Are foster carer qualifications transferable between fostering services?

Foster carer qualifications are not automatically transferable between fostering services, although recognised qualifications and relevant training may be accepted as evidence of your knowledge and experience. The service you are joining will review your certificates, training record and previous fostering history before deciding what can be carried across and whether anything needs to be refreshed or completed.

What is usually easier to transfer?

• Recognised vocational qualifications relating to children, young people, care or fostering, provided you can show the certificate or an official record.
• Completed pre-approval training, where the content matches the new service’s requirements and was completed recently enough to remain relevant.
• Mandatory training such as safeguarding, safer care, equality and diversity, health and safety, or managing behaviour, subject to the new service checking the course content and date.
• Relevant practical experience gained while fostering or working with children and young people.

A qualification awarded by an external awarding organisation is generally more portable than a course created solely for one fostering service. Internal courses can still be useful, but the new service may need to map their content against its own training standards rather than accepting the course title alone.

Why acceptance is not automatic

Fostering services have their own policies, training programmes and approval requirements. They must be satisfied that you are prepared for the types of placements they may consider and that your knowledge remains current. A certificate may therefore be accepted in full, accepted with an update, or treated as useful prior learning while you complete the new service’s equivalent course.

This is particularly relevant where training has an expiry or review date, where guidance has changed, or where the role involves additional responsibilities. For example, a service may ask you to update first aid, safeguarding or medication-related training even if you completed similar training previously. The requirement is not necessarily a judgement on the quality of your earlier learning; it may reflect the service’s procedures and its responsibility to keep children safe.

Qualifications are only one part of a transfer

Changing fostering services is not the same as transferring a qualification from one employer to another. Your approval does not simply move to the new service. The new fostering service will need to understand your circumstances, assess whether it can support you and complete the checks and decision-making required under its procedures.

As part of this process, it may ask for information such as:

• copies of certificates and details of any courses completed;
• your full fostering training and development record;
• details of placements, including the ages and needs of children you have supported;
• supervision, annual review and placement records;
• references from your current or previous fostering service;
• information about any complaints, allegations, investigations or significant incidents, where relevant;
• updated household, health, identity and safeguarding information.

Some of this information is shared between fostering services through the appropriate transfer process, with your involvement and in line with data protection requirements. You should keep your own copies of certificates and ask for a clear record of your completed training, because records can take time to gather and course names may not explain the full content.

What may happen after the review

The new service may confirm that your existing learning meets its requirements. Alternatively, it may create an individual training plan. This could include a short refresher, an additional course, observed practice or training linked to a particular type of placement. You may be able to begin parts of the process while outstanding learning is arranged, but this depends on the service’s assessment and approval requirements.

If you hold a formal qualification but cannot locate the certificate, contact the awarding organisation or training provider to ask whether it can verify the award. A service may also contact the organisation that delivered the training to confirm the date, content and level of learning. Do not assume that an informal attendance certificate carries the same weight as a regulated qualification or assessed award.

Questions to ask before transferring

• Which of my existing qualifications and courses will you recognise?
• Do you need certificates, transcripts, course outlines or references?
• Which training must be refreshed, and why?
• Will any additional learning be needed for the types of placements I am considering?
• How will my previous fostering experience and development record be considered?
• What information will be requested from my current or former fostering service?

The most useful approach is to provide a complete, accurate training record and discuss gaps openly at the outset. A qualification can provide evidence of learning, but the new fostering service must still make its own assessment of your suitability, preparedness and support needs. This means that some learning can move with you, while approval, service-specific training and any necessary updates remain part of joining the new service.