What training is required before fostering in Walsall?

Before you can foster in Walsall, you will normally complete pre-approval preparation and training, usually including a Skills to Foster course, as part of your assessment. The training helps you understand the responsibilities involved and gives you an opportunity to consider how fostering would affect your household before approval is recommended.

What the pre-approval training involves

Training is usually delivered through a mixture of group learning, discussion, exercises and practical scenarios. It may cover:

• the different reasons children may enter care and how their experiences can affect them;
• the role of foster carers within the wider professional network;
• safe caring arrangements, boundaries, confidentiality and managing risk;
• promoting positive relationships while respecting a child’s identity, background and family connections;
• recording information and communicating effectively with social workers, schools and other professionals;
• what to expect from the assessment, approval and placement process; and
• how fostering may affect relationships, routines, privacy and other members of the household.

The purpose is not to test whether you already know how to foster. It is an opportunity to ask questions, examine realistic situations and identify where further guidance may be useful. Previous experience of working with children can help, but you do not normally need a formal childcare qualification to begin the fostering assessment.

How training fits into the assessment

Training is one part of a wider assessment rather than a separate qualification that guarantees approval. Your assessing social worker will consider your circumstances, motivation, health, household arrangements, support network and ability to meet a child’s needs. Your participation in training, including how you reflect on the subjects discussed, can form part of that overall assessment.

Applicants are expected to attend the required sessions and take an active part. Other members of the household may also need to be involved, particularly where they will be affected by fostering. The exact arrangements depend on the fostering service and the type of fostering being considered.

What happens after approval

Learning does not stop when you become an approved foster carer. You will normally complete further development training during your first year and continue with regular learning afterwards. This can include subjects linked to a child’s needs, such as trauma, therapeutic approaches, online safety, caring for teenagers or supporting contact with birth family members.

Training needs are reviewed as part of ongoing supervision and annual review arrangements. If you are considering a particular type of placement, the fostering service can explain which additional preparation may be expected before a child is placed with you.

Questions to ask before enrolling

• Which sessions must be completed before approval?
• Who in the household should attend?
• How is training delivered and what preparation is expected?
• What learning continues after approval?
• How will training be adapted to the age, needs or circumstances of children you may foster?

Become A Foster Family can explain the training pathway, how it connects with the assessment and what ongoing learning is involved. Its staff are based across the region, with offices in Droitwich and Stoke, so prospective carers can discuss their circumstances with a local member of the team.