Foster carers' charter
Herefordshire's Fostering Service and foster carers have worked in partnership to produce this charter. It represents a commitment on behalf of Herefordshire Council in its role as the corporate parent, the fostering service and the foster carer to work in partnership in the best interests of the children in their care.
It is a promise, owned by everybody involved, to strive for best practice at all times.
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- Roles and commitment
- Agreement between Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire's Fostering Service and foster carers
- 1. Working in partnership and valuing relationships
- 2. Information
- 3. Communication and consultation
- 4. Clarity about decisions
- 5. Support
- 6. Learning and development
- 7. Fair treatment
- 8. Respect for the child
Roles and commitment
The role of the corporate parent
The role of the corporate parent when placing and supporting children in a foster home is to:
- Act in their best interests, and promote their physical and mental health and wellbeing
- Encourage them to express their views, wishes and feelings and take them into account
- Help them to gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the placing authority and its relevant partners
- Promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes for them
- Ensure that they are safe, and that there is stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
- Prepare them for adulthood and independent living
The role of the Fostering Service
The Fostering Service aims to provide stable and good quality foster care for children who are valued, supported and encouraged to grow and develop as individuals.
To achieve this aim, we recruit, train and approve foster carers and deliver ongoing support to them, in order to give them the skills and confidence they need to develop meaningful relationships with the children and young people they care for and provide stable and loving homes while they are part of the foster family.
The role of the foster carer
Foster carers are at the heart of the foster care service.
They are assessed, trained and supported to look after children and young people by developing meaningful relationships in a family environment, providing them with stability, care, love and an opportunity to grow and develop and to reach their potential.
Their relationships with other members of the fostering team around the child are based on mutual trust and respect.
This charter explains what all parties can expect from one another.
Agreement between Herefordshire Council, Herefordshire's Fostering Service and foster carers, and what each party can expect.
All parties agree:
- To work in partnership
- To provide information to the other
- To communicate and consult
The Fostering Service agrees:
- To provide clarity about decisions
- To supervise and support its carers
- To provide opportunities for learning and development
Foster carers agree:
- To treat children as a member of the family
- To respect and value the child in their care
- To take ownership of their own development and to access support
- To treat carers fairly and with respect
1. Working in partnership and valuing relationships
All parties recognise that each have skills and expertise essential for the wellbeing of the child in care. Herefordshire Council is the corporate parent and has overall responsibility for the child. The Fostering Service aims to provide stable and high quality foster care for children who are valued, supported and encouraged to grow and develop as individuals. Herefordshire's Fostering Service recognises it is the skills and expertise of foster carers that makes the biggest difference to the lives of the children they care for.
Herefordshire Council understands that we must provide foster carers with the best possible opportunity to give the children in our care a loving, stable home, and to enable those children to enjoy a positive, nurturing experience of family life - one that does not set them apart from their peers.
We must:
- Treat foster carers as experts on the child and include them in all relevant meetings where planning and decision making affect them or the children they care for
- Treat foster carers without discrimination and respect them as colleagues
- Value foster carers' skills and expertise equally to those of other professionals
- Embed the Keep Connected Principles into practice to support children to remain in contact with former foster families where it is in the best interest of the child
- Respect confidentiality
All parties will:
- Value the skills and expertise of each other
- Be co‐professionals in the care of the child
- Respect confidentiality
- Treat the other party with respect
- Value each other as colleagues
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Value foster carers' skills and expertise equally to those of other professionals
- Recognise that foster carers are the people who live with children every day and usually know them best
- Include foster carers in all meetings that affect them and the children they care for
- Ensure that our fostering service will comply with fostering regulations and guidance
- Treat foster carers without discrimination and respect them as colleagues
- Treat foster carers as professionals and show professional courtesy in respect to appropriate timekeeping and meeting arrangements.
The foster carers will:
- Demonstrate their expertise and make use of their skills to the best of their ability
- Provide children with a positive experience of family life
- Attend all planned meetings in a professional capacity and provide written and oral input as required
- Work with the individuals and agencies involved with the child they care for such as the child's social worker, fostering service, school, and health and religious bodies
- Work with birth parents, wider family and any other significant people in a child's life
- Meet the standards set out in fostering regulations and guidance and follow policies and procedures
- Inform the fostering social worker about factors that impact on their fostering including changes in the household
- Inform the fostering social worker about any difficulties that arise for them
- Inform the child's social worker about any concerns they have related to the child
- Maintain an open dialogue with the fostering service
- Positively promote foster care within Herefordshire
2. Information
Information is vital in order for foster carers to provide care that meets the child's needs. Similarly, Herefordshire's Fostering Service needs to be kept informed about important events and incidents in the lives of the children for whom it holds a legal responsibility.
