What does your foster carer support network include?

A foster carer support network is the coordinated group of people, services and procedures that helps you make safe, informed decisions throughout fostering. It links your fostering service with the professionals involved in a child’s care, so that responsibilities are clear, information is shared appropriately and concerns can be acted on through the correct route.

The network commonly includes:

• Your fostering service: This is the organisation responsible for assessing, approving and supervising foster carers. It should explain its policies, provide the information you need to carry out your role and identify who to contact about particular concerns.
• The child’s social worker and placing authority: The child’s social worker remains responsible for the child’s care plan and works with the fostering service on decisions affecting the placement. The placing authority may also involve education, health and other children’s services.
• Other professionals around the child: Depending on the child’s needs, this may include a designated teacher, health visitor, school nurse, GP, therapist, specialist clinician or personal adviser. Foster carers are not expected to co-ordinate every service alone; the relevant professionals should clarify their roles and agree how information will be exchanged.
• Independent reviewing arrangements: The independent reviewing officer monitors the child’s care plan and chairs looked-after child reviews. Foster carers can contribute observations about the child’s progress, relationships, education, health and day-to-day wellbeing.
• Administrative and safeguarding procedures: A reliable network includes clear records, agreed reporting routes, placement plans, review meetings and arrangements for recording significant events. These processes help ensure that decisions are based on accurate information rather than informal messages or assumptions.

The network should also explain the limits of confidentiality. Information about a child is shared on a need-to-know basis, while information that indicates a safeguarding risk must be passed to the appropriate professional. Your supervising social worker or fostering service should tell you what to record, who should receive it and how to report a concern. Keep factual notes, distinguish what you witnessed from what someone told you, and avoid sharing identifying details outside the agreed professional arrangements.

Support is usually organised around the placement rather than provided as one fixed package. Before a child moves in, you should receive relevant information about their needs, routines, risks, relationships and existing services. After the placement begins, professionals review how the arrangements are working and whether the plan needs to change. When circumstances alter, the network may need to involve education, health, family time or therapeutic services so that the response reflects the child’s current needs.

A well-defined network should make clear:

• who your main point of contact is for ordinary placement matters;
• who is responsible for decisions about the child’s care plan;
• which matters require agreement from the fostering service or placing authority;
• how to raise a safeguarding concern or report a significant event;
• how meetings, reviews and records are arranged;
• how decisions are communicated to you and, where appropriate, to the child; and
• what to do if you believe a concern has not been addressed through the usual route.

It is sensible to ask for this information during assessment and induction, then keep an up-to-date list of relevant contacts and documents. Check who has parental responsibility, who can consent to medical treatment or school activities, and which decisions you can make as part of everyday care. These arrangements can differ according to the child’s legal status and care plan, so do not rely on an arrangement from a previous placement.

The network should include the foster carer’s voice as well as professional input. You know the child’s daily routines and may notice changes that are not apparent in formal meetings. Share observations promptly, ask for explanations where a plan is unclear, and record decisions after discussions. If you disagree with a proposed arrangement, ask for the reason, the evidence being considered and the process for reviewing the decision.

For prospective foster carers, the most useful test of a support network is not simply how many services are named, but whether the responsibilities and communication routes are understandable. Before applying, ask how information is shared, how placement plans are explained, how reviews involve foster carers, and how the service responds when a child’s needs become more complex. Clear answers will help you understand the practical support available and your own responsibilities within the wider team.