Recording Policy

1. Introduction 

1.1 Foster carers are increasingly being asked to provide information about fostered children as part of their fostering role. This information will contribute towards maintaining a history of a child’s placement and assessments. These records are being made as part of the child’s file and should be viewed and written in that way. 

1.2 The key role that foster carers play in recording is highlighted in the Fostering Services National Minimum Standards (2011) which state: 

‘The foster carer understands the important supporting role they play in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history. The child, subject to age and understanding, is encouraged to keep appropriate memorabilia (including photographs) of their time in the placement. The fostering service makes this role clear to their foster carers and ensures they can record, and help children make a record of (subject to age and understanding), significant life events’. (NMS 26.7) 

1.3 This policy and guidance aims to: 

  • Identify the types of information and records that carers hold.
  • Recognise who the records belong to.
  • Clarify how the records should be stored.
  • Describe what should be recorded.
  • Explain how it should be recorded.
NB: Children and young people’s records are retained for 75 years.   Adults, who have grown up in care, will reflect on their care experiences, especially at key transition life stages, such as when they become parents or grandparents. It could be many years before children wish to or feel able to access their records It is therefore, important that foster carers take into account that, however challenging living with a fostered child may be, there are always ‘positives’ to be celebrated and recorded. 

 

2. Records and Confidentiality 

2.1 The Fostering Service will provide foster carers with a lockable, portable filing box in which to store confidential information. Foster carers should keep the box and its contents safe, and the Fostering Social Worker will check the contents as part of their supervisory role. 

2.2 For the duration of their registration foster carers should keep: 

  • Information about fostering in general. This information is not confidential but foster carers should have access to it in order to assist them with the task of fostering; 
  • Information about themselves as foster carers which should be stored confidentially.
  • Records about the children currently in placement which should always be stored confidentially 

2.3 Foster carers are expected to record electronically and to enable these records to be stored safely the service will provide an encrypted memory stick to all carers (see Section 5).

 

3. Types of Recording and Information 

3.1 Fostering Service information: 

  • Recruitment information,
  • Preparation (for fostering) material,
  • Induction information,
  • Foster Carer Handbook,
  • Fostering Network information,
  • Training materials,
  • Newsletters/leaflets 

3.2 Records about themselves as foster carers: 

  • Copy of the fostering Assessment;
  • Disclosure and Barring Service return,
  • Foster Care Agreement,
  • Supervision notes,
  • Foster Carer Annual Review,
  • Agency decisions and Foster Panel minutes
  • Training invitations/arrangements,
  • Certificates,
  • Correspondence,
  • Health and Safety check,
  • Pet Questionnaire,
  • Safer Caring Policy. 

3.3 Records about the child: 

  • Copy of the child’s Placement Plan
  • Copy of the child’s Care Plan,
  • Copy of the child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP)
  • Copy of the child’s current Health Plan/Review, Health Record (Red Book),
  • Placement Planning Meeting minutes,
  • Child Specific Fostering Support and Safe Care Plan,
  •  Placement request and matching document
  • Statutory (child in care ) Review report / minutes,
  • Weekly log/records,
  • Child's passport,
  • Correspondence relating to specific children,
  • Incident Notifications,
  • Life-story work,
  • Risk Assessment for the child,
  • Pathway Plan, Transition Plan,
  • Photos and memorabilia.

 

4. Purpose and Content of Foster Carer’s Recording 

4.1 Foster carers must keep separate records for individual children. It is not acceptable to keep collective records when fostering two or more children. 

4.2 These records are required for the following purposes: 

  • To accurately recall behaviour or incidents related to the child and provide a balanced picture of events;
  • To assist in looking at the progress of a placement over time and developing a picture of the child’s pattern of behaviour;
  • To inform decision-making at reviews, planning meetings and conferences;
  • To help the foster carer to review and reflect on their practice;
  • To provide information needed for court proceedings;
  • To support an application for additional help for the child e.g. therapy;
  • To reduce any risk to foster carers and their families while the child is placed, and, in some cases, after the child has moved on. 

4.3 Staffordshire Foster carers should use the specific template provided by the Fostering Service, which will be provided by their Fostering Social Worker. 

