Is online foster carer training accepted during the fostering assessment?

Online foster carer training can be accepted as part of a fostering assessment, but acceptance depends on the fostering service carrying out the assessment. The course must be relevant to fostering, completed to an appropriate standard and supported by evidence that shows what you studied and how you completed it. Online learning is not automatically treated as equivalent to the preparation training required by every fostering service.

Fostering services use training to help prospective carers understand the responsibilities involved and to identify areas where further learning or support may be needed. The format of the course is only one consideration. The assessing service may also look at:

• who provided the course and whether the provider is considered suitable;
• the subjects covered, such as safeguarding, attachment, trauma, safer caring and the impact of fostering on family life;
• whether you completed the full course rather than only viewing selected materials;
• whether your understanding was checked through questions, written work, quizzes or another form of assessment;
• when the training was completed and whether the content remains relevant; and
• whether you can provide a certificate, transcript, completion record or other reliable evidence.

A course you have already completed may therefore be useful background evidence during the assessment. It can demonstrate that you have started thinking carefully about fostering and may give you useful knowledge for discussions with your assessing social worker. However, it does not usually remove the need to take part in the fostering service’s own preparation programme if that programme is required.

This distinction is important. An online course may be accepted as additional learning without being accepted as a substitute for formal preparation training. The fostering service may need to check that its required learning outcomes have been covered and that you have had opportunities to ask questions, discuss realistic scenarios and consider how the information applies to your household. If your course does not cover a particular area, you may be asked to complete further training.

Online training also does not replace the other parts of a fostering assessment. The service will still need to consider your suitability to foster through the wider assessment process. This can include conversations with you and other household members, checks and references, health information, a home assessment and consideration of your circumstances, experience and ability to meet a child’s needs. Completing a course is evidence of preparation, not approval to foster.

Before relying on an online certificate, ask the fostering service assessing you to confirm its position. Useful questions include:

• Will this specific course be recognised as relevant learning?
• Can it contribute towards any required preparation training?
• Is the course provider or certificate acceptable?
• Which documents should I submit as evidence?
• How recent must the training be?
• Will I still need to complete the service’s own training sessions?

Keep the course description as well as your certificate or completion email. A certificate that only gives the course name may not show enough detail for the assessing service to judge its content. A description of the modules, learning outcomes and assessment method can make the evidence easier to review.

If you have limited evidence of completion, do not assume that the training will be disregarded. Explain what you studied and provide any records available. The assessing team can then decide whether the learning is relevant or whether additional preparation would be appropriate. The same applies if the course was completed some time ago or was designed for a different type of care.

Become a Foster Family can explain how training fits into the wider fostering journey and help you understand what information to discuss with your assessing team. The final decision about whether particular online foster carer training is accepted rests with the fostering service responsible for your assessment.