Our expectations for foster carers.
We expect all foster carers to:
- care for children and young people as a member of your family, providing a positive experience of family life
- contribute to positive outcomes for children in line with their care and placement plans
- work as a core professional in the team around the children, attending relevant meetings and taking children to appointments (such as placement planning meetings, Child in Care reviews, Personal Education Plan meetings, health assessments and CAMHS appointments)
- fill in a log about how children you care for are progressing and any issues or concerns, and share this regularly with your supervising social worker
- do all health assessments, dental checks, immunisations and strengths and difficulties questionnaires for the children you care for and correctly report
- give us your email address, so that we can communicate with you
- give children and young people the best chance of achieving positive outcomes by engaging with plans to support placements (if there are difficulties in a placement, a placement support meeting will be organised and if we agree that the child should move, this will normally happen over a period of at least 28 days following the meeting)
- do the training identified in your Personal Development Plan
- use your allowances to budget for all the needs of the children you care for, any possible additional allowances are in the special payments policy and must be agreed in advance
- go to supervision and support groups to give and receive support, get to know other foster carers, share experiences and learning, and contribute to the development of the fostering service
- meet the standards set out in fostering regulations and guidance, work to the Foster Carer Agreement, and follow departmental policies and procedures
- achieve a positive annual review, including positive feedback from children and children’s social workers
- support the child to have time with their family and important people
- be available to take the child to school if this is possible for you
Level 2
To progress from non fee paid/Level 1 to Level 2, you must fill in an application with your supervising social worker showing how you meet the additional requirements below. You must get agreement from the Fostering Team Manager and Agency Decision Maker. Fees will be reviewed as part of your annual review to ensure that requirements are met.
Level 2 carers must:
- meet the expectations required of all foster carers
- have completed the Skills to Foster training, and commit to doing 2 training courses in the following year
- be fully approved by the fostering panel
- work with your supervising social worker to develop a Personal Development Plan to identify areas for development
- do all mandatory training within the required timescales
- engage positively in regular supervision with your supervising social worker
- show a commitment to your ongoing training and development
- actively contribute to your annual review in a timely manner
- support family time and show ability to work with birth families as appropriate
- be prepared to care for children for short term or emergency periods in line with your approval
Level 3
Level 3 carers must:
- demonstrate all the requirements at Level 2
- participate in therapeutic work to support the children in your care as required, including engagement with Bristol Therapeutic Support Service
- not refuse any appropriate matched placements
- have at least one carer available in the day or be able to make arrangements at short notice if, for example, children are excluded from school
- attend your agreed supervision group regularly (at least 9 of 12 meetings per year)
- engage with and support other foster carers, such as through buddying
- be willing to contribute to training, preparation courses, information sessions and recruitment events
- do training and commit to ongoing training to meet the competencies required at Level 3
- evidence a positive annual review including your feedback, analysis from your supervising social worker and feedback from children and childcare social workers
- commit to and complete ongoing training to meet the competencies required at Level 3
