Should everyone in my household complete safe foster care training?

No. The amount and type of safe foster care training needed depends on each person’s role in the household, their age and how closely they will be involved in day-to-day fostering. The applicants will complete the relevant training, while everyone who lives in or regularly spends time in the home should understand the household’s safeguarding arrangements.

Prospective foster carers need a detailed understanding of safe care. This normally includes recognising signs that a child may be at risk, responding appropriately to disclosures, managing boundaries, recording and reporting concerns, using safer caring practices and understanding how trauma or previous experiences may affect behaviour. Both applicants should be involved where fostering is a joint household decision, even if one person is the main applicant.

Other adults in the home may not need to complete the same programme, but their participation is important. This could include a partner who is not applying, adult children, relatives or lodgers. They should understand the expectations placed on household members, including privacy, appropriate physical contact, social media, visitors, transport, supervision and what to do if a child says or does something concerning. The fostering assessment may also seek their views because their behaviour and relationship with the child can affect the safety of the home.

Children and young people in the household should receive information that is suitable for their age and understanding. They do not need adult safeguarding instruction or details about a child’s history. Instead, they may need opportunities to discuss what fostering could mean for shared spaces, belongings, routines, privacy, attention from their parents or carers and family rules. They should know who they can speak to if they feel worried, confused or uncomfortable.

Children in the household should not be expected to take responsibility for protecting a fostered child, managing difficult behaviour or keeping sensitive information secret. Those responsibilities remain with the approved foster carers and the supervising professionals. Clear explanations can help household children understand the difference between respecting confidentiality and telling a trusted adult about a safety concern.

Regular visitors and wider family members may also need basic guidance where they spend significant time in the home or have contact with a fostered child. Grandparents, babysitters, close friends and other visitors should know the boundaries that apply. They should not ask intrusive questions, share information about the child, post photographs or messages online, or provide unsupervised care unless this has been agreed within the fostering arrangements.

Training is only one part of making the household safe. During the assessment and preparation process, the fostering service should consider the home environment, sleeping arrangements, existing relationships, pets, employment and other commitments, as well as each person’s ability to follow safer caring expectations. The agency can explain which sessions are intended for applicants, which information should be shared with other household members and whether anyone needs additional learning or discussion.

It is also important to distinguish between understanding the expectations and completing formal training . A household member may be asked to attend an information session, contribute to discussions or confirm that they understand the agreed rules without taking the same assessment or preparation course as the applicant. Keeping a record of who has received guidance can help ensure that expectations remain clear as circumstances change.

Before applying, households can assess their readiness by discussing practical questions such as:

• Who will be present in the home and what contact will they have with a fostered child?
• How will everyone respect the child’s privacy and confidentiality?
• What household rules will apply to bedrooms, bathrooms, devices, photographs, visitors and online activity?
• How will household members respond if they are worried about a child’s safety or wellbeing?
• How will existing children cope with changes to routines, space and attention?
• Who can provide practical support without taking on responsibilities that belong to the foster carers?

The key principle is that everyone should have enough information to behave safely and support the agreed care arrangements, but not everyone needs identical training. Prospective carers should ask the fostering service to set out the expectations for each person in their household and to provide suitable explanations or learning for anyone who will be affected by fostering.