What support will we receive after becoming a foster family?

After approval, foster families receive ongoing support rather than being expected to manage placements alone. This normally includes a named fostering professional, regular supervision, continuing training, practical guidance, financial support and help with safeguarding, education, health, behaviour and contact arrangements. The support is intended to help you meet each child’s individual needs and develop your confidence as a foster carer.

Guidance from your fostering team

Your supervising social worker or another member of the fostering team will help you understand your responsibilities and apply fostering policies to everyday situations. You can discuss a child’s needs, changes in behaviour, relationships with birth family, school matters, appointments and any concerns about safety or wellbeing. The team can also help you prepare for meetings and contribute to plans and reviews about the child.

Support is particularly important when a placement begins, when a child’s circumstances change or when you are considering whether a placement is suitable. You should raise concerns promptly so that the right advice can be considered with you and, where necessary, the child’s social worker and other professionals.

Regular supervision and reviews

Foster carers take part in regular supervision with their supervising social worker. These discussions provide an opportunity to review how the placement is progressing, consider your training and development needs, reflect on difficult situations and identify any practical help required. Your approval and fostering work are also reviewed through the relevant review processes, helping ensure that the support you receive remains appropriate.

Foster carers are expected to keep clear records about placements and share relevant information with the professionals involved. Your fostering team can explain what needs to be recorded, how information should be handled and when an incident or concern must be reported.

Ongoing training and development

Approval is the beginning of your development as a foster carer. You will continue to build knowledge through training linked to fostering practice and the needs of the children placed with you. This may cover safeguarding, attachment, trauma, managing behaviour, safer caring, first aid, recording information and working with other professionals.

Training needs will vary according to your experience, the type of fostering you undertake and the needs of a particular child. Your fostering team can help identify suitable learning and explain any training that must be completed or renewed.

Help with practical placement matters

Fostering involves working with several services and following plans agreed for the child. The fostering team can help you understand arrangements for education, health appointments, family time, transport, delegated decisions and communication with social workers. They can also help you think through how to provide consistent routines, boundaries and care while respecting the child’s history and identity.

If a situation is urgent or there is a safeguarding concern, follow the instructions and contact arrangements provided by your fostering service and the child’s placing authority. Foster carers should know in advance who to contact for different types of concern and what information to provide.

Support from other foster carers

Many foster families find it useful to speak with other approved carers. Peer support can provide practical insight into the day-to-day realities of fostering, although it does not replace professional advice. Your fostering service may offer opportunities to connect with other carers through meetings, groups, training or other local activities.

Financial support

Foster families receive financial support connected with caring for a child. Payments and allowances are set according to the fostering service’s policy and may depend on the type of placement, the child’s needs and other relevant circumstances. The fostering team should explain the allowance structure, payment arrangements, eligible expenses and any records you need to keep before a placement begins.

Financial support is intended to contribute towards the costs of caring for a child. It is important to ask how specific expenses, equipment, travel, activities and arrangements for starting or ending a placement are handled, as these may need prior discussion or approval.

Support for the whole household

Fostering affects everyone in the household, so support should include consideration of how placements may affect your partner, children or other household members. Your fostering team can help you prepare for changes in routines, privacy, boundaries and family time, and can discuss concerns that arise during a placement.

The most useful support is open and consistent communication. Keep in contact with your fostering team, attend supervision and training, follow the child’s care and safer-care plans, and ask for guidance when circumstances change. Becoming an approved foster family gives you access to an ongoing network of professional and practical support while you care for children and young people.