All parties will work together to agree as much as possible of the placement plan in advance of the placement. For emergency placements, it will be agreed as soon as possible afterwards but a minimum of information needs to be available with placement.
We must:
- Share, with the Fostering Service and/or foster carer, all the relevant information needed in order to care safely for the child and to support the child in fulfilling their potential
- Provide this information in writing prior to the placement, or as soon as possible in the case of emergency placements
- Secure clear and timely plans for the child's care
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Provide foster carers with all the information available to the Fostering Service in advance of the placement (except for emergency placements) to enable foster carers to care safely for the child
- Provide foster carers with information on all financial matters including tax, allowances and additional entitlements
- Make available to foster carers full details of all relevant policies and procedures
The foster carers will:
- Keep written recordings detailing day to day information relating to the child or young person
- Inform the child's social worker as soon as possible about any significant incidents and important events in the child's life
- Inform their fostering social worker of significant events or changes in the carer's life or family
3. Communication and consultation
We believe that open and honest dialogue is the key to a good relationship.
We must:
- Facilitate communication between foster carers and decision makers
- Ensure that we consult with foster carers in a meaningful way on matters that affect them
- Give foster carers timely feedback from consultations
- Provide clear information on how foster carers can give us feedback and report concerns
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Support the Foster Carer Representatives to run groups and communicate with other carers, professionals and the Fostering Service
- Ensure there are regular meetings for all foster carers and Fostering Service staff for information sharing and practice development
- Herefordshire's Fostering Service will provide foster carers with an annual foster carer conference (unless it is not possible to do so safely, for example during Covid)
- Regularly seek feedback from foster carers - for example for annual reviews, after their assessment and approval and upon endings of placements
The foster carers will:
- Run their own Foster Carer Representatives meetings supported by Herefordshire's Fostering Service. The aim will be to work cooperatively with a common understanding and shared goals
- Respond to local consultations and discussion in order to inform the development of the service. The role of the elected Foster Carer Representatives is available to help support this dialogue
- Meet with councillors, service managers and others in order to promote dialogue and a good working relationship
- The Foster Carer Representatives will meet regularly with Herefordshire's Fostering Service staff. An agreed group of carers will be consulted about new policies, procedures and paperwork which will affect foster carers
4. Clarity about decisions
We recognise that in order for children to live a full family life, foster carers must be able to make decisions regarding the children they look after.
We must:
- Ensure that foster carers are able to make everyday decisions that mean that their fostered child is not treated differently from their peers and can feel part of their family
- Provide clarity about any decision foster carers cannot take at the outset so that everyone is clear about their respective responsibilities
- Deal swiftly with any requests for decision making on matters that are outside of the foster carer's authority
- Foster carers will make everyday decisions consistent with the care plan
- At the time of placement, Herefordshire Council will provide clarity about any decision the foster carer cannot make and who will make those decisions, including escalation process if that person is not available
- The delegated authority tool will form part of the placement plan
5. Support
Herefordshire Council recognises that fostering is an isolating and challenging task, and that timely support makes all the difference to the fostering family and the quality of life for the child in their care.
We must:
- Ensure there is a robust post-approval induction process
- Respond positively to requests for additional support, including respite and short break support and out of hours support
- Provide foster carers with regular supervision and phone contact
- Give foster carers honest and open feedback
- Provide foster carers with access to 24-hour support from people with fostering expertise
- Pay foster carers' allowances, expenses and fees in a timely manner
- Ensure that there is a local group, recognised by the Fostering Service, where foster carers and their family can find support and share experiences with other fostering families
- Support foster carers when facilitating contact with birth families
- Follow the Keep Connected Principles to support foster carers to maintain contact after a child moves on where it is in the best interest of the child
- Recognise and champion the contribution foster carers and their families make to fostering
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Provide a duty support service and an out of hours emergency service
- Provide regular fostering social worker visits at agreed intervals
- Provide foster carers with access to The Fostering Network support services (independent mediation and advice, stress support line)
- Provide support groups for foster carers
- Support the Herefordshire Foster Carer Representatives in their roles
The foster carers will:
- Attend foster carer forums and meetings
- Support the Foster Carer Representatives
- Be supportive of other foster carers both formally and informally
- Prioritise supervision
- Be open and honest about any needs and issues, and seek advice and support if required
6. Learning and development
We believe foster carers must have learning and development opportunities throughout their fostering career. This will ensure they have the skills and knowledge they need, and allow them to develop their practice in order that they can best support the children in their care.
