Parent and Child Fostering

• 24 hour support from an experienced Social Worker, all year round, via our dedicated phone number.
• A named, allocated Supervising Social Worker who will visit regularly and provide regular supervision
• A Peer Mentoring Scheme
• Monthly Carer Support Groups and additional informal carer social events
• A Psychological Support Service offering therapeutic support to Foster Carers
• A specific parent and child training pathway
• Additional in person and online training on a wide range of topics that are relevant to fostering
• A locally based Placements team, who are responsible for matching parent and child arrangements with your family
• A range of away days, activity sessions and outings including an annual Team Fostering holiday
• Christmas and Halloween parties for children and young people, and their fostering families
• Education Support Service
• Fostering Family Support Service
• Membership to a Life Assurance Scheme
• Parent and Child retainer payments 
• A Loyalty Bonus, paid every 5 years
• Car Mileage
• A Christmas Gift allowance
• For young people who have lived with their foster family for 6 months, access to additional funding for a range of projects or activities through our charitable trusts

As a parent and child foster carer your primary goal is to support the parent(s) ability to safely care for their baby or child. You will identify learning needs of the parent(s) and then implement strategies and offer support to meet these learning needs. Throughout this time you will support the parent to wherever possible develop a ‘good-enough’ level of parenting to enable them to move on with their child/ren.

Although you will not be offering a formal assessment of the parent and child you will be expected to share a detailed picture of the parent’s ability to care for their child/children through observations, interactions and recordings which are shared with the parent and child’s Social Worker.

You will give support with independence skills, for example, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, claiming benefits and life skills. The role of the foster carer is also to provide an opportunity for enhance the self-esteem and social skills of the parent.

The duration varies depending on the specific circumstances of the parent and child. Parents will stay in the foster home with their child or baby until the assessment is completed. Typically, this is around 12 weeks, but this can be extended or if there are safeguarding concerns it can conclude much quicker.

This very much depends on the outcome of the assessments that have been completed. If the outcome of the assessment is positive the foster carer would support the parent and child onto their next home. This could be moving in with family, independent living or supported living. If the assessment outcome is that the baby or child cannot remain living with its birth parent the foster carers would work with the Local Authority with regards to moving on plans whether that be moving to wider family members, longer term foster carers or an adoption placement.

Team Fostering has a dedicated training team who offer a wide range of training and learning opportunities for all our foster carers.

Every foster carer has an individual personal development plan which is formulated in partnership with your supervising social worker. It will identify any training you need to support you on your fostering journey as well as those of particular interest to you.

As a parent and child foster carer you have a specialist training pathway which includes specific preparation for parent and child fostering. This includes courses which cover a wide variety of areas such as how you can meet the needs of a baby or child developmentally, support a parent and child’s relationship, areas of safeguarding, matters impacting parents and children such as substance misuse and training around trauma informed practice and therapeutic care.

The full list of courses includes:

• Parent & Child Fostering (generic training - 2 days)
• Recording Skills
• Parenting SkillD
• Safeguarding
• Emergency First Aid
• Attachment
• Post-Natal Depression
• Attachment
• Post-Natal Depression
• Child Development
• Secure Base
• Drug & Alcohol Misuse
• Mental Health Awareness
• Domestic Abuse
• De-escalation & Positive Handling
• Sexual Health & Relationships
• Understanding the Effects of Poor Parenting in Childhood
• Living Independently & Budgeting Skills

Team Fostering offer a high level of support to all of our Foster Carers, all day, every day, and you will never be alone. You will have an allocated Supervising Social Worker and additionally access to the rest of our Social Work team, who are available 24 hours a day.