an emergency such that their needs in terms of gender, religion, ethnic origin, language, culture, disability and sexuality cannot be adequately met, steps will be taken to achieve a suitable placement as soon as possible. This may mean that the placing authority will want to move the child to a placement outside of Wholistic Fostering and as such we will deem to support this in the best interest of the child.
For any child who is likely to be looked after for longer than six weeks, that child should be placed with a family who as closely as possible match the ethnicity, culture, religious and linguistic background of that child or young person as closely as possible, unless another placement is deemed to be appropriate due to other factors in the young person’s hierarchy of needs taking preference. For instance these may concern the child’s educational or health needs, or arrangements for contact with family.
The child’s needs should then be more specifically considered within the written foster placement agreement when the placement has been made. Any deficits in the placement should be identified and plans made to address any shortfall. For instance, if the child is of a different faith, arrangements may need to be put in place to enable that child or young person to practise their religion. Similarly, the carer may need advice on hair and/or skin care, and there may need to be restrictions on the way in which food is prepared.
In many cases a short term foster carer will express an interest in coming forward to offer permanency to a child placed with them. When this is a transracial placement careful consideration should be given to such a plan. Any foster carer expressing an interest in a specific child in these circumstances should be informed of the issues regarding transracial placement as set put in this document.
Where an older child or young person’s short term foster carer expresses an interest in becoming the long term care for a child or young person from a different background this should be given careful consideration taking into consideration the wishes and feelings of that child or young person and their family.
All carers wanting to convert a placement from short term to a permanent arrangement will be reassessed focussing on their ability to care for that particular child on a longterm basis. Where a child or young person is from a different background the assessor should pay particular attention to the carer’s ability to meet that needs of a child or young person placed transracially.
Efforts should be made to ensure that the child or young person feels positive about their identity and any negative ideas they may hold in relation to being placed with carers from their own ethnic background should be addressed.
Efforts should also be made to ensure that the child or young person is choosing to stay with the carers because he or she feels that they have arrived somewhere where they feel comfortable and safe and are with people who value and support their difference positively.
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Children who have been in care are almost two and a half times more likely to become teenage parents. Research suggests that almost half of young women leaving care become parents within two years and research studies have consistently shown that young women in and leaving the care system are disproportionately more likely than their peers to become pregnant or to already be parents. Whatever their reasons for becoming parents the reality for the majority of young parents is that they live at or below the poverty line.
Developing services which assist care experienced young people to make informed choices about parenting is an essential part of the Wholistic Fostering’s Policy and Procedures. It is essential that services are in place that can meet the practical and emotional needs of these young parents while continuing to empower them to access opportunities for education and any specific support they may need until they establish themselves more independently.
Wholistic Fostering therefore identify the need to recruit and prepare foster carers to undertake this work with this vulnerable group. Clear policies and guidance to both carers and young people is required and there are specific factors that need to be considered as part of their placement strategy. During the placement preparation planning stage Wholistic Fostering will work with the placing authority in undertaking a risk assessment when the parent is over 21 years of age. (Appendix 1 – Adult Risk Assessment). The purpose of this is to identify risk and put in place protective factors so that the placement has the best opportunity to be a success. Immediately:
Longer term:
The children of parents with a care history are sixty six times more likely to be taken into care themselves” (Shadow Minister for Children and Families - February 2006)
Foster care has an important role to play as a service for pregnant young people or young parents. Foster care provides a family environment of support and nurture for the young parent and their child. It can make the difference between a young person being able to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to successfully parent their own child, or being unable to assume parental responsibilities and their child also entering the care system.
It is good practice for the foster carer to meet and introduce herself, and outline her family circumstances to the parent before a placement commences. Ideally if a placement has been able to be identified at an early stage and the parent is accepting of the care plan a visit for the parent to the carers should be organised prior to placement. It is important that the parent has by then already had the opportunity to read the information booklet on Parent and Baby Placements
The foster carer will need to work alongside the parent and the child’s social worker and be involved with all relevant professionals from the outset, and be invited to any of the Child Protection Conferences. The foster carer will also need to be aware of the Care Plan and be told of the other assessments which are being sought, and any prospective court dates.
It is essential that all relevant background information relating to the placement is provided prior to any Parent and Baby placement being made. WF will provide the original duty referral which incorporates the risk assessment. It our expectation that the social worker for the child shares Background Information and provide other pertinent background information such as the most recent case conference minutes which would give an overview of the parent’s previous parenting history and their family network. The foster carer needs to be aware of the impact of any past parenting experiences, and its likely impact on a parent’s current parenting capacity. All foster carers are required to have a safe storage place in their homes for confidential documents.
The foster carer will be expected to offer guidance and assistance to the parent in managing the care tasks for the baby. This may include direct instruction, responding to questions, or offering practical support such as accompanying the parent to parent/baby groups, health visiting clinic, shopping etc. This could include appropriate modelling of behaviour and demonstrating of techniques.
The foster carer will be expected to have knowledge of attachment issues and how to promote attachment between the parent and child placed. The primary attachment the baby needs to make is with his/her parent.
Some parents in parent and child placements are teenagers and the carer will need to have some knowledge and understanding of working with teenagers. In addition, for some placements there needs to be an understanding of how drug and or alcohol misuse will impact on a parent’s ability to parent.
The foster carer will need to have a good knowledge of child development. The foster carer can access additional advice from their supervising social worker.
The foster carer will need to be familiar with recent guidance relating to the care of babies covering areas such as weaning, changes in bottle feeding; and the more recent research about cot deaths, which stresses the need to avoid any bed co-sharing at night.
For the first 2 weeks of a placement it is usual practice for the carer to provide a very high level of supervision. This will usually mean the parent remaining with the carer apart from when the parent attends a pre arranged professional meeting. The detail of such an agreement needs to be clear from the outset of the placement.
The foster carer will be expected to keep a daily record, noting observations of the parent’s ability to respond to their baby’s needs including capacity to meet their physical and emotional needs,manage the routine and the practical tasks of washing, shopping, budgeting etc.
Such observations will need to be passed on to the parent on a daily basis so that a parent is kept up to date with their progress and the plan for the work with the parent adjusted accordingly and kept under review. It is also important that the parent is aware of the assessment and advice of the carer and able to respond to any changes that are needed as well as be informed of the progress that is being made.
The daily recording will focus on a parent’s basic physical care of the baby, and the quality of the parent/child interaction i.e. has the parent ‘emotionally connected’ to the child. Equally important though to record is the parent’s ability to respond to the advice and support the carer is offering. A parents’ ability to budget, the maintenance of their bedroom and their physical presentation and actual amount of ‘time out’ of the placement are also important areas to record.
The foster parent will need be open and honest about accurately commenting and recording a parent’s strengths and difficulties. Such observations need to be constructive with the foster carer looking for any changes and areas of a parent’s improvements, as well as any problems and areas for additional support in their parenting. The foster carer will need to stand back and be objective. The foster carer must observe and advise the parent in a non-blaming manner. It is important the carer is not collusive.
