Who will be your main point of contact during fostering in Shrewsbury?

Your main point of contact during fostering in Shrewsbury will normally be your allocated supervising social worker. They are responsible for supervising and supporting you as a foster carer, helping you understand your duties, reviewing how placements are progressing and connecting you with the wider fostering team when specialist advice is needed.

Your supervising social worker is separate from the child’s social worker. The child’s social worker focuses on the child’s care plan, family relationships and statutory arrangements, while your supervising social worker focuses on your role, your household and your ability to provide safe, consistent care. The two professionals may work together, but they have different responsibilities.

At the start of your fostering journey, your supervising social worker can help you understand the assessment and approval process. They can explain what information is required, discuss the skills and experience within your household, and identify any training or preparation that would be useful. They should also give you a clear understanding of the standards expected of foster carers before you accept a placement.

Once you are approved, their support may include:

• Discussing whether a proposed placement is suitable for your household and the child’s needs.
• Helping you understand placement information, care plans and relevant expectations.
• Reviewing your recording, safeguarding practice and day-to-day care arrangements.
• Identifying further training, learning or practical support.
• Contributing to reviews of your approval and fostering practice.
• Helping you raise concerns and ensuring they are directed to the appropriate professional.

Your supervising social worker is not the only person involved. Depending on the circumstances, you may also work with the child’s social worker, education or health professionals, placement staff and other members of the fostering service. The supervising social worker helps you understand who is responsible for each part of the child’s support, so that concerns are not overlooked or passed to the wrong person.

Contact with your supervising social worker is part of an ongoing supervision arrangement rather than a single meeting. You should use supervision to discuss what is going well, where you are finding a placement difficult and whether the child’s needs or circumstances have changed. Honest communication is important: raising a concern early gives the fostering team the opportunity to consider what advice, training or additional support may be appropriate.

If your supervising social worker is not the right person for a particular issue, they should explain the appropriate route within the fostering service. Serious safeguarding concerns, allegations or matters affecting a child’s immediate welfare must be reported through the procedures provided by the fostering service and relevant professionals. Your supervising social worker can help you understand those procedures, but should not be the only route used where urgent safeguarding action is required.

Before accepting approval, ask who will supervise you, how supervision is arranged, who to contact when your supervising social worker is unavailable, and how support is provided during a placement. It is also sensible to ask how training, reviews, placement discussions and concerns are recorded. Knowing these arrangements in advance helps you understand the professional network around your household and the support available as your fostering responsibilities develop.