1

Page 1 of 5

Supervision, Support and training of Foster Carers

Policy

Fostering Relations values the foster carers approved by this agency and is committed to the provision of high quality supervision and support by its qualified social work staff. This policy sets out the legal framework for this work and describes how supervision and support will be delivered.

Legal Framework

The Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009, Schedule 6, article 1 requires fostering agencies to set out in the Foster Carer Agreement what support and training will be offered to foster carers.

National Care Standards Foster Care and Family Placement Services (March 2005) stipulate the following:

Standard 5.8 requires agencies to ensure foster carers are supervised and supported by an appropriately qualified social worker who visits in line with legal requirements, including at least one unannounced visit each year

Standard 7 requires the agency to provide foster carers with a written agreement between the carer(s) and themselves setting out the terms of approval, roles and responsibilities of the foster carer(s) and roles and responsibilities of the agency

Standard 8.1 requires each fostering agency to ensure that a range of individual and group support arrangements are in place.

Standard 8.2 requires the agency to ensure that foster carers know how to access support 24 hours a day.

Standard 8.3 also requires agency social workers to keep in regular contact with foster carers. Fostering Relations meets these standards through the following;

Supervision by named, qualified social workers with experience of family placement work

Supervision Agreement Supervision and Intermediate Meetings (one of each type in each calendar

month) Telephone Contact 24 hour access to qualified social workers

/tt/file_convert/5a7887a07f8b9a7b698c5988/document.docx

2

Page 2 of 5

Unannounced visit at least once a year A programme of training and a personal development/ training plan for each

foster carer Support groups

Relationship between supervising social worker and foster carer

The supervising social worker has a responsibility to support and supervise the foster carer(s) however, s/he also has a primary responsible for the welfare of the child in placement. The supervising social worker will strive to establish a relationship with the foster carer which is supportive, honest and open in order to enable the foster carer(s) to discuss all issues relevant to the child (ren) in the placement and to their own professional practice as foster carers. This will inevitably include discussion of aspects of the fostering household which may impact on the child(ren) in placement. The supervising social worker has a responsibility for the development of the foster carer’s practice and will use supervision to advise and guide them in their care of the child(ren) and also help them to establish their learning and development plans in liaison with the senior member of staff responsible for foster carer learning and development. The supervising social worker will advise on relevant legislation, Fostering Relations policies and procedures and keep the foster carer(s) informed of news and developments within the agency and in fostering more generally. The supervising social worker will ensure the foster carer(s) know how to contact him or her between agreed visits and phone calls and make them aware of contingency arrangements when they are not available because of annual leave, sickness or part-time working patterns.

Supervision Agreement

It is good practice to establish an effective working relationship between foster carers and their supervising social worker. An established way of achieving this is for a supervision agreement to be created which describes what is expected of all parties. A supervision agreement will therefore, be discussed, signed and dated in the following circumstances:

a) When foster carers are approved for the first time and a social worker is allocated to them b) When there is a change of supervising social workerc) When there are significant changes in the foster care household e.g. when

the household composition changes.

A copy of the Supervision Agreement, signed and dated by all parties will be placed on the foster carer file and a copy given to the foster carers for their own records.

/tt/file_convert/5a7887a07f8b9a7b698c5988/document.docx

3

Page 3 of 5

Supervision Meetings

The supervising social worker will visit the carer(s) at home at least twice each calendar month on dates and times agreed with the foster carer(s). One of these visits will be a formal Supervision Meeting and the other an Intermediate meeting. The Supervision Record / Intermediate Meeting Record will be used to agree an agenda drawn up between the foster carer and the supervising social worker at the beginning of the meeting and the supervising social worker will ensure that all topics listed in the ‘Suggested Agenda Items’ are discussed and recorded over a period of 6 months. The supervising social worker will record the discussion and agreed outcomes on the Fostering Relations Supervision Record, a copy of which will be given to the foster carer once signatures and dates from all parties have been added. A copy of each Supervision Record will be stored on the foster carer file. Where there is dissent over the content of a Supervision or Intermediate Meeting Record which cannot be resolved in discussion, the supervising social worker will record the foster carer’s views by hand on the Record and ensure that a word-processed version of the dissenting view is included in the next Record.

At least once a year the line manager of a supervising social worker will make an arrangement to visit foster carers either alone or in the company of the supervising social worker.

Telephone Contact

In the periods between meetings the supervising social worker will maintain telephone contact with the foster carer(s) at a frequency consistent with their stage of development as carers, assessed needs and the needs of the child in placement. Records will be maintained of these telephone contacts on the carers’ records and will have the worker’s name and date of the call recorded.

24 hour access to qualified social workers

The supervising social worker will ensure that the foster carer(s) know how to locate the telephone numbers of their own supervising social worker and the numbers of senior management staff. The supervising social worker will ensure that the foster carer(s) know whom to contact out of hours and during public holidays. The supervising social worker will also ensure foster carer(s) understand the Critical Incident policy and are able to identify situations where they need to contact agency staff to report situations timeously.

Unannounced visits

It is a requirement of National Care Standards (5.8) that a supervising social worker should visit the foster carer(s)’ home at least once a year for an unannounced visit. The outcome of this visit will be recorded on the Unannounced Visit pro forma and stored on the foster carer file. A copy will also be placed on the file of any child in placement at the time of the visit.

/tt/file_convert/5a7887a07f8b9a7b698c5988/document.docx

4

Page 4 of 5

Health & Safety Checks

The Health and Safety – Foster Carer Households Policy specifies

the following: An inspection must be undertaken with the foster

carer(s)- As part of the Form F initial assessment that includes portfolios of evidence of competencein respect of “ability to ensure that children are cared for in a home where they are safe from harm or abuse”

- The supervising social worker must undertake an annual (at least annual) inspection using the Health & Safety Checklist. This is included in the foster carer’s annual review and will be audited by the panel or reviewing officer conducting the foster carers annual review.(SEE ALSO – FOSTER CARER ANNUAL REVIEW POLICY)

Learning and Development

Each foster carer will have an individual programme of learning and development which will include training courses. This will be drawn up after the initial approval of a foster carer based on analysis of the competencies analysed in the Form F report and will be reviewed at each annual carer review. The learning and development programme will identify the development and training priorities for the individual carer and there is an expectation that carers will meet these requirements. Foster carers are encouraged and supported to attend training opportunities on local or national training courses out with Fostering Relations’ provision, subject to approval by a senior manager. Fostering Relations is committed to supporting foster carers to achieve accreditation through SVQ or ACAMAS awards. (Fostering Relations Carer Learning and Development Policy refers).

Support Groups

Fostering Relations arranges regular support groups for carers. Foster carer(s) are encouraged to attend these in order to develop their skills, promote the aims of Fostering Relations and to develop a network of support with other carers in a relatively informal setting.

/tt/file_convert/5a7887a07f8b9a7b698c5988/document.docx

5

Page 5 of 5

Documents linked to this Policy:-

Supervision Agreement Procedural Guidance; Supervision/Intermediate Meeting Record Supervision/Intermediate Meeting Record Unannounced Visit Proforma

Signed………………………………………………………Registered Manager

Date: April 2017Review Date: April 2018

/tt/file_convert/5a7887a07f8b9a7b698c5988/document.docx