Recording will be on a daily basis with a monthly summary that provides an overview. All such recording needs to be forwarded to the supervising social worker who will then distribute them to the child’s social worker and other agreed parties. It is particularly beneficial for parent and child foster carers to possess appropriate I.T. skills, so that recordings can be completed in a accurate and readable format and then forwarded by email to the supervising social worker.
The foster carer needs to at all times prioritise and promote the welfare of the child, over and above the welfare of the adult parent in placement. The carer will need to identify and intervene if a baby/child is felt to be at risk, where a child remaining in a parent’s care would be detrimental to its welfare. Any such intervention would need to be immediately passed on to the child’s social worker, and the supervising social worker.
Parent and child placements have a clear child protection remit, and thus the carer will also be expected to challenge a parent in specific circumstances if there are specific safeguarding concerns. The nature of such circumstances should have been outlined in the initial Set up Meeting.
Foster carers need to provide 24 hour support when required, and transport parent and baby when appropriate and as agreed. A foster carer will offer to baby-sit for one night a week, with an agreed amount of notice if that is agreed as part of the placement plan and will also babysit when a parent has to attend professional appointments.
The foster carer will provide a fully furnished, reasonably sized bedroom complete with bed and cot linen, and ensure the parent has use of a sitting room with home entertainment (this may be the family communal living room) The foster carer will make available and provide full use of baby/child toys and equipment for inside/outside home.
Once a placement is made, the foster carer and the supervising Social worker will complete and provide a specific Safe Caring Family Policy in relation to the individual parent and child placement, which will take into account all the members of its family.
Such a plan will also outline the household’s rules. There need to be clear consideration of the role of any birth children to prevent any collusion or unhelpful alliances.
It is important that specific matching process and document is completed (the positives and any issues of concern that need to be focused on within the placement). If a parent and child have been placed alongside another foster child, then social worker for the other child in placement needs to have been fully consulted about the match.
The foster carer will periodically check on the care and safety of the child in placement, and therefore must have access to the child at all times whilst it is in the home environment. This may need to be highlighted at the initial Set Up meeting, where there may need to be a discussion about amount of unsupervised time in the day a parent is allowed to have in their bedroom with their baby.
The carer should on a regular weekly basis also check on the parent’s bedroom as part of the assessment of the parent’s ability to provide a suitable environment for the child. The carers’ supervising social worker and the child’s social worker likewise need to ensure such regular room checks are made and recorded for evidential purposes.
The foster carer will always seek medical advice/treatment for any accident or injury a baby/child has sustained. Any accident or injury should be fully recorded. A report to the child’s social worker and her supervising social worker must then be made as soon as possible.
The foster carer will respect and give recognition to the importance of a parent and child’s ethnic origin, cultural background, religion, language, gender, sexuality and disability. These issues will need to be considered as part of the initial set up meeting and additional support and advice will be provided to the carer if that is required.
It is our expectation that the foster carer will attend pre-placement meetings, reviews, core group meetings and any other planning meetings as required. There is an expectation the foster will also be invited to the Child Protection conference, as this would ensure that the carer is aware of the role of all the other professionals working with the birth parent.
A foster carer needs to identify someone in their network, who is CRB checked, who could step in to provide additional support or cover for the carer should the need arise.
The need for a separate respite Parent and Baby placement, should the carer[s] have a pre-arranged holiday, must be discussed at the Set Up meeting, so that all parties are aware there may be a brief break in the continuity of the placement. No other respite provision would normally be provided, unless there were exceptional circumstances.
Financial arrangements and expectations need to be discussed and agreed at the set up meeting and kept under review as required.
The foster carer must from the start of the placement use a ‘memory box’ for any child placed. The foster carer must record for example all significant milestones and ensure at least weekly photographs are taken. This should be discussed with the parent in placement and arrangements made for copies of all the information and photos to be kept for the parent.
Our Foster carers that have been approved for parent and child placements have demonstrated their ability to provide the following.
Some of our carers approved for mother and child placements have demonstrated skills whereby they are competent enough to undertake assessments and transfer their findings into a report.
The Parent will be expected to care for their baby/child at all times unless there has been a specific agreement for the carer to take over aspects of the baby’s care for a specific limited period of time.
The Parent will be expected to manage the day/bedtime routine, which needs to fit in with the foster carers’ household. When a parent is settling their baby into its bedtime routine, it is their responsibility to check on the child throughout the evening until they retire to bed. If it is felt that a baby monitor should for various reasons be initially used, this may need to be discussed and agreed at the Set Up Meeting.
The Parent will be expected to shop, budget, and cook for themselves and baby/child and attend to all the requisite washing and ironing. The Parent will keep his/her room tidy, and leave the communal kitchen/bathroom in a tidy/clean condition after use.
Personal clothing and belongings must be kept in the parent’s own room, as the foster carer cannot be responsible for property or articles that are lost or damaged in placement.
The Parent will contribute to the wellbeing of everyone in the foster carer’s home and in public by demonstrating non-aggressive/non-threatening behaviours.
As part of the assessment process, the foster carer may make occasional room checks to ensure the safety of parent and child, and therefore all bedroom doors must be kept unlocked. Issues of privacy will be acknowledged and discussed at the set up meeting.
The parent will be provided with the daily record sheets prepared by the foster carer. The parent will be asked to include their own comments to the recording sheets and sign the records. If there are any differences of opinion these should be discussed ideally initially with the carer, or with the social worker for the child, and these differences be recorded.
The parent will be informed about the detail of the safe caring agreement which will have been completed by the social worker for the foster carer and the foster carer.
Parents will be informed that smoking is not permitted any where inside the foster carer’s home, but may be allowed in their garden if the parent needs to smoke. This should be discussed at the set up meeting. No alcohol is to be consumed or kept by the parent in the carer’s home.
Parents will be informed that no involvement with any illegal substances is permitted in the foster carer’s home. However, it is recognised some parents may be supported in a parent and child placement when a parent is part of a substance misuse treatment programme. Specific arrangements for the storing of medication for example prescribed methadone has to be discussed at the set up meeting. The carer in turn will need to ensure that the medication is used on the basis it is prescribed.
The Parent needs to inform the foster carer and child’s social worker of any appointments or assessment etc and check if childcare cover is approved.
Parent’s mobile phone usage needs to be compatible with living in a family home. Any issues relating to the use of mobile phones will need to be discussed at set up meeting.
A Parent’s circumstances/history is strictly confidential to the named foster carers and not their families/friends. Parents can feel reassured that no discussions will take place about their circumstances between a carer and their family members or friends.
The Supervising Social Worker needs to ensure full parental and child information is passed on by child’s social worker to the foster carer prior to the placement commencing. Such paper work would include any recent CP conference minutes and the Background Information report.
A fostering duty social worker needs to ensure that the duty referral has been shared with the Parent and child carer.
The Supervising Social Worker needs to attend any Set Up meeting prior to a placement or immediately following placement, and ensure there is a full discussion about the expectations of the placement and the envisaged time scales. In particular this meeting needs to examine and clarify any concerns of a child protection nature which have been raised, looking at how such risks could be managed by the carer in placement.
The Supervising Social Worker at the placement meeting needs to ensure all parties are aware of any training commitments the carer may have.