4.4 When updating records, foster carers should consider the following basic guidelines: 

  • The language used should be simple and jargon-free;
  • The record should not be overly long but with sufficient information to be able to recall the event accurately;
  • A daily log is required that is submitted on a weekly basis;
  • Facts should be recorded, rather than opinions.If personal opinions are recorded then carers should make it clear that it is opinion and not fact. This is important as records may be read by a young person or their birth family, who may choose to access information at a later date;
  • The record should be made as near to the time of the event as possible and signed and dated. If any information is changed or added later this should be clear from the record.

 

5. What to record/Where to record it? 

5.1 For the duration of each placement foster carers will keep information about each child placed in their care. Any information about children and their families must always be kept confidential, and remains the property of the Local Authority. 

5.2 Foster Carer’s Diary

5.2.1 The foster carer should keep a diary for appointments and dates of activities. 

  • Dates of meetings / visits by social workers and other professionals;
  • Dates of reviews, or any other meetings concerning the child.
  • Dates of any school, or education meetings e.g. PEP reviews
  • Dates of any health appointments, any treatments and immunisations for the child.

 

5.3 Weekly Log 

5.3.1 The following is a guide to what can be relevant to record in the foster carer’s weekly log: 

  • Information about health appointments, with a list of who was there, and any key decisions made.
  • Details of any family timewith the child's family, or relatives and any significant interactions including phone calls, texts, letters etc.
  • Child's reaction to family time , remembering to be factual and avoiding opinion. Record any other observations e.g. what the child’s mood or presentation was like before and after the family time ; how the child responded to family members; how the parent interacted with them; how the ending was managed; what the child’s response was like.
  • Details of when the child is away from home, visiting family or friends, or if they are missing.
  • Details of times when alternative care is given, including baby-sitting arrangements.
  • Details of any specific incidents, accidents or injuries. Describe what, when, where and how the incident/accident happened and what follow up action was taken. Record when it was reported to which social worker.
  • Details of any theft or wilful damage caused by the foster child.
  • Details of any behaviour or comments from the child that give rise to concern, with a note of any actions taken. This may help to identify any triggers for such behaviour and what brings it to an end.
  • Details of any involvement with the Police, noting the date(s), which Police officer(s) were involved, and the reason(s) for the involvement.
  • Details of any request made to the agency for support and any difficulties reported, including the date of the request, the response and when it was received.

 

5.4 Incident Notifications

5.4.1 Fostering Regulations require that certain incidents in a fostering household are recorded, specifically by the Fostering Service. For these, Foster Carers should complete an Incident Notification Form. 

5.4.2 Carers should continue to let the child’s Social Worker and their Fostering Social Worker know of incidents that take place, over the phone. 

5.4.3 The forms should be submitted to the Fostering Social Worker and the child’s Social Worker by email as soon as practicable after the incident (ideally within 24 hours). This is in addition to the completion of weekly recordings. 

5.4.4 The Incident Notification Form must be completed when the following events have taken place:

  • Carers have physically intervened with a child for their protection, or the protection of others
  • A child has gone missing from care
  • A serious illness or accident has occurred
  • A serious infectious disease has developed
  • There is has been involvement, or suspected involvement in child sexual exploitation (CSE)
  • There has been a serious incident involving the police
  • There has been an incident of bullying towards a foster child, whether it has taken place in school, the foster home or in the community. 

5.4.6 On receipt of the form, a discussion will take place with the Foster Carers, the child’s Social Worker and Fostering Team Manager about any actions which may need to be taken to reduce any risk to the carers, the child and other members of the family. For example, where a child keeps going missing, a meeting will need to be called to discuss the risks and how they can be reduced.

 

5.5 Medication Guidance

5.5.1 When a child is placed, foster carers will receive a set of Looked After Children paperwork, including a signed copy of the child’s Placement Plan, which gives delegated consent to carers to seek medical treatment for fostered child(ren). This document will also include details of any medication a child is currently prescribed. 

5.5.2 Foster carers are expected to record all medication administered to fostered children on the Fostering Medication Chart See Appendix 2. This includes both medication prescribed by a health professional and medication which is available over the counter. 

 

5.6 Financial Information 

5.6.1 There is no legal requirement for carers to record financial expenditure however, Staffordshire County Council asks carers to keep records of financial expenditure carried out for children placed with them. Carers should review essential expenditure with their Fostering Social Worker and use of the Fostering Allowance will be discussed as part of the carer’s regular supervision. Most carers will find it helpful to keep receipts for items directly purchased for the child e.g. clothing. Carers will be encouraged to use their discretion on how this is recorded e.g. keeping a separate account such as on a spreadsheet or keeping a copy of the receipts.

