Training and Development

From April 2008 all new foster carers have been expected to complete the Training, Support and Development Standards for foster care within the first 12 months of their approval. Developed by the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC), the standards have been designed to equip foster carers with the knowledge and skills in order to meet the needs of the children and young people they are caring for. Newham fostering service has a responsibility and is committed to enabling this to happen by providing training courses to develop and guide carers to achieve the standards.

There are seven training, support and development standards for foster care:

Standard 1 - understand the principles and values essential for fostering children and young people
Standard 2 - understand your role as a foster carer
Standard 3 - understand health and safety, and health care
Standard 4 - know how to communicate effectively
Standard 5 - understand the development of children and young people
Standard 6 - keep children and young people safe from harm
Standard 7 - develop yourself

Foster carers will need to evidence what they have learned in a number of ways. Evidence might be by showing, doing or explaining things based on learning through attending training courses, reading, and experience, discussion with your supervising social worker or other foster carers and other activities. Your knowledge will grow with your experience of caring for the child or young person you have in placement. We will provide you with a folder at the start of your CWDC standards training, in which you can file all of your evidence.

Once you have completed the Training Standards Development Portfolio (TSDs), you will move to Tier 2 of the fostering allowances (see Section 14 – Finance for further information).

Your supervising social worker is responsible for assessing how you are applying your learning to your role as a foster carer and for identifying any extra learning or support that you might need.

Did you know a variety of training courses can be accessed via E-learning? Please ask your supervising social worker for copy of the on-line training brochure.

Additional training is also sometimes offered through the councils safe guarding broad partnership and related private agencies.

Fostering or adopting a child is a challenging and complex role, with constantly changing demands on you as a carer. Training is a tool to develop your skills, knowledge and understanding of your role and to better equip you to meet these demands.

The fostering regulations stipulate that the local authority should provide training for foster carers as part of the support to which you are entitled. It is a requirement that you keep up-to-date with new and evolving developments in the realm of fostering through training and we therefore request you to attend the seven basic modules every three years for this reason.

Mandatory courses include:

1. Safeguarding;
2. Safer care and managing allegations;
3. Life saver children/paediatric first aid;
4. Risk assessment;
5. Medication and health;
6. De-escalation and managing challenging behaviour;
7. Equality, diversity and identity;
8. Health and safety – COSHH, Fire safety etc;
9. GDPR;
10. Food safety & hygiene.

This training provides details of core courses which you, as a foster carer, are required to complete (ideally within the first two years after your approval). You and your supervising social worker will be able to use this training brochure to plan your development and progression as a foster carer.

• Reward Level 1 - Newly approved foster carers;
• Reward Level 2 - Foster carers who have completed the TSD standards.

Your supervising social worker will identify with you which courses you will need to complete in your first two years after approval, based on your existing knowledge and skills and areas for development.

Furthermore, we want to value any training you do, so tell your supervising social worker about any work based training or other relevant training that you have completed. This would form part of your personal development plan, which will be reflected in your annual foster home review.

You will receive a copy of the current year’s training brochure when you are first approved and annually thereafter.