Supervision and Support of Foster Carers

All approved foster carers will have an allocated, suitably qualified supervising social worker. The allocated supervising social worker is responsible for supervising and supporting carers, ensuring that they have the necessary guidance, support and direction to maintain a quality service, including safe caring practices. This will include an understanding that they must work within the National Minimum Standards for Fostering and the Service’s policies, procedures and guidance. The supervising social worker must also ensure that the foster carers' training and development needs are identified, and that newly approved carers work towards completing the Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Carers and completing identified mandatory and core training. They also have the responsibility to ensure foster carers are familiar and made aware of new procedures and guidance.

Foster carers should be made fully aware of the Notifications of Significant Events Procedure and the need to immediately report to their supervising social worker or the Service the following:

• The death of a child;
• A serious illness or serious accident of a child placed with them;
• The outbreak at the foster home of any infectious disease (which in the opinion of a general practitioner attending the home is sufficiently serious to be notified);
• An allegation that a child placed with foster carers has committed a serious offence;
• A child placed with them they have concerns about of being sexually exploited;
• The Police calling to the foster carer's home as a result of a serious incident relating to a child placed there;
• A child placed with the foster carers who has gone missing;
• Any serious concerns about the emotional or mental health of a child, such that a mental health assessment would be requested .

See Notifications of Significant Events Procedure.

The child's allocated social worker should be contacted for specific advice or support in relation to the child and their Care Plan and Placement Plan.

A programme of supervision visits should be set up and agreed between the foster carer and the supervising social worker from the time of the foster carer's approval and endorsed by the supervising social worker's line manager.

Supervision is essentially a supportive and enabling two-way process to:

• Ensure the foster carers understand how they contribute to the Committee’s services for children;
• Enable foster carers to contribute effectively to the plans for the children for whom they are caring;
• Provide appropriate monitoring and feedback on the foster carers' work to ensure that National Minimum Standards and the Training, Support and Development Standards for Foster Carers are fully met;
• Complete Personal Development Plans for each carer, which are linked to their training and their annual review;
• Support foster carers by providing advice or making this available from elsewhere as appropriate;
• Give foster carers an opportunity to raise any problems and make sure they are addressed appropriately;
• Acknowledge the challenges and demands that the fostering tasks make on foster families and ensure appropriate support is available;
• Recognise and address any difficulties the foster carers’ own children may be experiencing arising from fostering; and
• Assist foster carers to work in an anti-discriminatory way that respects and promotes individual differences.

The agenda for each meeting should cover:

1. Matters arising from the last supervision;
2. Personal issues, e.g. effect of a placement on the foster carer's own family, changes in the carer’s situation and circumstances etc.
3. Child/ren in placement:
   1. Their health, cultural, educational, leisure and contact needs - and any support needs;
   2. Progress and work with respect towards each child's Care Plan;
   3. Any accidents, injuries and illnesses experienced by each child;
   4. Any complaints in relation to children placed with them and their outcomes;
   5. Any concerns around behaviour management in relation to children they are caring for;
   6. Any other significant events (see Section 1, Introduction);
   7. Any medication, medical treatment or first aid administered.
4. Training/development issues for the foster carers and their family;
5. Safe caring and health and safety issues;
6. Foster carer's recording for each child in placement which must be kept in line with the procedure on Record Keeping and provided to the child’s social worker for their records.

The supervision visits should be recorded on a pro forma Fostering Supervision Record signed by the foster carer and the supervising social worker. Alternatively the supervising social worker may email the Supervision Record securely to the foster carer for their review and acknowledgement by return of email which will serve as proof of their agreement to the Record. Supervision Records should include the above discussions and:

• Any concerns expressed;
• Any support needs expressed by the foster carers and how they will be met;
• Any financial issues.

A record of all meetings should be kept on the foster carers' file on Mosaic and a copy of the Supervision Record given to the foster carers.

The Supervision Records will inform the foster carer’s review – see Review and Termination of Approval and Resignation of Foster Carers Procedure.

Frequency of visits will be determined according to procedure, circumstance and need. As a minimum, supervision meetings should take the form of 6 weekly visits to short term foster carers, two monthly visits to long term foster carers and three monthly visits to connected persons carers. For newly approved foster carers, new placements and placements where there is a need for increased support, visits will take place more regularly. For all new placements a visit will take place within the first week of placement. Any agreed variation from the agreed level of supervision must be agreed with the team manager, clearly recorded by the supervising social worker in case notes and highlighted in the foster carer’s review.

