Fostering

Once approved, you will have a named supervising Social Worker whose job it is to support you and your family with the fostering task. You will receive a copy of our Carer's Handbook. This contains a wealth of information about the things you need to know about being a foster carer.

You will have a written agreement with us setting out the terms of your approval and the role and responsibilities of both you as a foster carer as well as those of the Fostering Service. This agreement will detail the number, age and sex of the children and young people that may be placed with you.

We keep copies of the written agreement and it will be subject to regular review.

You will meet with your supervising social worker on a regular basis, at least monthly and he/she will support you with your training and development needs. We have a well resourced training programme which is regularly reviewed to keep abreast of up-to-date information and knowledge. In addition there are opportunities to attend external conferences and we also invite prominent speakers and researchers to meet with our carers on occasion. New carers are expected to attend core training in their first year and any further training which is identified as part of their development plan. An SVQ Level 3 in Child Care may also be offered if you want to study for a qualification.

Foster carers have a generous respite allowance of up to 28 days per annum in recognition of the complexities of the fostering task.

Foster carers have the benefit of access to 24 hours support and advice if required through a dedicated out of hours service.