What Training Do Foster Parents Need?

Foster parents need to complete a structured programme of learning before they can be approved, followed by further development throughout their fostering career. The exact programme varies between fostering services, but it normally combines preparation training, learning identified during the assessment process and individual training linked to the children placed in the household.

Before approval, applicants usually learn about:

• the role and responsibilities of a foster carer, including working as part of a professional team;
• how fostering differs from adopting, including the importance of birth-family relationships and planned contact;
• safer caring, household expectations, boundaries and managing risk;
• safeguarding, abuse, neglect, exploitation and what to do if a child makes a disclosure;
• attachment, separation, loss and the effects that early experiences can have on development and behaviour;
• identity, culture, religion, sexuality and helping children develop a positive sense of self;
• promoting health, education, attendance and participation in everyday activities;
• record keeping, confidentiality, information sharing and working with social workers and other professionals; and
• allegations, complaints and the procedures that protect both children and foster carers.

Preparation training is also an opportunity to consider how fostering could affect everyone in the household. Applicants may discuss their own experiences, parenting approach, support network, routines, personal boundaries and how they would respond to situations such as distressed behaviour, missing episodes or contact arrangements. A fostering service may identify additional learning needs during this stage and include them in the assessment or approval plan.

Training is normally delivered through a mixture of methods. This can include group sessions, online learning, activities, discussion of scenarios, written exercises and conversations with experienced professionals or foster carers. Scenario-based learning is particularly useful because it allows applicants to think through practical decisions before caring for a child. Attendance and participation form part of the preparation process; completing a course is not simply a box-ticking exercise.

The assessment does not usually require applicants to arrive with professional childcare qualifications. Fostering services look at a person’s capacity to learn, reflect and apply guidance, alongside their suitability to care for children. Previous experience in parenting, education, health, social care or youth work may be helpful, but it does not replace the fostering service’s own preparation and assessment requirements. Any relevant qualifications or previous training can be discussed with the assessing social worker, who can explain whether they meet part of a particular learning requirement.

After approval, training becomes more specific to the carer’s role and the children they support. Common subjects include:

• trauma-informed care and therapeutic approaches;
• de-escalation and responding safely to challenging or distressed behaviour;
• first aid, medication and other health-related responsibilities;
• online safety, exploitation, radicalisation and other safeguarding risks;
• supporting learning, communication and additional needs;
• life story work, memory boxes and helping children understand their history;
• supporting transitions, independence and preparation for adulthood; and
• understanding the needs of particular groups, such as siblings, teenagers or children with disabilities.

Foster carers are expected to keep their knowledge current. Their fostering service will usually maintain a personal development plan or training record, identify required courses and review progress through supervision, reviews and day-to-day support. Some learning may be required for every carer, while other courses are selected because of a child’s health needs, behaviour, background or placement plan. A carer may also be asked to complete refresher training when guidance, procedures or identified risks change.

Training does not stop once a child moves into the household. Foster carers learn from supervision, professional meetings, recording incidents, reflecting on what has happened and receiving advice from their fostering team. They may need to complete extra preparation before accepting a particular placement, especially where a child has complex health needs, significant trauma or risks requiring specialist care. The fostering service should explain what is expected and ensure the carer has appropriate guidance for the placement.

Applicants should ask the fostering service how training is organised, which courses must be completed before approval, how attendance is recorded and what ongoing learning is expected afterwards. It is also sensible to ask how training fits around household commitments, whether learning is available in different formats and how carers are supported to put it into practice. These details help you understand both the commitment involved and the preparation available before making an application.