Children and Young People’s Guide to Foster Care

Hello, and welcome!

We hope this guide will help to answer some of your questions and help you understand who is going to care for and support you.

There are many reasons why you can’t live at home, and you may be worried about this. This guide will help you to understand there is a lot of people around you that will be able to support you to feel safe and part of a family.

Who’s Who?

There are lots of workers who are responsible to make sure that you are okay, and they are part of something called a care team. This means they will work together and listen to your views about how you are cared for and any worries that you may have.

Your social worker

Every child who is fostered has their own social worker. Your social worker is:

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Your fostering social worker

Every foster carer has their own social worker. Your fostering social worker’s name is:

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

If there is anyone else, you can keep their details below:

My Plan

When you come into foster care your social worker will complete a care plan for you, this lets everybody know what they need to do to keep you safe. Your foster carer will work with your social worker to make sure your plan is working for you.

You will be able to contribute to your plan, as this is YOUR plan. You can ask your foster carer and your social worker to put forward what you want and how you are feeling. You will also have an independent reviewing officer (IRO) who will make sure we are all working together and keeping you safe. You can contact your IRO at any time.

How can I contact my IRO?

Name:

Phone:

Email:

Seeing Your Family and Friends

Can I see my family?

You will want to know if you can see your family, and the answer is YES you can. Your social worker will support your foster carer to make sure you see your family; this may be every week or every month. Don’t worry about anything as your social worker will explain all the arrangements to your foster carer and they will take you to where you will meet your family.

Can I see my friends?

Don’t worry you can see your friends; your social worker will make sure the foster carer knows who you can spend time with and what arrangements need to be in place. If your social worker feels it would not be a good thing for you to see your friends, they will explain the reasons for this decision to you.

My family I want to see:

Who will be looking after me?

Foster families are all different. You may live with a family or with a single foster carer. There may be other children living with you and these could be other fostered children or the foster carers own children. You may also be sharing your new home with pets and animals but don’t worry we will make sure these are all safe to be with.

We all work together to make sure your foster carers can look after you and that they know what they need to do to make sure you are kept safe. Your social worker has made sure they have completed lots of checks on the foster carers to make sure they can look after and care for you and can meet your needs.

Your foster carers will have their own social worker that visits them a lot to make sure they are caring for you and keeping you safe. The fostering social worker will spend time with you and make sure you are happy. They will ask you if there is anything they can help the foster carers with to make sure you are listened to, feel supported and cared for and feel relaxed in their home.

Your foster carers will complete daily records to make sure everybody knows how you are feeling. These will be seen by your social worker and the fostering social worker and is a way to make sure you are being cared for. If you think you might want to know more about the fostering service, you can ask to speak with the fostering social worker or ask to see the statement of purpose which explains everything about it.

Your fostering social worker is called:

Name:

Phone:

Email:

Family Life

Living Together

At first, it may feel strange living with a different family. Your foster carers know this and will do everything possible to help you to settle in. You can help by letting them know of your likes and dislikes. For example, there might be certain foods that you don’t like, or you might not like the bedroom light switched off.

Everyone Is Different

All families have different ways they do things, these may be called the house rules. These may be different from those you have had before, and your foster carer will explain these to you. Your foster carer will make sure you have a place to keep all your things. As you get to know your foster carers you should feel able to talk to them about any worries or problems you have. However, if you are worried about anything and don’t feel you can tell your foster carers you should talk to your social worker.

House Routines, Allowances and using your Mobile Phone

It is going to feel different when you first come to live with your foster carer, however they are going to support you to feel safe. The family will have routines that they will want you get used to so you can feel part of their family.

Your foster carer will treat you with respect and make sure you are being listened too. It is important for your foster carer too understand that it may take time for you to settled into your new routines, and they will support you in becoming part of the family and include you in family activities and gatherings.

While you are living with your foster family you will be given pocket money. The amount you will receive will be explained to you when you arrive. Your foster carer will provide activities that they will pay for and when you need new clothes your foster carer will provide these and will make sure you have a choice of the clothes you want to wear.