The Supervising Social Worker will be responsible for drawing up an initial Safe Caring policy which covers all family members and their roles. If there is another foster child in placement any specific issues that would have been highlighted within the matching process needs to be detailed
The Supervising Social Worker will visit weekly for the first four weeks of the placement and then at least two weekly for the next four weeks. At the end of this period four weekly visits will be undertaken to provide supervision and support as well as weekly phone contacts. The Supervising Social Worker will also need to undertake unannounced visits.
The Supervising Social Worker should arrange to read and discuss with the carer their recorded observations and provide additional advice as required.
The supervising social worker will check with foster carers that they have researched/accessed groups or courses available (if appropriate) for the parent and baby in the local area.
The supervising social worker is responsible for monitoring, supporting and supervising all aspects of the management of the placement.
The social worker needs to ensure that the parent has a CRB if the Parent is over 18 if there is another Looked After child in placement.
The Child’s social worker needs to ensure the foster carer has all the relevant information/paperwork at the outset of the placement. This will include any recent Child Protection minutes, and the Background Information record. The fostering team will be forwarding the carer the duty referral.
It is important that all potential placements and referring field social workers have a copy of our Parent and Baby information red booklet, which are stored in each area office. The parent may need help in understanding not only the purpose of the parenting assessment, but also what such an assessment will entail.
The child’s social worker will need to discuss the financial aspects of the placement and ensure if appropriate the parent is making/can make a single claim for Income Support prior to be placed.
The Child’s social workers should inform benefit agencies (child benefit, housing benefit) of the parent’s situation.
WF expects the Child’s social worker to visit during the first week of placement and thereafter maintain a high level of visiting to ensure the placement remains focused and that there is no delay in resolving the permanence plans for the baby. There should be very regular liaison with the supervising social worker.
It is absolutely essential to ensure that plans are put in place to ensure the parent(s) will have suitable accommodation to move on to. The Child’s social worker needs to be proactive in resolving any accommodation issues for the parent. Plans for rehabilitation for the child with their parent in the community should not be held up due to accommodation difficulties.
The child’s social worker needs to be aware that once the placement is made, the foster carer and her supervising Social worker will complete and provide a specific Safe Caring plan, which will take into account all the members of its family. Such a policy will also outline the household’s rules.
The Child’s social worker should undertake room checks as required.
Should a dispute arise within the placement, joint visits should initially be undertaken by supervising social worker and the child’s social worker The child’s social worker may then arrange a meeting to include the parent, supervising social worker, carer and the Manager if the dispute has not been resolved.
Should the placement meeting agreement be breached, it is the Child’s Social worker’s responsibility to organise a professionals’ meeting to discuss what this may mean in relation to the court proceedings.
The Child’s social worker will also need to organise a later Placement Rehabilitation meeting to discuss and plan for a parent and child’s rehabilitation in to the community. Such a meeting will need to focus on the detail of the support that will be needed for this move to occur.
We will work with the placing authority and the parent and child to agree a written contract setting out the boundaries and expectations of the placement so that everyone involved is clear about their role and responsibilities.
Written agreements should cover factors such as:
In policies, guidance and individual placement agreements it is essential that carers are informed of the support available e.g. respite care arrangements, out-of-hours services, and groups for foster carers and young parents
General and specific training is provided to our foster carers on an ongoing basis with emphasis on child development, assessment, recording, child protection and advocacy. This training may take the form of one to one or in a group setting. We also have a Fostering Support Worker who has the skill, knowledge and training to provide practical assistance as well as more general support to parent and child placements.
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This paper provides fostering social workers, Fostering Panel members with a framework within which to consider health and safety issues when considering an assessment of a potential foster carer and when carrying out a review of the carer’s approval.
Assessing and supervising social workers should satisfy themselves that each individual applicant’s/carer’s accommodation is suitable to enable the applicant/carer to provide safe and stimulating care. In reaching such a decision, a number of factors will need to be taken into account, not least the age, gender and numbers of children proposed to be fostered.
What may be appropriate for someone who is proposing to foster one baby for pre-adoptive placements may not be appropriate for someone who is proposing to care for teenagers through to independence. These guidelines should therefore be considered afresh for each new application/review rather than applying a rigid minimum standard for all applicants/carers.
Panel members should ensure that they are satisfied with any steps taken to address issues raised by the health and safety assessment and that any risks identified have been minimised to the extent that the foster home provides a safe environment for children. It is hoped that assessment will not be bought to Panel where major health and safety issues are still outstanding.
The agency decision-maker will also need to be satisfied that the assessing social worker and Panel have considered the relevant issues arising from this guidance for each application/review.
Fostering services are required by regulation 26 of the Fostering Services Regulations 2011 to obtain the information listed in Schedule 3 of these regulations before considering whether the applicant is suitable to act a foster carer and that their household is suitable for any child in respect of which approval may be given. This includes details of the applicant’s accommodation.
The National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services require that the home and immediate environment are free of avoidable hazards that might expose a child to risk of injury or harm and contain safety barriers and equipment appropriate to the child’s age, development and level of ability (Standard 10).
Standard 10 requires that the foster home is inspected annually to make sure that it meets the needs of foster children.
Standard 10 requires that fostering services have a comprehensive health and safety policy in place.
References are made to other relevant standards at appropriate points throughout this document.
WF is committed to ensure that any looked after child or young person will be placed in a foster home that has been assessed and approved to a standard that is safe for children and young people to live in. These standards should conform to nationally recognised safety standards
Wholistic Fostering is also committed to ensure that social work staff who are involved in fostering arrangements are sufficiently experienced and competent to make a professional judgement in connection with the placing of children and young people in a caring home environment.
Social work staff will ensure that approved foster carers fulfil the expected competency to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment (Standard 10).
The assessing social worker will gather evidence to satisfy the fostering panel that the prospective foster carer has ‘an ability to ensure that children are cared for in a home where they are safe from harm or abuse’ (Competency 2.1).
Supervising Social Workers will inspect the foster home annually to ensure it can comfortably accommodate all who live there and that it meets health and safety standards (Standard 10).
Supervisory visits to the foster homes will satisfy us that homes are warm, adequately furnished and decorated and maintained to a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene (Standard 10).
The process will ensure:
WF is committed to provide the foster carers with adequate preparation and training which will cover health and safety issues. The carer will also be provided with written guidelines which outline their health and safety responsibilities (Standard 10).
Where the foster carer is expected to provide transport for the child, the Department will ensure this is safe and appropriate to the child’s needs
Foster carers are made aware they may be interviewed or visited periodically as part of the Commission’s inspection process
WF has produced an assessment format to be used at the time of a carer’s home health & safety audit. This will be completed by assessing/supervising social workers at the following times:
A Foster Carers home must be an environment where children can develop and grow in a safe and healthy way. Carer’s accommodation must be homely and nurturing.
It is not the expectation of WF that Carers to maintain their homes in ‘showroom condition’ nor should the carers’ properties be ‘palaces’. All things being equal, children will usually identify better in homes and areas that reflect where they have been raised.
