Support and Supervision

1. Introduction

As a foster carer you will be well supported to ensure that plans for children in your care remain in their best interests. You are an important part of the team around the child, who will also support you. You will be actively involved in planning for the children in your care, and your views are valued by the fostering service provider and will help to positively influence a child’s progress.

In Hertfordshire there are 10 fostering teams in total:

• 4 Mainstream fostering teams (East, North, South and West);
• 2 Family and Friends teams;
• 1 Supported lodgings team;
• 1 Specialist fostering team (ARC hub);
• 1 ARC fostering support team;
• 1 Shared care team.

You will face many challenges when you become a foster carer and you will also feel very rewarded when you see a child placed with you progress in a positive way. Once approved you will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker. The primary task of the Supervising Social Worker is to supervise and support you to enable you to carry out your role as a foster carer. The support you receive from your Supervising Social Worker is also designed to help you to cope with the additional demands of fostering on your family life.

You will receive regular and effective supervision that is focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback. Supervision is an important part of practice and as foster carers it is considered a key part of your training and development and an opportunity to reflect and learn from fostering experiences. Supervision also allows you time to consider complex case dilemmas and give you space to think through and share strategies and ways of helping a child your care with your Supervising Social Worker.

The Supervising Social Worker will ensure you have the necessary guidance including an understanding about working within the National Minimum Standards for Fostering and all the fostering service's policies, procedures and guidance.

The Supervising Social Worker will also work closely with the child's social worker.

There will also be a number of other places you can get support from including:

• The child's social worker;
• Foster carer buddy and Peer support foster carers;
• Other foster carers including Foster Carers' Support Groups;
• Fostering Children’s practitioners;
• ARC Fostering support team;
• Other professionals;
• Fostering Out of Hours support line.

It is the social worker for the child/young person in the foster placement who holds responsibility for specific advice or support for the child and their Care Plan and Placement Plan.

2. Supervision visits and Support to approved foster carers

See also: Hertfordshire Social Work Procedures Manual, Support and Supervision of Foster Carers Procedure