What happens if you cannot complete the required training before approval?

Required pre-approval training is normally part of the fostering assessment, so approval cannot usually be finalised until the fostering service is satisfied that you have completed the essential learning and can apply it to caring for children. Missing a session or struggling with part of the course does not automatically mean your application will be refused, but the service will need to record how the requirement has been addressed.

What happens next depends on the reason you cannot complete it. Your assessing social worker and supervising team will consider whether you need to:

• attend a replacement session or complete the missed element at another date;
• use an alternative approved format, where this is available;
• receive additional explanation, support or preparation before continuing;
• have reasonable adjustments made for a disability, health condition, communication need or learning difference; or
• pause the assessment until the required training can be completed properly.

Training is not generally treated as a simple pass-or-fail examination. However, participation matters. The fostering service needs to understand your knowledge, attitude and ability to reflect on subjects such as safeguarding, safer care, child development, trauma, behaviour, confidentiality and working with professionals. If the training raises concerns about your understanding or readiness, these may be explored further during the assessment.

If you have missed part of the course , the service may decide that attending only the remaining sessions is insufficient because the modules build on one another. You may therefore be asked to repeat the whole course or complete specific parts. This is particularly likely where the missed content covers a core safety or safeguarding requirement.

If the difficulty relates to learning or access needs , explain this rather than trying to manage without support. Adjustments might include changes to the way information is presented, additional time, breaks, accessible materials or another way of demonstrating understanding. The precise arrangement will depend on your needs and the fostering service’s procedures. An adjustment should support access to the training; it does not remove the essential knowledge and responsibilities involved in fostering.

If the problem is time, work or family commitments , discuss the conflict as early as possible. The service may be able to identify another course date or agree a practical plan, but you should not assume that attendance can be replaced by reading notes independently. Pre-approval training is often delivered interactively, and discussion with other applicants and trainers forms part of the learning.

Where training remains incomplete, the assessment may be extended and the fostering panel may not receive the application until the outstanding requirement has been dealt with. This can affect the planned timetable for panel consideration and approval. Your social worker should explain whether the issue affects the whole assessment or only the training element, what evidence is still needed and whether any parts of your assessment can continue in the meantime.

If you decide that fostering is not right for you, you can withdraw or ask to pause the application. If the service decides that the training requirement cannot be met, or that you have not demonstrated the understanding needed for safe fostering, it may recommend that the application does not proceed. That decision should be explained to you, including any further steps or review arrangements that apply under the service’s procedure.

Before your next discussion, it is useful to identify the exact module or session you could not complete, the reason, any support you need and whether you remain able to attend a revised course. Ask how the missed learning will be evidenced, whether you need to repeat any activities and how the change will affect the rest of your assessment. Keeping communication open gives the fostering service the clearest opportunity to agree a suitable and safe way forward.