We must:
- Ensure all foster carers have an individual Personal Development Plan which is reviewed and updated at least annually
- Provide foster carers and their family with appropriate, accessible and relevant training by trainers who understand fostering
- Support foster carers to develop meaningful relationships with the children in their care and the other members of the team around the child
- Continue to provide all foster carers with other development opportunities which make the best use of their skills and expertise, such as mentoring or providing training or support
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Provide and deliver a comprehensive training programme to meet the training requirements of their foster carers and support foster carers in accessing training
- Support foster carers in developing an appropriate Personal Development Plan that will meet the current and future placement needs
The foster carers will:
- Ensure they complete the required level of training each year
- Ensure they are proactive in keeping their knowledge and skills up-to-date
- Agree a development plan as part of the annual review process and attend the training detailed in the plan
- Attend and contribute to support groups, fostering meetings, and other relevant meetings as required
7. Fair treatment
We recognise that foster carers have a right to be treated fairly, no matter what the circumstances.
We must:
- Consult with foster carers before changing terms and conditions
- Ensure honesty and openness in all of our discussions and communications with foster carers
- Provide a framework for dealing with allegations, including access to independent support, and adhere to agreed timescales
- Ensure that foster carers are treated with respect, kept informed and provided with emotional support should they be subject to an allegation
- Ensure that foster carers know the arrangements for the payment of fees and allowances in the event that they are not able to foster while the subject of an allegation
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Ensure foster carers are treated with respect, kept informed, and provided with emotional support should they be subject to an allegation
- Ensure foster carers are provided with independent advice and support during the allegation period
- Provide a written procedure for the management of an allegation including agreed timescales and payment to the foster carer during the allegation process
- Challenge unfair or discriminatory treatment appropriately, and respond promptly to concerns raised by foster carers, children, relevant others in relation to this
The foster carers will:
- Agree to attend training as detailed in their Foster Carer Review/Personal Development Plan
- Utilise the Safe Care training and documentation to prevent unnecessary allegations
- Challenge and raise concerns they may have regarding unfair treatment or discrimination to themselves, the child in their care or relevant others
8. Respect for the child
All children have a right to family life. Every child and young person should be respected as an individual and be supported in meeting their needs and achieving their aspirations and potential.
The Herefordshire Fostering Service and foster carers agree we must:
- Develop a meaningful relationship with the child - understand their needs, support their growth, become an advocate and champion for them, and maintain relationships with them when they move on where in the child's best interest
- Care for the child in a manner that recognises and respects their identity - including their ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural heritage
- Afford the same level of protection and care to a child as we would our own child
- Support the child to make decisions regarding their own lives, as appropriate to their age, understanding and ability
- Support the child to inform the development of the services which affect their care, as appropriate to their age, understanding and ability
The Herefordshire Fostering Service will:
- Ensure the child is listened to and has a voice in decisions made for them
- Define how a child's religious, linguistic and cultural heritage can be promoted within the care plan. Encourage equality in dealings with foster carers and children in care
- Ensure the child has the opportunity to influence decisions at statutory Children in Care review meetings and other planning sessions
- Recognise that birth children are part of the foster family and respect and support the role they play
- Show respect and value for children of all ages and abilities
- Give a voice to children in care through the Children in Care Council and Participation Team
The foster carers will:
- Ensure they listen to and take account of the child's views, wishes and feelings, and will advocate for these as needed
- Welcome children into the family and will respect and nurture them
- Respect and promote a child's religious, linguistic and cultural heritage. Foster carers will promote equality in gender, sexual orientation, race and all other areas
- Afford the same level of protection and care to a child as they would to their own children and in accordance with the National Minimum Standards
- Ensure the child has the right to make decisions regarding their own lives, as appropriate to their age and understanding
- Encourage the children to take part in the Children in Care Council and Participation Team, giving them an opportunity to voice their opinion
- Support and encourage education through partnership with schools, attend PEPS and parent evenings and having a positive influence on decisions made that may affect the child's educational future
- Work with the virtual school and education staff to prevent exclusions and ensure excluded children have access to appropriate education provision
- Support the health and wellbeing of all young people in their care. They will ensure that on placement, all children are registered as permanent patients with a local GP, optician and dentist. All health appointments will be kept, any health recommendations actioned and any health needs identified in a timely manner. The health assessment/passport will be kept up to date and passed on as appropriate if there is a change of placement
- Provide the children's nutritional requirements as per healthy living guidelines
- Support children's emotional wellbeing through the good practice guidelines and training in behaviour management
- Recognise and value the importance of the child's birth family and promote appropriate contact and relationships
- Encourage and support children to pursue their own interests by facilitating their participation in clubs and societies as appropriate
- Provide the child with pocket money in line with the council's policies