Chapter contents
Placements Service
Our Placement Team receives all placement referrals from local authorities. Placements officers will regularly contact foster parents who have vacancies, either to confirm their current circumstances or to discuss potential matches. The Placements Team works closely with the teams in our regional centres to match children with our foster parents.
For more information, read our policy and procedure: Placement in Foster Care
The Matching Process
Carer Profile
During your initial assessment to become a foster parents we prepare a ‘carer profile’ for your family. This is a brief document describing you and your circumstances, experience and skills. The Placements Team sends this to local authorities when they have matched a child with you. They will also send it to local authorities to promote your specific skills, e.g. experience with disabilities.
With the help of your supervising social worker, you should regularly review and update your carer profile.
Welcome Book
We ask our new foster families to prepare a ‘Welcome Book’ for their fostered children. This is something that we share with children during the matching process, to help prepare them. The Welcome Book should include photos of you and your home. Please remember to update it when things change.
We encourage families to create their own bespoke and personalised Welcome Book, but advise that you include the following information:
- Photos of family members, with some information about each person (including any pets)
- Photos of the home, including the child’s bedroom
- Information about your local area, including photos
- Information about what you like to do as a family
An example of a Welcome Book, and templates that you can use if you wish, are available in our Charms system.
Planned Placements
The child’s local authority will provide our placements team with information about the child’s circumstances and needs. The team will use this information to make a match with possible foster parents. We may decide that, given the child’s needs, we do not have a suitable family with a vacancy. If so, we will advise the local authority that we cannot help on this occasion.
If they identify you as a potential foster family, a placements officer will usually phone you to share information about the child and their needs. This will help you to consider whether you believe you can meet the child’s needs. The placements officer will also speak with your manager or supervising social worker to obtain their view on the suitability of this potential placement.
If everyone is in agreement that this might be a suitable placement match, the placements team will send information about your family – including your profile and welcome book – to the child’s local authority. The local authority will be looking at details of several potential families and will decide which family they believe is best able to meet the child’s needs.
We will also consult with other fostered children who are members of your household, and their placing authority, to ensure they are in agreement with any new placement arrangement.
Once a match has been agreed, the Placements Team will refer the local authority to your manager for further discussions, including making arrangements for introductory meetings, and ensuring that the child’s needs can be met, e.g. special education, medical or support needs. Arrangements could include additional training for you or practical arrangements such as transport.
Emergency placements
Not all placements can be planned and children are sometimes taken into care quickly, to remove them from a situation of danger or neglect. This can happen late at night. The out-of-hours worker can make an emergency placement and will contact a family directly in this situation.
Children who need emergency placements can be frightened and distressed and they need sensitive care and comfort. You will have limited information about them when they arrive. These placements might only last for a few days, but some children remain for several weeks or months. They are subject to the same placement planning requirements as other placements and therefore lack of information should only be a temporary situation.
Matching and Risk Assessment
Ensuring the safety of foster children and all members of their foster family is our primary concern. The Placements Team undertakes an initial risk assessment within the matching form which helps identify any known risks that a child may present – either to themselves or to others.
The initial risk assessment will be based on the information that local authority has shared with us, and this might not be complete. It is quite possible that a child will show behaviours that can be identified as risks, only after a placement has taken place. Where there is cause for concern, ISP will request copies of any existing up-to-date written risk assessments or start a new safeguarding risk assessment within five working days of placement.
You and your supervising social worker should complete an Individual Safe Care Agreement for the child, based on the child’s risk assessment. You should also review your family Safer Care Plan.
Placement Information
Information for foster parents
The government has issued strong guidance to local authorities that providing the following information, at the time of placement, is essential to both safety and placement security:
- Child behaviour that has been a cause for concern in the past, particularly when it might put the home or family at risk (e.g. fire setting, sexually harmful behaviour)
- Successful and unsuccessful strategies for managing difficult behaviour in the past
ISP will collect the information initially, as well as ensure there is an initial risk assessment and we will pass all this information on to the foster parents. We will also regularly follow up any gaps in information. These are our duties under fostering regulations and national minimum standards and we take them very seriously.
Read our escalation on care documents procedure, on CHARMS.
What information should you ask for?
There is some essential information that you should have before the placement starts. The care plan and placement plan will provide these details, but these documents may not be available at the outset. Ask your supervising social worker if you have not been informed of the following:
- Child’s Name
- Gender
- Date of birth
- Ethnicity and religion of child
- Anticipated length of placement
- Whether the child is subject to a legal order, or accommodated
- Whether the child is subject to a child protection plan
- The reasons why the child needs a foster placement
- Is this the child’s first experience of being in foster care?
- Where are the child’s parents, brothers and sisters?
- Will there be contact and relatives? How will this happen?
- How is the child’s health – are they on any medication or do they have any medical conditions?
- Does the child have any special needs?
- What school does the child attend? Do they need to change school?
- Is there any specific behaviour which may be of concern?
- Are there any activities, clubs, sports or talents that it is important to support and encourage?
- If the placement requires children to share a bedroom, are there any known risks?
