What happens after approval before my first foster placement?

After foster carer approval, there is usually a preparation period before a child or young person moves into your home. This stage turns the approval decision into practical readiness: completing any outstanding learning, arranging equipment and documentation, understanding your responsibilities, and making sure your household knows how fostering will work.

Your approval details are confirmed. Your fostering team will make sure you understand the terms of your approval, including the age range, number of children, types of placements and needs you are prepared to support. These details guide future placement decisions and help everyone work within the assessment and approval agreed for your household. If your circumstances change, such as a change in your household, accommodation or availability for fostering, tell your supervising social worker so the impact can be considered properly.

You complete any remaining preparation. Most applicants complete core training before approval, but there may be additional sessions, refresher learning or placement-specific preparation afterwards. Topics may include safeguarding, safer caring, child development, trauma and attachment, behaviour that communicates distress, recording, confidentiality, first aid and working with other professionals. Training is not simply a formality: it helps you respond appropriately when a child’s experiences affect their behaviour, relationships, sleep, education or daily routines.

Your home is made ready. You may need to organise practical items before a child arrives. Depending on the placement, this can include:

• preparing the approved bedroom and ensuring it is suitable, safe and private;
• checking that household safety arrangements remain appropriate;
• obtaining clothing, toiletries, bedding and age-appropriate equipment;
• keeping important contact details and emergency information where adults in the household can find them;
• agreeing how personal belongings, photographs, devices and online activity will be managed; and
• considering how pets, visitors, family routines and transport arrangements may affect a child.

The exact preparation will depend on the child’s age, needs and the type of fostering you are approved to provide. You should not buy specialist equipment or make major changes without discussing the likely requirement with your fostering team.

You agree how safer caring will operate. A safer caring plan sets out how everyday situations will be managed in a way that protects the child and the adults around them. It can cover personal care, bathing, bedroom arrangements, physical contact, supervision, transport, use of social media, babysitting and boundaries with other household members. The plan should be practical rather than generic, and it may need updating when a child’s needs become clearer.

Your household prepares together. Everyone living in the home should understand that fostering can change routines and affect privacy, space and family time. Birth children and other household members need information that is suitable for their age, along with a clear explanation of who they can speak to if they are worried. It is also useful to discuss confidentiality: a child’s history and personal information should not be shared casually with friends, relatives or online.

Administrative arrangements are put in place. Before the first placement, you will normally review the foster carer agreement and information about recording, confidentiality, safeguarding and communication. You should understand how to report concerns, accidents, missing episodes or allegations, and how to keep accurate records about significant events, appointments, contact and the child’s progress. Your fostering team can also explain the financial arrangements connected with fostering, including the allowances and expenses that apply under their current policy.

You identify the support around you. Fostering is a shared responsibility, even when one person is the main carer. Before a placement, consider which relatives or friends can offer appropriate practical support and what they need to know about confidentiality and safer caring. Your supervising social worker and wider fostering team remain important sources of professional guidance, while the child’s social worker and other professionals may be involved once a placement is agreed.

You receive information about a proposed placement. When a child may be suitable, you should be given relevant information about their needs, routines, health, education, relationships, history and any known risks. You can ask questions and explain any concerns before agreeing. Approval does not mean you must accept every placement. The decision should take account of the child’s needs, your approval, the effect on children already in the household, the space available and the support required.

Where it is appropriate and safe, introductions may take place before a move, particularly for planned placements. The arrangements depend on the child’s circumstances and may be limited when a placement is needed urgently. Before the child arrives, make sure you know who will bring them, what belongings and documents will accompany them, which appointments or contact arrangements are already planned, and who to contact if an issue arises.

Once these steps are complete, you are ready to consider a first placement with a clearer understanding of the practical responsibilities involved. Preparation does not end when the child moves in: your training, supervision and support continue, and plans can be reviewed as the child settles and their needs become better understood.