Foster Carers are responsible for ensuring that their home is a safe and healthy environment for the children they look after. Equally as important is the need for the home to feel warm and have a nurturing atmosphere, this can be difficult to quantify but is something most people can associate with.
A Foster Carers’ approval is at risks if at any stage they fail to meet the standards set out in this policy. However, it is important for WF to be notified of any shortfalls to enable an accurate and up to date risk assessment to be conducted. Such an assessment could put measures in place to reduce the risk.
WF appreciates that there will be times when home improvements need to be undertaken. However, any repairs or improvements must be undertaken in a way which does not compromise children’s safety and appropriate measures need to be in place for more major building works. Please seek guidance from your SSW.
The following minimum requirements must be met at the Carers’ main home and any secondary residences.
All homes used for fostering should be in a generally good state of repair, be warm, welcoming and friendly. They should be environments where children are safe, feel safe and one which promotes their emotional and physical well being. Age appropriate books, games and toys should be available to children within the property.
The numbers of children that the home can accommodate must take into consideration any existing household members, any likely changes to the household i.e. children returning from university, and the homes overall ability to accommodate everyone. This means not just looking at the number of bedrooms, but the size of communal areas of the house as well including the number of toilets, showers and bathrooms. It may even be as basic as asking if the dining table can seat all the household members at the same time.
When making judgements on accommodation the Welfare Principle will be the deciding factor on the outcomes of the decision made.
The home should be clean and free from hazards appropriate to the expected ages of approval.
Further guidance can be obtained in the Internet Policy.
Higher safety standards are required for carers who are approved for Under 8s:-
The accommodation of carers who are approved for children with disabilities is fit for use and appropriate to their categories of approval.
The presence of animals in foster homes can be of real benefit and in certain cases have a therapeutic effect on children. However, some pets can be a risk as well. Carers and WF need to ensure that the children’s welfare is protected at all times. Therefore, the possible implications caused by any pets will be assessed on its own merits.
It is impossible for this document to provide guidance on anything other than the normal or standard type of pet a family is likely to have. Where required specialist advice is to be sought.
Normally pets in the household will be considered at the time of the Health and Safety inspection. However, there is an ongoing duty to ensure children’s safety and household circumstances can quickly change e.g. looking after another person’s pets or your own pet being unwell. The ultimate responsibility is always on the Foster Carer to ensure that their household (and other households they visit) remain safe. This is not only a requirement at the time of the inspection, but an ongoing duty.
In all cases pets are expected to be well cared for and fully up to date with their inoculations.
All pets are to be looked after in a hygienic way i.e. their food and water is fresh and does not contaminate human food preparation, all faeces, litter trays are cleaned regularly and do not present a risk to humans. Some animal faeces can cause disease which leads to blindness.
Households should not have any offensive odours resulting from owning pets and any animal hair, feathers etc should be regularly vacuumed up.
Cats and dogs need to have regular worming and flea treatments.
WF will not tolerate any circumstances of cruelty to animals and will not assess any candidates who have been convicted of cruelty to animals. Any existing Carers who receive such a conviction will need to undergo a full review of their care.
If the Foster Carer finds or believes that the child/young person is being cruel to the pet(s) in the household then the child/young person’s Social Worker will need to be informed as well as the Carer’s Supervising Social Worker. In most cases it is the temperament of the animal which should be assessed. Are they protective of their owners, are they aggressive all the time or only at certain times e.g. protecting food or property.
Some animals are likely to enter children’s rooms and sleep on their beds. As well as the hygiene considerations there is a risk of suffocation to small children particularly by cats and small dogs. Strategies must be in place to prevent this. If an animal poses a risk the Carer must have a strategy to either reduce or remove the risk. This must always be considered when assessing the risk to children, but no compromises can be made on their safety.
WF has its own dog risk assessment which is to be completed on all dog owning households. Each Dog is expected to have its own assessment.
WF will not permit Foster Carers to either be assessed or remain on its register if they have a Dangerous Dog as classified under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. These are:-
However, many placing authorities will not be willing to place children with Carers who have animals which are perceived to be a risk e.g. pits bull terriers, including Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bull Terriers, Dobermans, Rottweilers, BullmastiWF and Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
Cats can present risks similar to dogs in terms of behaviour and temperaments. The level of potential contact with children needs to be assessed.
All floors and furniture should be regularly vacuumed so that cat hairs do not become a source of allergies to children.
In most cases the fish themselves do not present a risk to children. The risks are through either the presence of water e.g. ponds or a tank tipping over electrical appliances or the risk of harm from a toppling tank or the glass structure of the tank.
A common sense approach must be taken when assessing these types of risks and measures put in place to protect children e.g. ponds must be covered for Carers who care for the under 8s.
These may be rabbits, gerbils, mice, rats or hamsters etc. The pet’s cage must be clean and safe from obvious hazards both to humans and the pets. The temperament of the animal needs consideration due to potential risks from biting. It is not recommend that children handle these animals without adult supervision.
It is not recommended that hamsters and other nocturnal animals are bought as pets as they are awake at night when the children are asleep and then sleep during the day.
Reptiles can hold certain diseases on their skins. Specialist advice will need to be sought. However, it is recommended that they are kept securely in their vivarium tanks and children do not have access to them.
Access to the internet can be gained by a number of means and places e.g. at school, via mobile phones, home computers, handheld devices, clubs etc. Computers are a part of modern life and it is vital that young people have access to them and learn how to use them appropriately. They can be a great tool for helping with research or homework, in looking for jobs and colleges. However the internet does contain a number of risks, some of which are listed below.
Clearly the best way to reduce a risk is to remove it altogether. However, this is not practical in the modern world. Our best recommendation is that when young people are using the internet or computers they should be supervised. Household computers should be situated in open places where their use can be monitored. We strongly advise against allowing any child to have a computer with internet access in their bedrooms.
Most internet Service Providers (ISPs) have free tools or programmes to block inappropriate web sites. However, these are not ‘fail safe’ and young people can learn to disable these or work around them. If the young people you look after have access to the Net, you should be warning them about the risks and especially about not giving away personal information or details. It would be good to get them to avoid chat rooms all together. WF have been able to facilitate a CEOP presentation for young people placed in your carer and for your birth children. We strongly advice that you encourage the young people to take part in this presentation when it becomes available.
You should also advise children and young people not to open email unless they know the person who has sent them. There are a great deal of unsolicited e mails out there that contain viruses which can destroy your computer or ‘Trojan horses’ which send your personal details out to people for fraudulent use.
It is also good practice to limit the time that a young person spends on the computer. Prolonged periods in front of a PC can cause eye damage and does not help promote a child’s social skills or health.
If you have any concerns over the way the young person accesses the Net or uses it you should seek advice and guidance from your SSW immediately. Guidance can also be obtained from the CEOP website listed below.
Issues linked to the internet can quickly and easily escalate and warrant consideration of using the child protection procedure. If concerned that a young person may be at risk of harm, access to the Net must be stopped immediately and consult with your SSW.
If the concerns arise from use of a computer elsewhere such as a school you must share your concerns with a representative of that organisation e.g. a teacher.
All Staff, Foster Carers and their supporters must transport children in the safest possible manner and must not take avoidable risks. A common sense approach must be taken when transporting children.