Information to children/young people
Unless an emergency placement makes it impossible, we aim to provide children and young people with information about foster carers before arrival. We will share your welcome book and this will include photographs of you, your children and pets, as well as the child’s bedroom.
Introductory meetings
Wherever possible, children are encouraged to visit the foster parent’s home and to talk with the foster parents in private before a placement decision is made. A face to face meeting is a great opportunity to find out about each other and can relieve any fears and anxieties for all the people involved. Depending on the nature of the placement, there may be a number of introductory meetings before all involved feel comfortable to proceed.
Bedrooms
ISP has a policy which states that, as a general rule, each child over the age of three will have their own bedroom:
- A birth child of the foster parents will not share a bedroom with a foster child.
- Fostered children should not share a bedroom with other fostered children, unless they are siblings.
- Children in care under the age of two years may share the same bedroom as their foster parents, if appropriate.
These general standards apply to all families who foster for ISP. There may be exceptions for specific children, following a risk assessment, and with the agreement of the placing authority.
Before approaching the child’s local authority to seek agreement for the sharing of a bedroom, we will take into account any potential for bullying, any history of abuse or abusive behaviour, the wishes of the children concerned and all other relevant facts. The final decision as to whether fostered children share a bedroom rests with ISP and the local authority.
Placement Planning Meetings
A placement planning meeting takes place once the placement has been agreed. The purpose of the meeting is for all the participants to provide and receive information so that you, the foster child, their parents, their social worker, and your supervising social worker have a clear understanding of the purpose and likely duration of the placement.
It is best for this meeting to take place in your home, as an important part of the meeting is for you and the young person to agree on the day to day living arrangements once the placement starts. The meeting will contribute to the child’s placement plan.
This meeting is also an appropriate opportunity to share your Family Safer Care Plan.
Placement Plans
The child’s placement plan is part of their care plan. Each time a child or young person has a new placement, they should have a new placement plan and it should be reviewed regularly. The placement plan should explain the foster parent’s role, and how the day to day parenting tasks will be shared between the foster parent, the local authority and the child’s parents.
The placement plan will help you to understand the child’s likes, dislikes and routines. It will explain the child’s health, educational, emotional and behavioural needs and how these might affect the child day to day. It will include strategies for responding to these needs.
Ideally, the placement plan will be completed before the start of placement. When this is not possible, regulations state that it must be made within five working days of the start of placement. The child’s local authority is responsible for achieving this.
We will ensure that you are given a copy of the child’s placement plan as soon as we receive it. Where there is delay in receiving any elements of the child’s care plan, we will actively follow this up with the responsible authority.
Delegated Authority
What is delegated authority?
As a foster parent, you will be allowed to make some day-to day decisions about your fostered children. This is called ‘delegated authority’ and applies to such things as health, education and leisure – unless there are particular reasons against this. The placement plan will state which decisions you are able to make.
As far as possible, you should be able to make the same sort of everyday decisions that other parents make, such as agreeing to sleepovers with friends and going on school trips. You will still need to tell your supervising social worker (in advance) of any overnight stays, and we will let the local authority know.
For more information, read our policy: Delegated Authority to Foster Parents
Book on our training course: Delegated Authority
Read the young person’s guide to delegated authority
Beginning a Placement
When the child arrives
We all feel nervous meeting new people. Children are usually wary of new adults and it may be more concerning if they are not. For a child having to leave their home and meet foster parents may be extremely stressful. When we think in terms of the secure base model, it is easy to see how, not knowing you at all, a child may find it difficult to trust you, or be unsure about what to expect and how to behave. Foster carers need to remain very sensitive and patient, and mindful of what the child may be thinking and feeling.
Your home may be very different from the child’s own home, or previous placement, and things which you take for granted can be bewildering to a child. Meals and other occasions when family members are together may be tense. It will help if you can do the following:
- Start the way you mean to go on.
- Be understanding.
- Accept the child or young person for who they are.
- Make sure you have checked the information given to you by the social workers telling you about the child; ask if you need more information.
- Tell any other children in the home about the new child, and keep them involved.
- Have a welcoming tea where everyone can meet each other.
- Remember all children’s needs are different.
- Do not treat one child with favouritism.
- Remember the child has parent(s) – talk to the child about them.
- Wherever possible, continue with the routines which the child is used to, such as bedtimes.
The first few days
Little things can be initially important in helping a child to relax and start to get to know you. For example, what do they like to drink and eat? Do they have a favourite television programme? What was the child’s routine at home? This is a good starting point to understanding the foster child joining your family and how routines may differ.
If the child arrives with dirty clothes and toys, don’t wash these or discard them unless the child agrees. These items are a link with their home and family, and a source of comfort for the child.
You might need to take the child shopping in the first few days for some new clothes. This is a good opportunity to allow them to make choices and have some control over their new environment. If they would like to, allow them to choose some items to personalise their new bedroom.
What if I have doubts?
