What happens now I am approved?

1. Welcome

Congratulations! Now that you have been approved as a foster carer, you will be allocated a Supervising Social Worker from the fostering service. They will make sure you have all the information and support needed to offer the best possible placements to children and young people.

2. Your Role

Providing a safe and caring environment for the child/young person;
Supporting and meeting the health needs of the child/young person;
Ensuring a child/young person’s attendance at educational settings including nursery, school, college and any placement. Encourage them to learn and help them with their homework;
Contributing to life story work while a child is in placement with you;
Supporting and, if appropriate, facilitating contact with a child’s birth family and significant others;
Supporting and, if appropriate, facilitating the transition between a fostering placement and an adoptive/other placement;
Establishing routine and clear boundaries and an understanding of issues that impact upon the child/young person;
Supporting and promoting the child’s development so they can achieve their full potential and have the best life chances;
Cooperating with your Supervising Social Worker in meeting the expectations outlined in the Fostering Regulations 2011.

Your approval as a foster carer will be regularly reviewed, see Reviewing my Approval and Appeals.

You will be asked to enter into a Foster Care Agreement with the fostering service.

3. What Information do I Need When a Child is Placed

A social worker or Placements Coordinator from the fostering service will contact you when they are looking for a placement for a child/young person that is in your approval category. Information known about the child will be shared, but foster carers often find it useful to ask additional questions to help them be sure if the child/young person is best placed with them.

You may want to ask:

The name of the allocated social worker or who to contact in the future;
The child's name, age, how they identify in relation to gender, ethnic origin, and religion;
Whether the child has any special dietary, cultural, or linguistic needs;
The child’s legal status and plan for the child;
General picture of the family situation;
Contact arrangements with birth family or significant people to the child;
About the child’s health and whether they have any allergies, medical problems,or if they are currently on medication;
The name of the school, nursery or placement and if there any issues;
Whether there are barriers to communication;
Whether there are behavioural concerns;
Whether there are any known risks from the child, e.g. aggressive or sexualised behaviour;
Who will bring the child and with what clothes and belongings?
When will you have full information about the child.

You need as much information as possible about a child/ young person before they come into your home.

You should receive written information before the placement from the child’s social worker. Occasionally for example in emergencies, there can be a delay.

This should be no longer than 5 days. No information can be withheld from you without a manager’s approval and this will only be in rare cases.

4. Meeting The Child/Young Person

Wherever possible there should be a period of introductions between you, your family and the child.

This should involve:

A warm welcome and understanding attitude of how a child is likely to be feeling;
The child/young person receiving information about you, your home, and members of your family network;
The child/young person having at least one visit where possible before a placement is confirmed.

Throughout the introduction process, you should get to know the child and gently discuss household expectations and rules.

The child should be encouraged to talk about what they expect so they can sort out any concerns before the placement starts.

5. The Child's Care Plan

The child’s Care Plan provides information of the work that must be done to meet the needs of the child/young person. It is the social worker of the child or children who holds responsibility for specific advice or support in relation to the child and his or her Care Plan and Placement Plan.

6. The Child's Placement Plan

The Supervising Social Worker, you, the child/young person, family members and the child’s social worker will put together the Placement Plan. This is completed either on the day or within five days of a placement being made.

The Placement Plan covers:

Purpose of the placement;
Any agreements about health or educational needs;
The child’s personal history;
The child’s likes/dislikes;
The rules of the placement, including how the child should behave;
Agreements for contact between the child/young person, family or relevant individuals;
When social work visits to the child and yourself will happen and any review meetings.

See: Understanding Placement Plans and Looked After Reviews.

7. The Children's Guide

The child/young person should receive this when they start a placement. This guide will help children and young people understand about foster care and provide information that may be important to them. It will tell them about their rights and how they can contact people such as their Independent Reviewing Officer or Ofsted if they wish to raise a concern. It will also explain the information which the fostering service keeps on them and why, including who it might be shared with, and their right to access their case file.

More information for young people can be found on the London Borough of Sutton’s local offer for care leavers website.

If the child needs the Children’s Guide in another format such as in another language or Makaton the fostering service should provide it.