What happens if an approved foster carer does not meet the standards?

If an approved foster carer does not meet the required standards, the fostering service should respond proportionately and follow a documented process. It will consider what has happened, the effect on any child in placement, the carer’s explanation and whether the concern can be addressed through additional support, training or a change to the carer’s approval. Where there is a safeguarding risk, protecting the child takes priority over maintaining the placement or approval.

What happens when a concern is raised?

Concerns may come from a child, parent, social worker, supervising social worker, school, health professional or another person involved in the placement. They might relate to supervision, record keeping, boundaries, communication, household circumstances, cooperation with professionals or a possible breach of the fostering service’s policies. The supervising social worker will usually gather relevant information and discuss the concern with the foster carer.

The fostering service should distinguish between a minor shortfall, a pattern of practice that needs improvement and an allegation that a child may have been harmed. The response should take account of the seriousness of the issue, whether it is ongoing, the carer’s openness and the steps already taken to reduce any risk. The carer should normally have a fair opportunity to give their account, although enquiries may need to remain confidential while safeguarding or other investigations are taking place.

Support and an improvement plan

Where the concern does not require immediate protective action, the fostering service may set out specific actions for the carer. These could include:

• refresher training or focused learning;
• more frequent supervision and monitoring visits;
• additional guidance from the supervising social worker;
• changes to household routines, recording systems or safe-care arrangements;
• clearer communication with the child’s social worker and other professionals; or
• a written action plan with review dates and evidence showing whether the required improvement has been made.

An effective plan should explain what must change, who is responsible for each action and how progress will be assessed. The carer’s wider circumstances may also be considered. For example, a new health issue, a change in household membership or difficulties managing a particular type of placement may mean that the approval terms need reviewing rather than the carer being treated as having deliberately failed to meet a standard.

When a child’s safety may be at risk

If information suggests that a child may be at risk of harm, the fostering service will follow its safeguarding and allegations procedures. This may involve the child’s social worker, the local authority designated officer where an allegation concerns a person working with children, the police or other safeguarding professionals. The carer may be asked not to have new placements, or arrangements for an existing placement may be reconsidered, while the relevant enquiries take place.

These steps are protective measures and do not, by themselves, establish that the carer has breached a standard. Separate processes may apply to an allegation, a criminal investigation, a safeguarding enquiry and the review of the carer’s approval. The fostering service should explain, as far as it can lawfully do so, what process is being followed and what the carer needs to do.

Changes to approval

The fostering service may decide that the carer’s approval should be changed. This could affect the age range, number of children, types of placement or other terms of approval. A change may be appropriate if the carer can continue fostering safely but is not able to meet the needs of a particular child or placement category.

Approval can also be suspended or ended where the concerns are sufficiently serious, cannot be managed safely or continue despite agreed support. Examples might include serious safeguarding failures, persistent refusal to follow essential instructions, dishonesty about matters relevant to fostering or a sustained inability to provide the standard of care required. The decision should be based on the evidence and the relevant fostering regulations and procedures, rather than on a single minor mistake considered in isolation.

Reviews, representations and independent consideration

A fostering service reviews each carer’s approval regularly and can bring a review forward when circumstances change or concerns arise. The review should consider the carer’s performance, training, supervision, household circumstances, the needs of children placed and any outstanding actions.

Where the service is proposing a significant change or termination of approval, the carer should receive written information about the proposed decision and the reasons for it. They should also be told how to make representations and, where applicable, how to refer the matter to the Independent Review Mechanism. The precise route depends on the decision and the regulations applying to the fostering service, so the carer should check the notice carefully and obtain independent advice if needed.

A fostering panel may consider the information and make a recommendation, but the final decision is made by the person authorised by the fostering service. The decision-maker should consider the available evidence, the panel’s recommendation where relevant and any representations made by the carer. The carer should receive the decision and information about any further rights or procedures.

What the foster carer should do

• Ask for the concern and the required improvement to be explained clearly.
• Keep factual records of meetings, agreed actions, training and communications.
• Cooperate with safeguarding enquiries and follow interim instructions.
• Tell the supervising social worker promptly about changes that could affect safe care.
• Use supervision to discuss any difficulty meeting a child’s needs rather than allowing the problem to continue.
• Read formal notices carefully and seek advice about representations or review rights before a deadline expires.

Meeting standards is an ongoing responsibility, not a one-off test completed at approval. A foster carer who recognises a difficulty early and works openly with the fostering service may be able to address it through supervision, training or adjusted support. However, where practice places a child at unacceptable risk, the fostering service must take protective action and may ultimately decide that the carer cannot remain approved.