Supervision and Support of Foster Carers

The role of the Fostering Social Worker

All Foster Carers are allocated a named Fostering Social Worker whose role is to offer support and supervision.

The Fostering Social Worker must have monthly contact and visit regularly (monthly) whilst a child is living with you and keep in regular contact when there is no child in your care.

The Fostering Social Worker is there to ensure that you have sufficient information about a child and are supported in your role as a Foster Carer. They also act as a liaison between the Child’s Social Worker and you. It is important to understand that a child’s needs remain the first priority for all those involved.

If, for any reason, your Fostering Social Worker is unavailable you are able to access support from another worker in their team if you need this. This is referred to as, “duty office cover”.

If your social worker is absent for an indefinite period, the Team Manager will make arrangements with you to agree who will support you in their absence.

Supervision Policy

What is Supervision?

Supervision in the Fostering Service is a formal arrangement for meetings between Carers and their allocated Social Worker. It is a policy of Staffordshire’s Fostering Service that all Foster Carers have the right to regular supervision, as this is part of our commitment to creating a full and responsible partnership between carers and the Department.

Supervisory visits are distinct from support visits and have a set agenda. It focuses on the care that you are providing to children and young people and the progress they are making. It also focuses on your household, identifying support/training needs and any other issues. Supervision will give you time to consider and focus on the outcomes for children in your care. You and your fostering social worker will be able to discuss the ways in which what you are doing is improving the health, happiness, success and safety of your fostered children.

Supervision is essentially a supportive and enabling two-way process:

To ensure you understand how you can contribute to Services for children and young people
To enable you to contribute effectively to the plans for children and young people for whom you are caring
To enable you to be clear about what is expected of you in undertaking this role
To ensure you understand what is involved and required of you regarding each child you care for
To give you appropriate feedback on your work
To enable the Department to monitor and review the quality of services to children ‘cared for’ in foster care
To support you by providing advice and oversight, or making this available from elsewhere as appropriate
To support your children by seeking their views on the effects of fostering on them, and providing advice and support either directly or making this available via other established networks
To help you cope with the stresses the work may entail
To ensure that you are enabled to develop your skills and knowledge by having your training needs assessed, opportunities for development identified and when training has occurred considering how this has aided your understanding

Supervision meetings take place between you and your allocated Social Worker. Where partners are jointly approved as Foster Carers, it is expected that both of you will be present, whenever possible.

Where appropriate, the meeting may include others within the family network – immediate or wider family members. The views of your children are welcomed, and these can be shared either directly or in a written form.

What Happens in Supervision?

Supervision must take place a minimum of four times during a year. They are formal meetings with an agenda and there will be a written record of what was said and agreed.

Your allocated Social Worker will explain the arrangements more fully to you and will ask you to sign a supervision agreement which specifies:

Frequency of meetings
Duration of meetings
Venue of meetings

Supervision is an opportunity for you to think about the work you are doing as a Foster Carer, to raise problems or difficulties, and to find opportunities for developing your own skills and experience. It can be an opportunity for any of your children to talk about how ‘fostering’ is for them.

Issues and matters raised within supervision meetings can be reflected in your annual Foster Carer Review. You will receive a copy of the written record of the meeting and a copy will be held on your foster carer file. If requested foster carers can be provided with an immediate copy of the main points and agreed actions from their formal supervision.

Supervision creates possibilities to help you develop and grow in the work you do. Any areas of learning and training needs will be identified, and a plan agreed as to how to address these.