Fostering Support and Training

What support and training will I receive? We understand that caring for children can be very demanding and that is why at Kirklees Council, we supply you with the support, you need to help you give a high standard of care for the children you look after and develop new skills.

Just as each child placed has their own social worker, every foster carer has a specialist social worker to supervise and support them too. If you feel it is necessary, you can also have access to other professionals to help you look after a child e.g. a psychologist. You will be part of a team which can include doctors, specialist nurses, social workers, teachers and others.

We have just introduced regular sessions with psychologists from the local Children and Adolescent Mental health team This provides an opportunity for foster carers and social workers for the children placed to come and discuss concerns they may have about the children and receive advice. This is new and we will be reviewing how well this is used and whether it needs to be further developed

At Kirklees Council we encourage foster carers to make use of support groups. These offer the opportunity to meet with other carers and share ideas and concerns. You can also be put in touch with other experienced carers if you wish to share experiences with them.

If you occasionally need a break from looking after children, either for a couple of hours, a weekend or a week you can discuss this with your worker to plan what support may be needed. This could be from either other foster carers or our range of outreach type resources.

Every carer receives pre-approval training before their assessment. This is designed to provide potential foster carers with the knowledge and information that they need to gain a more realistic picture of what is involved in caring for children in care. Pre-approval training follows key modules and it is essential for ALL potential carers to complete the course before they are approved as foster carers.

As part of a Council committed to high standards you will be expected to attend a number of other core training courses designed to support your work. You are encouraged to undertake a Caring for Children and Young People National Vocational Qualification level 3.
These training courses are run largely through negotiation with our social services training unit and will be provided by either staff from the Family Placement Unit or from other disciplines . Our ELAC Team ( Education for Looked After Children ) have run several courses specially for foster carers on all aspects of education. Computers have been provided for young people in some placements and carers are provided with training to enable them to support the young person with their education.
Other courses will be with social workers, residential workers, counsellors and senior management .
There are also opportunities for carers to receive training which is specific to any gaps which have been identified for their own personal development in fostering.
You can receive help with travelling and child care expenses to help you attend training.

Carers have their own training profile which is reviewed each year.