When you come to your new home, your social worker will already have spoken to the foster carer about the use of your mobile phone. They will have explained when and where you can use it. We know it will be important for you to stay in touch with your family and friends however it is important that you are kept safe so your social worker and foster carer will work together to ensure they know you are safe when using your phone and that you are using it appropriately.

Remember! We always want you to feel safe and part of the family, if you don’t feel this, you should talk to your social worker, the fostering social worker, your foster carer or another adult you trust such as a teacher.

Learning, School and College

We want you to make the most of your time with your new foster family. They will encourage you to go to school/college and will ensure they have in place arrangements to get you to and from school/college every day. If you have any problems in school, please tell your foster carer who will try their best to sort these out.

Your foster carer will support you and help you with any homework you will have and need support with. It is important you tell your foster carer if you have any work or projects you need to complete and the timescale for these so they can support you to complete on time. This could be fun to do together and help you make the most of your time in school.

If you get any letters from school, it is important you give these to your foster carer. This will make sure they know about any school trips or meetings they may need to attend. Your carer will attend all parents’ evenings and school activities such as plays, sports days or shows.

Helping You Look After Yourself

Your foster carers will help you know how you can stay healthy and be active. They will make sure you are physically well and look after your emotional health.

Your foster carers will ensure you are registered with all the relevant people, such as a GP/dentist and optician. They make sure you go to all your appointments. If you want them to, they will go in with you for support.

Whilst you are with your foster family, they will support you to know how to clean your teeth and make sure you are washing yourself properly. They will do this in an appropriate way that resects your privacy and that you understand.

Your Memories

All our foster carers will help you make sense of why you are living with them. They will make a record of your journey from the time you arrive until the time you leave the foster family including taking appropriate pictures and obtaining keep sakes as memories.

Your carer will work with you to complete a journey book which can be a fun activity to do together. You will take this with you when you leave as the book will be a great way for you to remember your time with your foster family.

Interests!

We are all different and enjoy doing different things.

It is important that you tell your foster carer what you enjoy doing so they can support you with this. For example, if you go to any clubs your foster carer will make sure you can attend these.

Whatever you usually do or new things you would like to do, make sure you tell your foster carer. Most of the time your foster carer will most likely enjoy doing these activities with you or going to watch and support you

Our Promise to You

Assured Fostering has made the following promises to children and young people in care.

We promise:

1. To treat you with respect and as an individual.

2. To help find you the best available home, where you feel safe, cared about and treated well for as long as needed.

3. To help you stay in touch with family and friends, like other young people not in care, where it is safe and appropriate (for example, sleepovers at your friend’s homes).

4. To take what you say seriously by listening to you and trying to act on what you say.

5. That you will have a social worker who will get to know you well and who will keep in contact and listen to what you say.

6. To really listen to the things you would like to change about the care system to make your daily life better where there are problems (where it is appropriate to do so).

7. To work in an open and honest way and share any information or changes with you.

8. To involve you in any decisions, plans and changes that affect you and your future. Your social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer and foster carers will make sure that this happens.

9. To make sure we offer you the opportunities, guidance and support needed in placement, in education and all other areas of life.

10. To help you be the best that you possibly can at school, college, training and employment.

11. To give you all the support and help you need to make a success of moving on from care to adult life.

12. To work together and support you during every transition in your life, while you are looked after, for example, during placement moves, when you are leaving care and similar situations.

Just Keep Talking…

You have rights like everyone else does. You have the right to feel listened too and have your thoughts and feelings taken seriously. If there is something or someone upsetting you, you should talk to your foster carer and/or your social worker as they will try their very best to sort things out for you.

If you are still unhappy that people are not listening to you then tell somebody you can trust, such as a teacher, who will then speak to you social worker. If you want to speak to somebody outside of the fostering service there are plenty of people that are there to help you.

The next page has all the information you will need to contact people who can help you.