Do fostering regulations require applicants to receive a copy of the assessment report?

In England, the assessment report is a formal record of the fostering service’s evaluation of your suitability. The regulations give you an opportunity to read the completed report and comment on it before the fostering panel makes its recommendation. This is an important procedural safeguard: the panel should be able to consider your views alongside the assessing social worker’s conclusions.

The report will usually bring together evidence gathered during the assessment, such as:

• your identity, background, household and relationships;
• your health and ability to care for a child;
• your home, family network and practical circumstances;
• references, statutory checks and information from other professionals;
• your understanding of fostering and the needs of children in care;
• preparation training and learning completed during the assessment;
• your strengths, support needs and any areas requiring further work; and
• the type, age range, number or characteristics of children the service considers you may be suitable to foster.

The report should explain the evidence behind the recommendation, rather than simply stating whether the agency supports your application. Read it carefully against what you told the assessing social worker. Check names, dates, household details, employment information, medical information and descriptions of conversations or events. Pay particular attention to the proposed approval terms and to any statement that could affect the placements you may be considered for.

Your response is not limited to general comments. You can point out factual inaccuracies, provide clarification, and explain where you disagree with an assessment or recommendation. It is useful to separate matters of fact from professional opinion. For example, you might identify an incorrect date as a factual error, while a different view about your readiness to foster is more likely to be a matter for discussion with the agency and panel.

Give your observations in the format and within the timescale set by the fostering service. Keep a copy of what you submit and retain any documents supporting your comments. The agency should ensure that your observations, together with any response it makes, are available to the fostering panel. You may also be asked whether you wish to attend the panel or provide further information, depending on the agency’s procedures and the circumstances of your application.

Confidential information about another person may need to be handled carefully. Data protection requirements can mean that some third-party details are removed or redacted, but this should not be used to obscure the substance of the assessment or prevent you from identifying a significant factual error. Ask the agency to explain any substantial redaction and how it affects your ability to comment.

If the assessment report is incomplete, contains serious inaccuracies or reaches a conclusion that does not reflect the evidence, raise this with your assessing social worker and the agency’s supervising or fostering manager before the panel meeting. Ask for your written observations to be added to the panel papers. You can also use the fostering service’s complaints procedure if you believe the required process has not been followed. Independent legal or advocacy advice may be appropriate where the issue is particularly serious or could affect the outcome of your application.

Receiving and commenting on the report does not mean that approval is automatic. The fostering panel considers the full assessment, your observations and the agency’s response before making its recommendation. The fostering service then makes the formal decision in accordance with the applicable fostering legislation and its procedures.