Fostering is becoming an ever more complex task and although many of the skills you utilise in caring for children cannot be taught, there are always new skills and learning to be acquired and all foster parents are expected to complete a core training programme.
Where there are two foster parents in a household, both are expected to attend training.
Training topics are: -
- Child Sexual Exploitation Level 2
- Equality & Diversity
- Female Genital Mutilation
- Keeping Good Records
- Safeguarding Level 2
- Sexual Abuse & Recognising Grooming
- Information Sharing and Consent
- Bullying and Cyberbullying
- Effective Communication with children and families
- Honour Based violence and forced marriage
- Human trafficking and modern-day slavery
- First Aid
- Missing Children
- Criminal Exploitation and County Lines
- LGBTQ+ Children
- Autism Awareness
- Self-Harm
- GDPR
We will also expect you to undertake further training and development as identified in discussion with your SSW or during your annual review of registration. You can access our training portal here.
All foster parents are expected to maintain an individual training profile. This should include details of training and development undertaken and future training needs. Your Supervising Social Worker will help you produce and maintain this during their regular supervisory visits.
We will ensure that you are notified of available training and development opportunities on a regular basis. We will also ensure that all mandatory training is accessible to all foster parents and endeavour to ensure that all other training and development activity is accessible to all foster parents.