The Foster Home and Health and Safety

1. Introduction

As part of your preparation to foster, you will have been provided with training on health and safety and be clear on what your responsibilities are as a carer. This will be continually reviewed 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.

2. Equipment

Your Supervising Social Worker will talk to you about any safety equipment the fostering service may be able to offer.

You can request baby equipment via your Supervising Social Worker, who will need to gain their manager’s approval before it is purchased.

If you need to purchase equipment for an older child such as a bed, wardrobe, drawers, you should purchase these yourself after discussion with your Supervising Social Worker or your assessing social worker about how much the fostering service will contribute towards the items. You will be required to keep the receipts, for reimbursement.

If you have equipment that is old or in a poor condition that needs replacing, it is your responsibility to dispose of this. The fostering service expects you to decorate and furnish the room(s) available for fostering before your first placement. The room(s) should be large enough to fit a bed, wardrobe and a chest of drawers.

We expect that you will have a computer / laptop / tablet in your household for your personal / fostering use and one for use by foster child/children/young person as well.

Any unacceptable health and safety or other risks identified which can be hazards in fostering should be discussed with you and the measures to be taken must be clarified, including who is responsible, with timescales and finance, e.g. window locks, provision of smoke alarm. If the matter is of how to deal practically within the environment of the foster home, discussions and expectations must be put in writing, e.g. how to protect young children of the foster family, care and control of pets.

Things to consider:

• All children / young people in the household should have enough space to play, undertake homework and to spend time alone in a safe space if they need to;
• Windows must be safe, with locks or safety catches fitted to prevent children from falling out;
• Blinds should be checked to ensure there are no dangerous hanging fittings;
• When curtains and furnishings are replaced, they should be non-flammable and conform to all UK / EU standards;
• Low level sockets require safety covers when young children are being looked after. Sockets should not be overloaded. Trailing flexes and leads from electrical equipment should not be a hazard and constitute a danger;
• Wires, ornaments and pictures should not be left in places where they are obvious hazards;
• Toys should be carefully considered in relation to health and safety. Foster children who ride bikes must use cycling helmets. Foster children who go horse riding should do so with a registered instructor and wear a safety helmet. If riding outside, a body protector should also be used. You should also ensure that the riding school has appropriate insurance;
• You should guard / protect young children from heat sources, such as radiators, and fireguards are essential if you use a fire (electric / gas / coal / wood burner);
• Sharp edges such as tables should have corner protectors (age appropriate);
• You must ensure your home and contents insurers are informed that you are caring for foster children in your home and that the insurers have given written confirmation of this fact. You should keep a copy of the letter you send to insurers so that even if you do not receive a reply, you have proof that you have notified the company.

3. Fire Safety

The whole family should decide on a fire exit strategy which identifies which exits you might use.

The foster home should have smoke alarms, one on each floor of the house, purchased by the Foster carer or they can sometimes be provide by the local Fire and Rescue service. You should make sure batteries are changed as needed.

You should avoid multi-way adapters as these are a fire hazard.

When doors and windows are locked e.g. at night, all members of the house including the foster child should know where to find the keys in the case of an emergency.

You should store matches and flammable liquids safely out of the reach of any child.

Where children have allergies, preventative measures should be detailed in their Care and Placement Plans and Health Care Plan - for example following good hygiene routines in terms of utensils and crockery, hand washing, avoiding cross contamination in the kitchen area, checking labels for allergens and any agreed allergen avoidance in the home.

4. Kitchen Safety

You should make sure that all appliances are safe and in good working order.

There should be no leads from kettles or irons hanging where a child could pull it.

When you are cooking turn pan handles towards the back of the cooker so they cannot be pulled, and, if you have small children, use a stair gate to keep them out of the kitchen.

Cat litter trays should not be kept in the kitchen and must be kept out of reach of children.

Toxic/hazardous substances, such as bleach, cleaning materials, medicines, glue and aerosols should be stored safely and securely out of the reach of any child.

5. Outdoor Areas

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 access.

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 okay. Poisonous plants should not be in the garden. If they already are, you should remove them.

6. Pets

You should not keep a dog which comes within the scope of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, either because it is a banned type of dog (any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier; Japanese Tosa; Dogo Argentino; Fila Brasiliero, XL Bully), or a dog (of any breed/type) which is dangerously out of control, including on private premises. It would not be appropriate to place a child or young person in a household where such a classified dog is being kept. Considerations in relation to dogs will include where/how they are kept. A recent Review conducted by Public Health Wales concluded that the most important piece of advice for members of the public is 'to never leave a baby or young child unsupervised with a dog, even for a moment, no matter how well you know that dog'.

As part of the annual review, consideration may also be given to the breeding of animals and/or working animals in relation to the impact of the welfare of the child/young person in your care.

Where children or young people 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.

7. Gas Appliances

You should make sure that any appliances are in good working order and regularly serviced by a Gas Safe engineer. You may be asked to produce the certificate at the time of your foster carer review.

8. Transport

There is a separate section regarding this, see Transport.

9. Concerns about Health and Safety

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 are 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 creating and maintain a safe and caring environment. They will also help you with developing your Safer Caring Plan (see Developing a Safer Caring Plan) and arrange a break (respite) from fostering.

This information will be reviewed and amended along with any changes in legislation to make sure you provide the safest possible family home.