Whoever is actually transporting the child is immediately responsible for their welfare. However, if the Foster Carer allows another person to transport a child, e.g. a supporter or family member, they must ensure that they understand the risks and the chosen method of transport meets this policy. They cannot delegate their duties.
If there is any uncertainty the trip must be delayed to allow for guidance to be sought from either your SSW or in respect of staff their Line Manager.
Where a journey is considered too high a risk e.g. through the child’s behaviour, the journey must not be undertaken unless safe alternative arrangements are made e.g. two adults escorting the child with one sat next to them in the back and the cars child locks engaged.
WF accepts no liability or responsibility for any fixed penalties, fines or endorsements received when transporting children. These remain the responsibility of the driver.
All vehicles used for transporting Looked After Children must:
The law regulating the use of child seats changed in October 2006:-
The law requires all children travelling in cars to use an appropriate child restraint or adult seat belt, with very few exceptions which are listed below.
It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that children under the age of 14 years are restrained correctly in accordance with the law.
In the Front Seat The child MUST use the correct child restraint. It is illegal to carry a child in a rear-facing child seat in the front, which is protected by an active frontal airbag.
In the Rear Seat The child MUST use the correct child restraint.
In a licensed taxi or licensed hire car, if a child restraint is not available then the child may travel unrestrained in the rear. This is the only exception for children under 3, and has been introduced for practical rather than safety reasons. You should always think about ways to make sure that a child seat is available.
It is the driver's legal responsibility to ensure that the child is correctly restrained. Children aged 3 and above, until they reach EITHER their 12th birthday OR 135cm in height In the Front Seat The child MUST use the correct child restraint.
In the Rear Seat The child MUST use the correct restraint, where seat belts are fitted. There are three exceptions where there is not a child seat available. In each case the child MUST use the adult belt instead.
They are -
In addition, a child 3 and over may travel unrestrained in the rear seat of a vehicle if seat belts are not available.
It is the driver's legal responsibility to ensure that the child is correctly restrained.
Children over 1.35 metres in height, or who are 12 or 13 years old
In the Front Seat The adult seat belt MUST be worn if available.
In the Rear Seat The adult seat belt MUST be worn if available.
It is the driver's legal responsibility to ensure that the child is correctly restrained.
When travelling in the front or rear seat, an adult seat belt MUST be worn if available.
It is the responsibility of the individual passenger to ensure that they are wearing the seat belt.
If there are not enough seat belts or child restraints in the car for all the passengers, then some may legally travel in the rear of the vehicle without wearing a seat belt. This may be legal, but it is not safe. Between 8 and 15 front seat occupants are killed every year by unbelted rear seat passengers flying forward in an accident.
WF policy is to only carry the same number of passengers as there are seat belts. Anything else is unsafe and puts lives at risk. If necessary, use two cars or make two journeys for the trip. The following is taken from the Dept of Transport:-
When fitting a child car seat in your car, always follow the manufacturer's instructions thoroughly and allow plenty of time. The same applies when it comes to strapping a baby or child into the seat. Make sure your child car seat is properly fitted every time you use it. Always keep a copy of the fitting instructions in your car.
Child seats are designed for various weights and sizes of children. It is important that you check with the manufacturers guidelines or a professional fitter to ensure that you are using the correct seat for the child(ren).
Always make sure that your children's car seat belts are properly adjusted and fastened before setting off in the car, even on the shortest of trips. Remember to set a good example by fastening your own belt.
Never place a rear-facing seat near an active frontal airbag. Forward-facing restraints should be as far back from the airbag as possible. Always check the car handbook.
Never modify a child car seat or seat belt to try to make it fit.
Lap and diagonal belts are safer than lap-only belts.
Department of Transport :-http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/advice/childcarseats.htm
During Health and safety inspections Carers will be required to produce their vehicle documentation:-
Key life skills can be taught to young people through using public transport and there are many benefits to this mode of transport. However, there are increased risks e.g. managing difficult behaviours in public places, the public’s reaction to this, the dangers of trains and railway lines.
The best approach is to undertake a quick mental risk assessment, considering the likely risks and the consequence of those risks. If there is a risk of harm, the journey should not be undertaken or appropriate measures put in place to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
Again Carers/staff are role models to the children we look after, public transport must be treated with respect and all fares paid accordingly.
Children must always be escorted in taxis unless the taxi company concerned is an approved company and its drivers enhanced CRB checks. WF and placing authority must approve any taxi journeys for children where they are expected to travel unescorted. Unless previously agreed WF will not be responsible for the costs of using taxis.
All those who are likely to transport children on a regular basis are required to notify WF of any motoring offences which they have either been charged with or convicted of including speeding fines.
Failure to notify WF of the above could place a Carer at risk of their approval to foster being terminated. Similarly, staff members risk a disciplinary investigation.
It would be impossible to remove all risks from life, however certain activities carry a higher than normal risk of harm and it is important that these are recognised and appropriate measures put in place to either remove or minimise the risks of harm to a person. The welfare of the individual undertaking the activity is a priority.
Carers must exercise their duties in protecting and promoting the welfare of the children they look after using the same consideration as a reasonable parent might towards their own children. However, remembering that these are not their own children and they do not hold parental responsibility over the children they look after. This places restrictions and limitations on the decisions carers can make
In some cases the child’s social worker may need to give approval for a child to participate in certain activities e.g. rugby, skiing, sailing. If you are in any doubt as to what constitutes a dangerous activity or whether you are allowed to undertake a certain activity with a child you should contact the child’s Social Worker for advice. Carers can also contact their SSW for guidance and if necessary a risk assessment will be conducted.
The aim of risk assessments is to look at the activity, assess the likelihood that an accident will happen and what the consequence of that accident may be. If there is an assessed risk the next step will be to put in place suitable control measures to either remove or minimise the potential harm. E.g. a high risk activity would be one where there is a high chance of harm coupled with a serious injury like rock climbing without safety equipment, the harm could easily be death. The control measures would be to have a qualified person running the activity, ensuring the young people participating are actually able to undertake the activity, the use of safety hats, safety ropes and people holding the ropes. The assessment would conclude that the activity must not be undertaken without these control measures.
Normally a risk assessment should be undertaken prior to starting the activity, depending on the activity provider and how the activity has been arranged a pre-written risk assessment can usually be obtained. These are called generic risk assessments and can be obtained in advance from the activity organiser.
If there is no risk assessment for the activity you wish to undertake you should consult with your SSW to discuss the best way forward. In such cases an activity specific risk assessment must be conducted.
WF has a risk assessment format which can be used to help identify and establish the level of risk. If this is required you should contact your SSW.
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National Minimum Standards for Fostering 2011 - Standard 8 promoting Educational Achievement
The learning and educational needs of each child or young person in foster care must be given a high priority and encouragement and support must be provided to enable them to gain their full potential.
Foster children always have difficult lives and their educational performance can be poor as a result of the instability of their circumstances.
Wholistic Fostering has a collective responsibility to address the barriers to education which exist for children in foster care.
These barriers include:
Everything possible needs to be done to ensure that foster children are happy in school, that they are not bullied and that they are able to take part in activities which they enjoy. All of these should help build self-esteem.
