Pre-Approval Training for Prospective Foster Carers and Adopters

To provide foster carers and adopters with an understanding of the tasks required of them allowing them to provide high quality care and thus meet the needs of each child/young person placed with them.

To provide guidance for all trainers, foster carers, adopters, supervising social workers and managers on the quality, duration and content of pre-approval training for foster carers.

Children’s Services will produce a planned programme of Pre-Approval Training for Prospective Foster Carers and Adopters.

The training will be provided either in house or through a contracting training company.

The training will be of a sufficient standard to fulfil the requirements of the Fostering and Adoption Service: National Minimum Standards.

All prospective foster carers will participate in the training before being presented at panel for approval.

The Fostering and Adoption Service will have a plan for the pre-approval training of foster carers and adopters.

All applicants will complete the pre-approval training provided by the Fostering and Adoption Service before being presented to panel.

The pre-approval training course will take place in two stages.

The training will seek to provide applicants with a basic understanding of:

1. The fostering task;
2. The structure and function of the fostering and adoption service;
3. The function of and relationship between significant persons within Children’s Services;
4. Issues of diversity and discrimination;
5. Safe caring;
6. Attachment, separation and loss and attachment issues;
7. Issues of discipline;
8. The law in relation to Children Looked After.

Where couples apply jointly to become foster carers and adopters, both partners should attend the pre-approval training. If it is not possible for both partners to attend at the same time, efforts should be made to provide the partner not attending with the same training as soon as possible. Both partners should successfully complete the training.

The training will be of a sufficient standard to fulfil the requirements of the Minimum Standards.

Pre-approval and induction training for carers will include opportunities to benefit from the experience and knowledge of existing carers.

All training will fit within a framework of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice.

The sons and daughters of applicants should be included in the pre-approval training where they have sufficient age and understanding.

The training will be presented and facilitated by personnel who are trained and competent to present it.

Wherever possible, timings and venues will be adjustable, within reason, to suit the needs of all applicants, for example, evening or weekend training sessions.