During the early days, while you are all getting used to each other, you might have some doubts about the placement. If you do, please keep a careful record of what concerns you and discuss this with your supervising social worker. They will listen to your worries and you can think about whether extra support would help. We all know that frequent changes of placement can be very damaging to children’s wellbeing and we should try to avoid unnecessary moves. New placements often go through recognisable stages:
New placements – stages of adjustment
The honeymoon period – this can refer to the first few weeks or months. The child may be trying to make a good impression. Sometimes they feel so bad they are afraid that if they show how they really feel their foster parents might send them away. They may feel so depressed they do not care anymore. Even children who seem contented may not be able to express their feelings.
Withdrawal – as they relax the child may need time to get their thoughts together. Try not to intrude at this time. This may be the hardest behaviour to manage because the child is not able to give you anything on which to develop your relationship or help them. You need to remain physically and emotionally available to them, so that they can learn to trust you.
Acting out – the child may now become more challenging; they will take the lid off their feelings and spill them in all directions. No one will know how long this will last. Try to remember that your job is to help them develop a secure base in your family home and to find safe ways to express these feelings and reassure them. This means being sensitive to the emotions that may underlie their behaviour. Children will need to feel accepted before they can develop self-esteem and learn to trust you. Their behaviour may make you angry and you need to find a safe way of expressing your feelings too.
What do we call each other?
Most children you care for will have parents. It is very rare for a child not to have known a mum or a dad or both. In temporary placements, it is not appropriate for the child to call a foster parent ‘Mum’ and/or ‘Dad’ because it can be confusing to the child and insensitive to the birth parents.
Some children struggle to know what to call foster parents and may choose not to call them anything at all, at least in the early stages. You can suggest to the child what he or she could call you; this may be your first name, ‘aunt’ or ‘uncle’ or anything else that is appropriate in your view.
It is vital for a child to be aware of their identity and their birth name is a major part of that identity. Please ensure you have the correct spelling of a child’s name, and please do not change or adapt it to call them something else, unless they have asked you to. If the child wishes to be known by a different name, you should seek advice from the child’s social worker.
Belongings and Suitcases
Foster children may bring items of clothing, toys or other possessions with them when they come to stay. These belongings may not seem very valuable, but they may be precious to a child and therefore should be treated with respect. Any toys the child brings along, whatever condition they are in, are the child’s belongings. They must be looked after and go with the child when he or she leaves. This also applies to any toys bought for the child whilst living with you or any toys given by relatives for birthdays and at other celebrations.
When a child first arrives in the foster home having left his or her own home in a crisis, he or she may have few belongings and may not have a suitcase or holdall. You should purchase a suitable bag which is solely the property of that child and will go with them if they leave the placement. Please purchase this bag regardless of the child’s length of stay with you. Never send the child away from your home with their belongings in refuse sacks.
Ending a Placement
Why do children move on?
Ideally, placement moves should always be planned, taking into account the child’s changing needs, wishes and feelings. For example, fostered children may return to their birth family – usually back to their parents, but sometimes to grandparents or other relatives. If children can live successfully and safely within their own family, this is always the preferred choice. Fostered children may also move to a new family for a permanent placement, through adoption or permanent foster care. Older foster children may move to live independently.
In some situations, a move is unplanned. An ‘accommodated’ child can return to their parent immediately, if the parent chooses this. Foster placements can also end quite quickly as a result of unexpected changes in the fostering household or because the young person’s behaviour becomes unmanageable. In some cases, placements can break down because people find they are not well matched and do not get on well. If a placement breaks down it does not mean that you or the foster child are at fault.
Arrangements for ending placements
When it appears that a placement is coming to an end, it is important that you, the child’s social worker and ISP workers help the child to understand why they are moving, and support the child through their transition to a new living situation, whatever that may be. Even in situations where moves were not planned, our aim is that we will work together with you to ensure sufficient time for planning and arranging the child’s future placement, in order to avoid moving a child as a result of a crisis or emergency.
If you wish to end a placement, we expect a 28-day notice period. We will never move a child on the same day, other than in very dangerous circumstances, where serious harm will occur if the child is not moved.
Disruption meetings
If a placement breaks down irretrievably the Local Authority will usually want to hold a disruption meeting, which should be chaired by an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) who has not chaired previous meetings for the child and who can offer ‘neutral’ chairing. The disruption meeting should involve all those closely involved with the child and family, including the child’s social worker, and the supervising social worker.
The objective of the meeting is to examine the various elements of the placement match and the reason for the disruption in order to ensure that:
- The child’s current and future needs can be met
- The child and foster parents can be helped to recover from the experience
- Practice can be improved.
The meeting will be recorded and you should receive a copy of the minutes.
For more information, read our Placement Stability policy.
Can I maintain contact with the child when they have moved on?
It is very important for a child or young person not to just move away and have no further contact. The longer the placement has been, the more important this is. Children need to know that important people who have looked after them have not just ‘disappeared’ from their lives, even where placements ended unhappily. It can often happen, however, that once placements are finished no arrangements are made for future contact.
ISP will try to ensure that placement planning includes arrangements for the type and timing of future contact in line with the needs of the child. Contact may be by letter, phone or in person. Be prepared to discuss and review the planned contact arrangements with the parents, the new carers and/or the social workers involved. The child’s needs come first.
