Chapter Contents
The Legal Framework
How do children and young people get placed in foster care?
All of our children and young people have been placed with us by a local authority. Most of these children are ‘looked after’ by the local authority, which is sometimes called ‘being in care’. This means that the local authority has a legal duty to plan for the child’s care and to review it regularly. You can read more about their responsibilities here.
Some children are not ‘looked after’, but are placed under ‘section 17’ (referring to a section of the Children Act 1989). This might include children with disabilities who are staying for regular short breaks. It might also include some parent-and-child placements.
How do children and young people become ‘looked after children’?
The Children Act 1989 introduced the term ‘looked after child’.
There are four main ways in which a child becomes ‘looked after’:
- Accommodation (section 20) – when the parent agrees to a child being taken into care , or if a young person over 16 gives their own consent.
- Care Order or Interim Care Order (section 31/38) – when a child is in care by order of the courts. Such children sometimes remain living with a parent or a family friend/other relative.
- Emergency Protection Orders (section 44) and Police Protection (section 46) – usually outside of office hours.
- Remanded into care (section 21) – by the criminal courts.
Read the Children Act 1989
What are Fostering Services?
Foster care is one way in which a local authority can meet the needs of its ‘looked after children’.
Each local authority has its own fostering service. They can also make placements with an independent fostering service provider. ISP is one of these independent providers. Ofsted regulates and inspects us and we have to comply with a number of laws and regulations, including:
The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Vol 4: Fostering Services
Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011
Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards
National Minimum Standards
What are National Minimum Standards?
The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards 2011 describe the absolute minimum standards that the government requires of fostering service providers.
Ofsted inspectors use the NMS (as they are known) to judge the quality of fostering services and whether or not these comply with regulations.
We also use the standards for self-assessment and to guide staff and foster parents through our responsibilities in caring for children and young people. There are 31 standards which cover both direct care of fostered children and the organisation of a fostering service.
For each of the standards, there is a related outcome for the fostering service to achieve. The outcomes focus on the needs of children, and are measurable. They are well worth reading in full and having a copy to hand. You should be familiar with the first 12 child-focused standards.
You can view the full set of the National Minimum Standards by following this link:
Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards
The Role of a Foster Parent
Foster parents work as part of the ‘corporate parent’ team helping the child or young person. The role of the foster parent is to act as the best possible parent for each child they look after and to advocate on their behalf to achieve the best possible outcomes.
As a foster parent, you will:
- Provide a safe and caring environment for the child
- Support and meet the child’s health needs
- Ensure the child attends nursery/school/college
- Encourage children to learn, and help them with their homework
- Support contact between the child and their birth family
- Support and promote the child’s development so that they can achieve their potential
- Work towards the outcomes identified in the Care Plan/Pathway Plan.