Foster Parent(s) are the key to breaking down barriers by valuing and supporting the education which children receive. They are expected to help assess the child’s education and progress, to aid the planning and review process and assist in personal education plans.
Prioritising education must include:
The local education authority’s policy for inclusion should ensure that all foster children have equal opportunities and access to education. For the majority this should be a full time place in an educational establishment which meets their needs. However, a child may be excluded from school temporarily or permanently.
In cases where the foster child is excluded the following procedure must be complied with:
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Good Practice in equalities benefits all people. WF acknowledges that quality of life for many people has been undermined by discrimination and disadvantage. People’s experiences of discrimination are both wide and varied and need to be believed and acted upon. WF purpose is for this policy is to stop discrimination and improve quality of life for all. WF recognises that this will improve the quality of its workforce and the services they deliver.
WF aims to adhere to the following principles:
WF will treat all people with dignity and respect, recognising the value of each individual. The agency is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination in service delivery and employment on grounds of race, gender, disability, age, sexuality and religion.
WF recognises the harmful effect that racism has on black and ethnic minority people both in service delivery and employment. The agency will take immediate steps to rectify discriminatory practice. The agency will acknowledge and value diversity as an asset to build on.
In service delivery the agency will recognise diversity, for example in language, dress or faith, and will respond sensitively to the different needs of different groups of people and promote the positive value of that diversity within the community.
In employment the agency recognises that there is an under-representation of black and ethnic minority ethnic staff and will develop structures, policies and training which ensures this is addressed.
WF recognises the harmful effect of sexism and discrimination on grounds of gender.
Negative attitudes and prejudices lead to sexual harassment and discrimination both in service delivery and employment. Equalities on the grounds of disability
WF recognises the many effects of discrimination against people living with a disability. Negative attitudes, prejudices and physical barriers can lead to discrimination and harassment, both in service delivery and employment. In service delivery the agency will recognise the differing needs of disabled people and seek to address them.
WF recognises the harmful effect of ageism and believes that it undervalues older as well as younger people and gives unfair advantage to people within certain age groups. WF recognise that older people’s experiences must be valued and they must not be denied equal chances for continuous development. Young people must also be given opportunities for training and work experience in order to enhance their employment opportunities.
WF recognises the effects of hetero-sexism and homophobia within the society. Negative attitudes and prejudices lead to harassment and discrimination. The agency will work in partnership with other agencies to eliminate harassment, hate crimes and violence by taking preventative measures and prosecuting where appropriate.
WF recognises the harmful effect that discrimination has on people of different beliefs. The agency will ensure sensitivity with regard to people’s faith and not deliver services in a way that is offensive. The agency will work closely to develop a wider understanding of other people’s diverse sensitivities and needs. People must be able to practice their faith in safety without fear of harassment or discrimination.
WF will comply with all anti discriminatory legislation including the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Updated 1986), the Equal Pay Act 1970 (Updated 1983), The Race Relation (Amendment) Act, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, updated 2005 the Crime and Disorder Act 1988, the Human Rights Act 1998 and all European regulations and directives.
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POLICY & GUIDANCE
The purpose of these guidelines is to provide managers and employees with guidance for employees and others who may be “lone workers” and the practical steps to be taken to keep people safe when they are at work whether on Wholistic Fostering premises, shared offices or elsewhere in the community. People who work alone should not be at any greater risk than others.
This policy applies equally to all employees, as above, regardless of their disability,gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Care will be taken to ensure that no traditionally excluded groups are adversely impacted in implementing this policy.
When is a worker a lone worker?
A ‘Lone Worker’ is any person whose work involves either brief or a large portion of their time in situations where there is no close, frequent or regular involvement with other workers or supervision.
Who is a lone worker?
There is no general reason why people can not work by themselves. The answer to this question will be based on the outcome of your risk assessment, the environment and conditions that apply. An example of a high risk activity which would require at least one other person to be present to provide assistance in the case of an emergency arising:
Example include:
• Visiting clients or customers at home with a known history of violence or aggression
Managers need to ensure that their employees remain healthy and safe whilst at work; this includes working in buildings or remote or isolated areas. Wholistic Fostering has developed procedures to support people whilst working alone, it is part of a manager’s role to ensure that the procedures are adapted to suit their areas and that their employees are provided with suitable and sufficient training and information on these procedures.The basis for developing any procedure is through carrying out a thorough risk assessment and then applying the findings to develop suitable safe working practices.
The procedure for carrying out risk assessments is no different from the normal work place assessment process. i.e.
1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who can be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Monitor and update them as necessary
1. The Hazards (things with the potential to cause harm) see Hazards.
Whilst the hazards are similar to everyday working situations they may be exacerbated by the fact that a person is alone and perhaps not in the immediate vicinity of aide and assistance.e.g.
• Abusive customers or clients
• Animal attacks
• Cash handling
• Defective vehicles
• Driving and/or road rage
• Electric shocks
• Exposure to chemicals or biological agents
• Faulty equipment
• Fire
• Manual handling heavy or unwieldy loads
• Noise
• Poor or lack of training
• Pregnant or young workers
• Remoteness or isolation
• Slips, trips or falls
• Sudden illness rendering the worker unable to summon help
• Violent clients, members of the public or other staff.
• Working at height
• Working in confined spaces
• Working over or near water
Employees or other people who may potentially be injured or ill as a result of work being carried out. In particular you should consider vulnerable groups such as those with special needs, young or pregnant workers and those called upon to rescue or give aid to injured people.
Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions. In consultation with employees and their representatives decide on the level of risk posed by the situation and whether or not extra precautions are required or whether or not the job can be
undertaken safely by a single person. Depending on the results you may need to introduce new precautions, safe working practices or provide personal protective equipment
e.g.
Access to communications
Automatic warning devices
First aid equipment & training
Further specialist training
Introducing a “buddy system”
Lifting equipment
Maintenance checks on equipment and vehicles
Out of office recording procedures
Periodic supervisory checks
Personal alarms
Regular supervisory meetings
Safe working practices
Security staff
Keep records of the significant findings of your risk assessments. Ensure people are informed of the results and any new safe working practices. Records of risk assessments should be retained for as long as they are effective or superseded. In the majority of cases they should be held for the minimum of one year.
Risk assessments and the outcomes will be monitored as often as required to ensure they remain effective. They should be reviewed or updated when there are major changes to the organisation, work practice or working environment. Should an accident or incident occur which indicates a failure of the precautions that have been developed then they should be reviewed immediately, all risk assessments should be reviewed at least annually?
Where a risk assessment identifies that lone working poses a high risk to a lone worker, lone working should be avoided or arrangements for providing assistance and support put in place. Where a lone worker is working at another employer’s workplace similar arrangements will apply. As far as reasonably practical employers should co-operate with one another on the measures to be taken to ensure the Health and Safety of their employees.
