Supporting you as a foster carer

Support, help, patience and reassurance can help a child or young person come to terms with decisions that are made about their future. The support and training we provide will enable you to give a high standard of care to the children you look after and develop new skills.

The following support is offered to all our foster carers:

• you will be expected to attend a short foundation training course where you will be able to discover and discuss more about the challenges and rewards of fostering
• your own supervising social worker who will visit you on a regular basis
• local foster carer support groups
• various financial allowances to cover general expenses, travel arrangements, activities and celebrations
• the opportunity to work through different fostering ‘Levels’ (payment for skills) and receive additional allowances in recognition of skills and experience gained
• on-going training once you are approved including the opportunity to study for NVQ Level 3 in Childcare or the BTEC Advance Skills in Foster Care Level 3
• ‘Out of hours’ telephone support and access to the Emergency Duty Team
• the provision of essential equipment
• larger families transport allowance
• free membership to the Fostering Network offering information on training events, a legal advice service and access to a confidential Advice and Mediation Service.