Training for foster carers

Skills to Foster training will introduce you to the world of fostering and give you the skills and knowledge to prepare you for the challenges.

There are six sessions over 3 full days that you will need to attend during your assessment as a potential foster carer to help you understand more about your role:

• What foster carers do
• Identity and life choices
• Working with others
• Understand and caring for children
• Safer caring
• Transitions

Once you are approved as foster carer, you will need to complete these mandatory training courses in your first year of fostering:

• Child Protection
• Embracing Diversity as a Foster Carer
• Paediatric First Aid
• Prevent (Terrorism, Extremism and Radicalisation)
• Role of the Virtual School
• Safer Caring and Record Keeping

By the end of your second year of fostering, you would also need to complete training on the following:

• Concerns, complaints and allegations
• Internet safety

Your mandatory training will need to be refreshed every three years so you can maintain and update the knowledge and skills needed to look after children in your care.

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) offer specialist training for our foster carers, on topics such as:

• therapeutic parenting
• mental health support

We offer a wide range of sessions and workshops to help you continue to learn and grow on your fostering journey and thrive in our community.

This includes:

• monthly joint learning sessions with our team and other foster carers on a wide range of topics such as transitions, the impact of fostering on the family and much more
• family learning courses to support your children’s learning and wellbeing, from the earliest stages right through to secondary school
• children’s social care to give the skills and knowledge to protect the children in your care
• occupational therapy to help children and young people develop and thrive

If you will be looking after the child of a relative or a friend, you will be what is known as a Family and Friends carer or Kinship carer.

When you are being assessed to be a kinship carer, you will complete a one-day course which includes the following areas:

• child development
• the importance of attachment
• therapeutic parenting
• neglect, physical and emotional abuse
• looking after yourself as a kinship carer