What support is available between foster placements?

Support between foster placements is the guidance, supervision, training and practical planning available while a foster carer is not currently caring for a child or young person. It should help you remain connected with your fostering team, review your experience, keep your approval requirements up to date and decide what type of placement may be suitable next.

Ongoing supervision and advice: Your supervising social worker or fostering professional remains an important point of contact between placements. They may discuss how your previous placement ended, answer questions about fostering, help you consider any changes in your household and explain what needs to happen before another placement is considered. This is also an opportunity to raise concerns that may have been difficult to discuss during a placement.

Reviewing the previous placement: A placement review can help identify what went well, what was challenging and whether your skills, household arrangements or approval should be reconsidered. You may be supported to reflect on the child’s needs, the effectiveness of the care plan, relationships with professionals and any effect the placement had on other members of your family. This reflection is not about assigning blame; it helps inform future planning and learning.

Training and development: Foster carers usually need to keep their knowledge and skills current. Between placements, you may complete required learning, attend refresher sessions or explore subjects linked to the needs of children likely to be placed with you. Relevant areas might include trauma, attachment, safeguarding, behaviour that communicates distress, contact arrangements, education or preparing a child for independence. Your fostering team can help identify suitable development needs.

Keeping your household prepared: A gap between placements can be used to check that practical arrangements remain appropriate. Depending on your circumstances, this may include:

• reviewing sleeping arrangements and available space;
• checking that essential equipment and safety measures remain suitable;
• updating household details, employment information or other records;
• considering transport, school runs, appointments and contact arrangements; and
• talking with children or adults in your household about how another placement could affect them.

Preparation should be proportionate to the placement being considered. You should have the opportunity to ask questions about a child’s known needs, routines, risks, relationships and support network before deciding whether a referral is right for your household. You do not have to accept every placement offered. A useful discussion with your fostering team can help you assess whether the proposed arrangement matches your approval, experience and family circumstances.

Financial guidance: Financial support between placements depends on the fostering agency’s policy and the terms of your fostering agreement. Allowances and other payments may relate to a child being placed in your care, so you should ask how payments, expenses and any gap between placements are handled rather than relying on general information. Your fostering team can also help you understand records, eligible expenses and the financial questions to raise before accepting another placement.

Emotional and practical support: The end of a placement can involve mixed feelings, particularly when a child has moved on to another arrangement. Support may include a debrief with your supervising social worker, guidance about maintaining appropriate boundaries and help to understand the next steps. Some agencies also provide peer support, group discussions or access to specialist advice. Ask what is available if you need to talk through an event or want to learn from other foster carers’ experiences.

Maintaining approval: Being between placements does not necessarily mean your fostering role has ended. You may still need to complete reviews, keep training up to date, notify the agency about relevant changes and meet the conditions of your approval. If your circumstances change—for example, through a move, health issue, change in work pattern or change in household membership—tell your fostering team so they can advise whether your approval or assessment needs to be revisited.

Before accepting another placement, consider whether you understand the child’s needs, have enough information to make an informed decision and know what support will be available from social workers, education professionals, health services and your fostering agency. If you are unsure about your readiness, discuss this openly with your supervising social worker. A period between placements can be used to recover, learn, update arrangements and make a careful decision about the next placement rather than treating it as time when no support is available.