It is essential that you leave a daily diary or record of visits and movements with your line manager or a nominated person. Everyone who visits people at home or in the community must have their vehicle details,
i.e. registration number, make of vehicle and colour and insurance recorded by their line manager. These details should be held securely but accessible in case an emergency arises. Managers are to ensure these details are kept up to date. In the event that a person does not report in after finishing a visit the manager or nominated person should instigate a contact procedure, i.e. mobile phone call, if there is still no contact a senior manager should be informed and a decision taken whether to go directly to the last known address or alert the police.
If there are animals known to be at a property you have to visit it is recommended that the occupants are contacted (if possible), to secure the animals(s) before you arrive.
Mobile phones should always be kept fully charged and spare batteries made held available for use.Ifnot personal mobile phones employees must be shown how to use them effectively. Mobile phones should not be relied on as the only protective measure, they provide a degree of comfort and support to those working alone in the community. Remember to check signal strength and make sure you have left a record of your visit with your line manager or nominated person.
Employees and others will be provided with the necessary information, training and supervision, to support them in the recognition of hazards and appreciation of the risks associated with working alone (and in any other working environment) and the precautions or safe working practices they should be using. Employees are required to follow the safe working practices which will include contact arrangements, the provision of first aid, keeping safe in lone working situations, and emergency procedures. Line managers are responsible for ensuring that their employees attend
the appropriate training. Everyone should remember that their own personal safety should be a priority they should not get involved in any situation that is escalating or where there are concerns that it might result in violence. If they cannot avoid it, intervals should make sure they have a way out. If an individual’s personal safety is compromised they should:
• Get out of the situation
• Summon help
• Call security or the police
Where people are involved in an incident where they felt threatened or intimidated they should
complete an accident report. Then report it to their line manager. Line managers will take action and provide support as necessary. Wholistic Fostering will support individual staff members in line with the zero tolerance stance towards violence and aggression towards its employees.
Whilst employees are working from home they have the same level of support and assistance as they would if they were working from an office. Line managers should ensure that suitable risk assessments are completed prior to people working from home and consider the additional measures which may need to be taken to keep the employee safe and
healthy. These measures would include considering the security of the home e.g. keeping doors locked when alone, and not giving out home addresses or phone numbers to clients or customers and any other equipment and training which may be required.
Building managers should ensure all buildings have a local procedure for management of lone working situations and staff are provided with instruction and training.
The following list is not designed to be comprehensive but a guide to the hazards which may exist
in any working environment. It is not specific to lone working which may heighten the risk when
taken into consideration. You should consult with your employees and their representatives to get
an all round view of the work undertaken and known hazards.
• Abusive customers or clients
• Animal attacks
• Cash handling
• Confined spaces
• Defective vehicles
• Driving or road rage
• Drowning
• Electric shocks
• Exposure to chemicals or biological agents
• Faulty equipment
• Fire/explosions
• Highway working
• Inappropriate or no personal protective equipment provided
• Infection
• Manual handling – especially heavy or unwieldy loads
• Noise
• Physical attack
• Poisoning
• Poor illumination
• Poor or lack of training
• Pregnant or young workers
• Remoteness or isolation
• Road traffic accidents
• Slips, trips and falls
• Sudden illness rendering the worker unable to summon help
• Tools and machinery
• Unknown area or workplace
• Use of vehicles
• Vehicle movements
• Verbal abuse
• Vibration
• Violent clients, members of the public or other staff.
• Working at height
Each hazard should be suitably assessed to the threat or risk it poses to employees and others who could be affected by the nature of the work being undertaken. Where the risk is not being controlled to the lowest reasonably practicable level, new precautions must be devised and implemented.
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Clearly the best way to reduce a risk is to remove it altogether. However, this is not practical in the modern world. Our best recommendation is that when young people are using the internet or computers they should be supervised. Household computers should be situated in open places where their use can be monitored. We strongly advise against allowing any child to have a computer with internet access in their bedrooms.
Most internet Service Providers (ISPs) have free tools or programmes to block inappropriate web sites. However, these are not ‘fail safe’ and young people can learn to disable these or work around them.
If the young people you look after have access to the Net, you should be warning them about the risks and especially about not giving away personal information or details. It would be good to get them to avoid chat rooms all together.
You should advise children and young people not to open email unless they know the person who has sent them. There are a great deal of unsolicited e mails out there that contain viruses which can destroy your computer or ‘Trojan horses’ which send your personal details out to people for fraudulent use.
It is also good practice to limit the time that a young person spends on the computer. Prolonged periods in front of a PC can cause eye damage and does not help promote a child’s social skills or health.
Wholistic Fostering is able offer CEOP Think U Know sessions for 11-16 year olds which covers Cyber bullying; Sexting and Grooming. There is also an adult presentation, which is offered to our foster carers and staff.
If you have any concerns over the way the young person accesses the Net or uses it you should seek advice and guidance from your SSW immediately. Guidance can also be obtained from the CEOP website listed below.
Issues linked to the internet can quickly and easily escalate and warrant consideration of using the child protection procedure. If concerned that a young person may be at risk of harm, access to the Net must be stopped immediately and consult with your SSW.
If the concerns arise from use of a computer elsewhere such as a school you must share your concerns with a representative of that organisation e.g. a teacher.
Wholistic Fostering is aware that the nature of the Internet is that of a global network which may transmit information from countries that have different beliefs and laws to
the United Kingdom. It is possible for staff to be exposed (or expose others) to material that may be considered offensive and /or illegal in this country. It is the staff member’s responsibility to prevent this while using Wholistic Fostering’s Internet facilities. To help staff fulfil this obligation Wholistic Fostering has provided some Safety and Usage Guidelines.
The following guidelines have been written to help staff to comply with this policy. All equipment and other users should be treated with respect and facilities should be used in a way that does not disrupt its use by others. Staff should be aware that despite the virtual nature of communication, use of the Internet can entail personal risk. The following guidelines are suggested to ensure a safer and more productive experience when using Wholistic Fostering’s Internet facilities.
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<font 12.8000001907349px/arial;;#000000;;#ffffff>To help you with getting to grips with Facebook and other types of social networking and the implications for foster</font> carers<font 12.8000001907349px/arial;;#000000;;#ffffff>, Wholistic Fostering will be arranging training for</font> carers<font 12.8000001907349px/arial;;#000000;;#ffffff>and when dates have been decided upon these will be sent out to you. As a reminder in relation to your usage of Facebook there are some general principles you should adhere to:</font>
Social networking is here to stay and you as foster carers do have a role to play in helping children and young people know how to keep themselves safe on the internet. There is a balance to be struck between freedom and protection, supervision and privacy Getting to grips with the internet and developing an understanding of how will help keep children safe as well as helping them to understand the benefits that the internet can bring.
There are now a number of useful websites where you can go to get advice. BAAF have advised a number that foster carers may find helpful:
We will be continuing to update our policy and procedures for foster carers in relation to social media. You can also discuss issues with your supervising social worker and the child’s social worker if you have concerns.
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Wholistic Fostering has a range of statutory duties which it must undertake when assessing and approving Foster Carers. These laws, rules, standards and safeguards have been put in place to ensure the safety and welfare of any looked after child who may be placed with Foster Carers.
This documents sets out the Agency’s standards in relation to applicants who wish to be assessed as Foster Carers or for Foster Carers who have already been approved who receive criminal convictions.