Where carers are dually approved both carers should be visited at regular intervals. Where both carers are not available to be visited together the supervising social worker should see the main carer at the prescribed frequency and arrange separate visits to the other partner at intervals.

The child in placement should be seen in placement at regular intervals and the child’s bedroom must be seen at least annually.

Additional visits can be made for the purposes of support to the foster carer or any member of the foster family alongside telephone calls and emails to share information.  Visits will take place to address concerns/allegations, often with immediate effect, in line with the Allegations Against Foster Carers procedure. 

Frequency of supervision meetings will be agreed between the foster carer and the supervising social worker and recorded on the Supervision Agreement.  

The frequency of meetings for short break foster carers should be proportionate to the amount of care provided and at a minimum of three monthly.

National Minimum Standards require that the foster home is inspected annually, without appointment, by the fostering service to make sure that it continues to meet the needs of foster children.  The main purpose of the unannounced visit will be to look at the home environment that a child is living in.

The unannounced visits will be undertaken by the foster carer’s supervising social worker who will need to check:

1. Who is in the home;
2. Who is looking after the child;
3. If the carer is not at home, what arrangements have been made for the care of the child.

Unannounced visits should be timed for when the child or young person in care will be at home. This allows the supervising social worker to observe the relationship between the foster carers and the child or young person and speak to the child or young person about how they are getting on in the fostering household. Where children and young people are present, whether children in care or children of the foster carers, their permission should be sought to view their rooms. The supervising social worker should explain the reason for the request and be clear that it is not about whether bedrooms are tidy.

During the unannounced visit all areas of the home should be seen, this includes the garden and any outbuildings and enables the home environment to be seen in terms of health and safety and safe caring. The supervising social worker should be checking that standards are consistent throughout the home e.g. bedrooms for children in care  are of the same standard as other bedrooms within the foster home. Although it is not necessary to complete a full health and safety check during the unannounced visits consideration should be given to issues of health and safety. For example, are stairgates and fire guards in place if appropriate? Any issues arising should be addressed during the visit and checked on the next visit.

If the foster carers are not at home, the supervising social worker should leave a note for the foster carers to say that they have visited.

If the foster carers are not at home but the child is present and being looked after by someone else, the social worker should check the identity of that person but should not continue with the visit.

The use of additional unannounced visits should be considered if there are concerns about standards of care or as part of an action plan agreed with carers.

Unannounced visits should be recorded on the Unannounced Visit template

Supervising social workers should ensure the following tasks are undertaken:

Post Approval

1. Ensure that all new carers complete the induction process and that their support, development and training needs are agreed and met so that they meet the National Minimum Standards and achieve the Training, Support and Development Standards certificate of completion by their first annual review, or, in exceptional circumstances, within eighteen months of approval;
2. Give foster carers support to develop a Personal Development Plan and to access the Learning and Development Calendar, online training, other relevant training courses, relevant literature and foster care support group. Provide access to support via mentor carers and provide carers with information about other sources of support including the Reparative Care Team and the Guernsey Foster Care and Adoption Association and its remit;
3. Give foster carers the Foster Carers’ Handbook and the Trauma Informed Handbook for Foster Carers and Adopters and provide carers with access to resources on the Guernseyfostercare website to support the carer with their development including therapeutic parenting;
4. Give the Foster Carer Agreement to carers to read and sign: 2 copies to be signed and one returned and placed on the carer’s file;
5. Support carers with any specialist issues for children with disabilities.

