You may have heard that becoming a foster carer means joining the ‘fostering team’. So what exactly does this mean? Well, as a foster carer you will be part of a team who all work together to plan for the child’s future and ensure their needs are met in a safe and secure placement.

Who  is part of this team?

As a foster carer you will have a designated Supervising Social Worker who works for the Agency and their role will be offer you support and guidance throughout the placement, work with you to match potential foster children with you and your family. Your supervising social worker will manage your training and development and will be available to discuss any issues/ problems you may be experiencing.

Fostered Children have their own Social Worker who will be representing the Local Authority (who have overall responsibility for the child) and the child and their family. They will be your link before the placement to find out as much as possible about the child and once the child is in placement they will work with you to make appropriate contact arrangements with the child’s family. They are responsible for ensuring that the child’s needs are being met and their ‘care plan’ is being carried out.

As a foster carer you will be required to work together with the child’s birth family to plan the child’s future. This will vary in degrees as some parents are more involved in their child’s care than others. You will be required to work professionally with parents regardless of any feelings you may experience about their parenting.

Other agencies you may expect to work with will include teaching staff, Learning Mentors, Special Educational Needs co-ordinators, GP’s and other health professionals. If the child has experienced a great deal of trauma or abuse during their lives they may have input from Therapists or counsellors and you may be asked to be part of this process.

The foster carer role is one of a child care professional working in conjunction with other professionals to ensure the best outcomes for children and to ensure the legal requirements regarding the care foster children receive are met.

Join the Fostering Team and do something special!