Carers must notify the Agency without delay if their personal circumstances change. Failure to do so could affect the placement of children and/or their approval status.
As part of the assessment, Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks at an enhanced level will be conducted on the following people:-
Current CRB practice is that not all members of a support network should be CRB checked and the Dept of Health guidance on Overnight Stays should be used as guidance (LAC 04[2004]).
Where there are children in the household under 16 years and above the age of criminal responsibility, their parents/applicants will be required to sign an undertaking stating that they do not have a criminal record.
Enhanced CRB checks will be repeated at least every three years on any of the above people and the will be registered by the Independent Safeguarding Authority on the vetting and barring scheme.
The information gained from a CRB check is confidential and cannot be shared with other members of the household unless the person it concerns has given their authority for the information to be shared. Staff should seek their Line Manager’s guidance before dealing with such situations.
Where an applicant or a member of their household has a conviction and it is considered as being against the guidance at the bottom of this document (issued by DoH) their application cannot proceed.
Some offences automatically disqualify people from becoming foster carers. For example any convictions for offences against a child within the meaning of s26 (1) of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, or any other offence involving bodily injury to a child; or any convictions for offences relating to importing indecent photographs of children, or offences under s7 of the Sex offenders Act 1997 (relating to sexual offences against children abroad).
The Agency takes a dim view of any applicants who has failed to disclose information about past convictions which are later revealed either through the CRB checking process or other means such as references. In such situations the failure to disclose can frequently be more serious than the conviction itself due to trust being broken.
Any existing Foster Carer must notify the Agency if they are arrested, charged with or convicted of any offence. Failure to do so may result in the suspension and/or termination of the Foster Carer’s approval.
In most cases of a report of the above being received by the Agency a Foster Carer Review should be instigated immediately. In such cases the review should be presented to the Agency’s fostering panel for their consideration and recommendation.
Depending on the nature of the offence, it may be necessary to inform the placing LA of any child who may be in placement and depending on the alleged offences a decision to terminate the placements of any children placed with that Carer may be made.
Not all offences render a Foster Carer unfit. However, for those offences outside of this guidance, the number of offences and the period of time that they have occurred along with when the last offence was committed should be taken into consideration when deciding on a person’s fitness to foster.
The Registered Manager must make a decision on whether the applicant can continue with their assessment or for existing Carers whether the Carer needs to be presented to the fostering panel for their consideration.
The decision maker will make a final decision on the Carer based on the guidance below, the panel recommendations and any other possible mitigating factors.
Completed and returned CRB checks will be checked against any information provided by the individual concerned as part of the assessment process.
In all cases where a recorded item is returned the SSW and Registered Manager must be notified.
When completed checks have been returned the SSW will make a note of the outcome of the check, its date and number on the Carers Form F.
Where a discrepancy exists between the disclosed information and the information provided by the CRB check the Registered Manager must be informed and he/she will provide guidance on how to proceed. For existing Foster Cares these details will be recorded on their review report.
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Wholistic Fostering is committed to valuing and retaining its Foster Carers. This is essential to both Carers and the organisation as it improves and develops Carer’s individual expertise and in so doing helps improve the levels of services the Agency can offer and also increases standards. Foster Carers are essential to the operation of the Agency.
There are a great number of agencies available to Carers to choose from and quality of support Carers receive is essential to Carer retention. The negative aspects of losing experienced Carers are the associated recruitment and training costs.
Although the Agency as a whole has a clear duty in setting standards and recognising the valuable work undertaken by Carers it is essential for SSWs to recognise their roles and provide continuous support to sustain their Carers.
As the front line of the service the quality of care provided by Foster Carers is frequently directly linked to the quality of support they receive from their SSWs and agency.
It is also important to think about the perceptions that staff and Carers may have within an Agency. Wholistic Fostering will actively promote an environment where staff and Carers are viewed and seen as working as part of the same team with a common purpose e.g. SSWs and Carers will be expected to attend training events together.
Everything that any person does within the Agency can have a knock on effect to another person e.g. not answering the phone or delays in returning calls will frustrate the caller, this in turn may leave an issue unresolved or an incident unreported. Staff and Carers alike must be aware of the need for attention to detail and the expectation of high quality care.
We want Carers to feel that they have a genuine say in the running of the Agency that they can influence positive change (e.g. Carer rep) and they feel part of a professional team of people offering a good care service.
If Carers are well supported, recognised for the task they undertake, have regular placement and are properly rewarded the numbers of Carers wishing to leave the Agency will be kept to a minimum.
The following is a list of reasons why carers may leave an agency. They are not ranked in any order as some issues are more important to an individual than others, or it may not be any one issue on its own, but a number of factors.
Key Factors - Carer Retention
A key role of the management committee is to ensure that the service levels and standards of the Agency are maintained. To ensure the Directors of the Agency are in touch with the needs of the Carers; a Carers representative will be elected to sit on the committee to enable Carers to provide direct feedback to the partners on issues which either concerns them or which they feel positive about.
There are many reasons why Carers resign. Wholistic Fostering believe that if Foster Carers feel they are valued and supported the number of resignations will be kept to a minimum. It is not in the Agency’s interest to lose Carers or have an excess of resignations. Therefore we want Carers to truly feel they are part of the Agency and that they can affect positive change.
Not all Carer resignations are due to negative reasons and this must be recognised e.g. Carers may resign due to a change in personal circumstances or retirement.
All resignations will be dealt with on their own merits. However, no Carer will be allowed to resign if there are concerns about their practices until these have been fully investigated. In these circumstances the Carers will be made aware of the Agency’s position at the earliest opportunity.
Every effort must be made to explore the reason for the resignation. As stated earlier it may just be a change in circumstances, but there may be a reason for the resignation which can be addressed. Experience has shown that some Carers are unwilling to express their concerns for fear of being ostracised. Many reasons why Carers resign can be quickly and effectively dealt with (See Carers Retention Policy).
The underlying principle of this policy is that Carers have a right to choice and a right to resign. This policy is also in line with current legislative requirements.
Current legislation does not say much on the resignation process except that to resign a Carer puts their resignation in writing to their Agency and on the 29th day after their resignation has been received they are no longer that Agency’s Carer.
Therefore where there are genuine concerns about standards and practice the Carer’s resignation must be responded to without delay, usually within 7 days.
Where there are children in placement the matter is slightly more complex and the children’s well being must be taken into consideration. In these circumstances the Fostering Networks Protocol for Transferring Carers will be used as guidance.
However, it must be remembered that this document has no legal standing and each situation may be slightly different depending on circumstances.
When a notice to resign is received an exit interview will be arranged. This is standard practice and is part of the Agency’s quality assurance process i.e. if we are able to identify the reason for Carer resignations, we can improve services to reduce their occurrences. The interview will be conducted by a person who does not normally support the Carer. A written report will be made of the interview and distributed to all parties concerned.
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Wholistic Fostering mainly use electronic forms - our policy is we don't wish to create paper where it is not necessary - it's less costly, more effective and better for the environment if we utilise electronic forms. Below are links to the forms you would most often require access in your role as a foster parent.
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