Pre-Placement

1. Ensure the bedroom identified for the child has equipment appropriate to the age of the child in placement. This would be adapted/changed when a placement is identified to ensure it meets the needs and age of the child. Complete risk assessments surrounding bedroom sharing (each child over 3 has their own bedroom or, where this is not possible, the sharing of the bedroom has been agreed by the Service), mixing with other children in home, etc;
2. Discuss potential placements;
3. Ensure that the supervising social worker and foster carers are present at the placement planning meetings and ensure all aspects of a child’s care is discussed, agreed and recorded;
4. Ensure that the child's social worker gives the foster carers full   information about children about to be placed, including history of abuse or suspected abuse and the reason for the placement, the child's educational, medical, religious, racial, linguistic and cultural needs;
5. Discuss contact arrangements with birth parents and other family members prior to the placement being made and at the placement planning meeting.;
6. Discuss how the child's health needs are promoted and how children should be encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle;
7. Assist carers in dealing with other relevant services such as health and education;
8. Discuss appropriate training to provide appropriate care/medical requirements when caring for children with complex health needs;
9. Review the Safe Care Plan in line with specific children’s needs for each child placed. Assist carers with training needs for appropriate safer care practice, including skills to care for children who have been abused. For foster carers who offer placements to children with disabilities, this includes training specifically on issues affecting those children which will be provided by the Child Development Service or other involved agencies;
10. Discuss financial issues with the carer including allowances, expectations regarding the provision of pocket money and savings for the child placed, leisure activities, and expectations of the foster carer in providing transport for the child. Ensure Movement Forms are actioned to initiate and end payments and any setting up costs are agreed and actioned;
11. Ensure the foster carer’s home, car and travel insurance policy meets the requirements of a foster carer;
12. Enquire about holiday plans the carers have already made, and if the child is able to join them. If not the carer must inform the child’s social worker and provide sufficient notice so alternative arrangements can be made, any holiday arrangements the carers have should be shared with the child’s social worker prior to placement being made;
13. Ensure carers have contact numbers for the supervising social worker, child social worker, other staff involved, office duty number and Emergency Duty Service;
14. Ensure that arrangements are made for the provision of specialist equipment for children with disabilities;
15. Set date of first visit after the placement;
16. Let the social worker for a child already in placement know when another child is placed;
17. Provide carers with training and information on behaviour management and therapeutic parenting.

During Placement

1. Where necessary, check and follow up on all issues raised during the placement. Discuss any areas of concern with foster carers and ensure appropriate support/advice is addressed and in place as soon as possible;
2. Provide foster carers with breaks from caring as appropriate, which must meet the needs of placed children;
3. As part of the Allegations Against Foster Carers procedure, the supervising social worker will be involved in the process as advised by the team manager of the Family Placement Service;
4. Ensure the supervising social worker and the foster carers receive invitations to the Child in Care Reviews and Child Protection Conferences, TAC meetings and other meetings and attend when appropriate. If the supervising social worker or foster carers do not attend, a report is to be provided;
5. Prepare for and attend foster carer review meetings (see Review and Termination of Approval and Resignation of Foster Carers Procedure);
6. Discuss the Personal Development Plan and ensure carers are supported to attend training, undertake online training and attend support group;
7. Visit regularly in accordance with the foster carer’s needs, the child’s Care Plan and as required (see also Section 3, Frequency of Supervision and Section 4, Unannounced Visits;
8. Review the Safe Care Plan for each new placement or, where there is no change in placement, on an annual basis and any changes in household circumstances;
9. Assess and review any health and safety issues within the fostering household and assess and review the Pet and Dog assessment for the foster care review or when there is a change or addition with regard to pets in the household;
10. Make unannounced visits as required;
11. Update Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks on foster carers and members of the family every 3 years, including those reaching 18 years of age, and other persons who come to live at the home, who are over 18 years;
12. Whilst there is no statutory time interval, as good practice medical information should also be updated at least every 3 years using  the CoramBAAF AH2 Medical Report. In the event of any serious concerns about the foster carer’s health, a full CoramBAAF AH Medical should be undertaken and a review of the foster carer’s approval should be carried out immediately;
13. Record all contact with carers and all events such as placements, reviews and meetings on case notes and on the appropriate record;
14. Provide reports for Panel as required under the relevant procedures;
15. Where appropriate contribute to Court Reports and other reports as agreed with child’s social worker;
16. Discuss how the carers can support young people into adulthood.

At End of Placement

1. Support the family as much as possible in what can be a very difficult time;
2. Discuss fully with the carer and their family all the issues that have led to any unplanned end of a placement and identify any learning/training opportunities;
3. Assist the foster carer to complete their end of placement report (CoramBAAF Carer Report-C/YP) if required and request end of placement report from the child’s social worker for the foster carer review;
4. Attend Disruption Meetings as required;
5. Action Movement Form to end payment.

For the detailed procedure, see Allegations Against Foster Carers Procedure

Where allegations regarding childcare or child protection are made, the supervising social worker should:

1. Support the family;
2. Discuss fully, with the carer and their family, all the issues that have led to the allegation, as agreed at the Strategy Meeting;
3. Make the carers aware of the process and of their rights during any investigation;
4. Make the carer’s aware of their own possible conflict of interests and inform them of where they can seek alternative support and advice from the Fostering Network or other independent sources.