Who's who in fostering

It can be all go when you are a foster carer, not only will you find yourself doing school runs, restocking the fridge and hunting the missing swimming kit, but you will become part of a large network of people. From social workers to teachers, court officials to, counsellors, you will, come across many individuals who work with you to provide services to fostered children.

Who's who in fostering

• Foster carer’s supervising social worker
• Fostering social work assistant
• Child's social worker
• Child’s family
• Other foster carers
• Teachers
• Special educational needs co-ordinator
• Medical professionals
• Therapists and counsellors
• Court officials and solicitors
• The Fostering Network

Foster carer’s supervising social worker

Your social worker is part of the fostering service team that is responsible for recruiting, preparing and 'assessing' new foster carers. After you have been approved as a foster carer, you will be allocated a social worker who will supervise and support you and other members of your family.

The supervising social worker is usually the person who contacts you to see if you are able to take a new child into your home. They will make the arrangements with the child's social worker to organise the child's arrival. Your supervising social worker will visit you on a regular basis to see if there is anything you need help with, and to check that you are not experiencing any problems.

Your supervising social worker can also help you to identify any training you might need and help you get onto the foster carer training programme. They will also be available if you need to talk through any problems.

Fostering social work assistant
You will be allocated a fostering social work assistant who works closely with your supervising social worker. Your social work assistant will visit you to provide support and will deal with your questions and queries.

Child's social worker
This is the person who works closely with the child and their family. They are often the person who brings the child to your home for the first time. They will visit the child on a regular basis in your home to discuss anything that needs sorting out and to check the child is healthy and happy. It is also their responsibility to make plans for the next step in the child's life.

Child’s family
With many foster placements, the aim is to get the child home to their own family. However, if the child is placed with you on a long term placement, and is not returning home, you may still need to help them keep in touch with their parents, siblings and other family members.

You will often find yourself working closely with the parents or other relatives. They may come to visit the child in your home, possibly with the child's siblings, or you may take the child to meetings with them at a place arranged by the social worker. In these meetings, you may be helping the parents to think about ways they are going to care for their child when they return home. Often parents may want to talk to you about problems in their own lives.

Other foster carersOther foster carers can be a valuable form of support. Most fostering services have support groups where carers can meet and talk together about any problems they are experiencing. You may get together for social activities such as children's parties and family barbecues. There may also be an experienced foster carer who stays in contact with you and who can support you from their own knowledge and experience of caring for children.

TeachersChildren in foster care may have problems with their education. Disruptions and changes in their lives can often mean that they are struggling to keep up with their peers. They may have had several changes of school. Problems and uncertainty in their lives may be expressed through 'difficult behaviour'.

Many children with physical or learning disabilities are educated in mainstream schools, but some attend special schools that cater for their specific needs.

As a foster carer, you will need to develop close working relationships with children's schools. You may need to help staff recognise the difficulties a child or young person is experiencing in their life.

All schools should have a teacher who is responsible for pupils who are in care. If the child you are caring for has problems at school, this teacher will help the child to express their opinions and to sort out any problems they are having.

Special educational needs co-ordinatorThe child you are caring for may have particular difficulties with their schoolwork. This may be because of a learning disability or emotional or behavioural disorders. You may work closely with the special educational needs co-ordinator at the school.

With the special educational needs co-ordinator, and people like the educational psychologist and consultant paediatrician, you may go through the process of getting a statement of special educational needs.

'Statementing' is a process that identifies whether or not the child has special educational needs, and what extra resources are needed to meet these. Children with a 'statement' have annual reviews, which you will need to attend.

Medical professionals
If the child you are caring for has a physical disability, you may find yourself taking part in frequent hospital appointments and visits to the consultants. You may also be working closely with health visitors and doctors. All children coming to live with you will need to be registered with a GP. Wherever possible, the fostering service will try to make sure children stay with their original GP. When this is not possible, you will need to make arrangements with your own GP so that the child continues to receive any medication or treatment that he or she may need.

Therapists and counsellorsChildren who have suffered emotionally distressing experiences may need help from therapists and counsellors. The therapist - or counsellor - may want to involve you in some aspects of their therapy, and you will often be asked to take part in progress meetings.

Court officials and solicitorsIf there is a court case about the child you are fostering, you will probably meet someone who acts as a 'Children's Guardian'.

The 'Children's Guardian' is an independent person appointed by the court to safeguard the interests of the child or young person. They will be interested in your experiences of caring for the child, and may ask for your opinions about the choices for the child's future. The solicitor representing either the child, or the social services department, may also seek your views.

The Fostering Network
The Fostering Network is the UK's leading charity for everyone involved in fostering. It campaigns for higher standards of care for fostered children and young people, and supports fostering services and foster carers in their work. Over half of all UK foster carers and 99 per cent of local authorities are members of the Fostering Network. Members receive copies of the organisation's quarterly magazine Foster care, discounts on a range of helpful publications and access to the free 24 hour legal advice service.