 

5.7 Pocket Money 

5.7.1 The personal allowance for children in fostering placements includes a set allowance for pocket money which should be given to the child with support from the foster carer to help the child manage their money and make positive choices. Carers should keep a record of the pocket money given to the child in their weekly log.

 

6. e-Recording 

6.1 The expectation is that foster carers will record ‘electronically’ and email their records on a weekly basis to their Fostering Social Worker and to the child’s Social Worker. 

6.2 In exceptional circumstances, where carers hand-write their recordings, this should be given to their Fostering Social Worker at every visit and the Social Worker will issue a receipt. The Social Worker will then arrange for the recording to be scanned onto the carer’s file and sent to the child’s Social Worker. 

6.3 All foster carers will need to use an encrypted memory stick which has been issued by the Fostering Service to store their recordings. For more information, see the Foster Carer’s Handbook. 

6.4 Where photographs are taken of the child, they should be stored on a secure drive and handed to the child's social worker. The foster carer must not store these photographs on their own computers or upload them onto social media sites such as Facebook. 

 

7. Life-Story Records 

7.1 Records made by foster carers are also used to provide a picture of family life for the child, to help them create a clear sense of their care experience and to recall key events while they are looked after. Foster carers play a crucial role in meeting the needs of children separated from their birth families, by preserving their memories, giving them information, helping to promote their identity, preparing for life changes and building their self-esteem through a positive image of themselves and their birth families. 

7.2 To support this, carers should develop a ‘memory box’ to keep tangible items such as certificates, reports, concert programmes, cinema stubs, drawings, holiday leaflets, locks of hair, first shoes etc. 

7.3 Carers should also keep a photo album to record a photographic journal of a child’s ‘looked after’ experience. This may include pictures of everyday places or things e.g. photos of the home, local shops, nursery, family car etc.

 

8. Retaining/Returning the information 

8.1 On ceasing to be a foster carer the following arrangements apply: 

  • Any information that falls into the category of ‘general fostering’ may be kept by the foster carer. However, care should be taken not to share information about other foster carers that may be contained within newsletters (e.g. addresses of carers running local support groups);
  • Foster carers may keep any information that they have been given about themselves.
  • Any information about a foster child held by the foster carers, whether it has been provided for them, or if they have made the record themselves, must be returned to the child’s Social Workeronce the placement has ended, or if the foster carer ceases to foster. 

8.2 If a child’s placement ends, the Fostering Social Worker is responsible for retrieving any documents relating to the child. This should include checking the lockable box to ensure that all the information is retrieved. 

8.3 The Fostering Social Worker should ask the carer to sign the ‘Receipt for Foster Carer Records Returned, which should list all the documents returned. 

8.4 The Fostering Social Worker should pass the information retrieved from the carer to the child's Social Worker who should file the information on the child’s file. Any duplicate information should be destroyed. 

8.5 Foster carers may have some concerns about returning all the child-based information to the Local Authority, feeling it may leave them vulnerable to potential allegations. However, Staffordshire Fostering Service and all carers must comply with the Data Protection Act (1998) which specifies who can store personal information about another person and the principles that apply to information storage. 

8.6 Foster carer files are kept for a minimum of 10 years after they cease to be carers. 

8.7 Information kept on the Looked After Child’s case record must be kept until the 75th anniversary of their date of birth, or 15 years from the date of death, if a child dies before the age of 18. 

8.8 The Fostering Network advises that foster carers are entitled to retain their own ‘personal diaries’. This is an acknowledgement that, for safe caring purposes, carers retaining certain key facts about events that could lead to allegations, is seen as good practice. Personal diaries are not checked as part of the monitoring of the placement, and are therefore, not removed at the end of the placement. If carers do keep a personal diary, they must ensure that only children’s initials are used and that they cannot be identified if the diary is mislaid. 

8.9 Following approval, recording issues will be discussed on an ongoing basis during supervision and at the Foster Carer Annual Review. Foster carers should be made aware that they can contact their Fostering Social Worker if they have any queries or concerns about recording.