Front cover
Welcome to ISP
This guide is about you and your time with us at ISP.
We want to help you find out about foster care.
Page 2
Welcome to ISP
We hope that this booklet will help you to find out
- What happens in foster care
- How ISP and your foster family will look after you
- What you can do if you’re not happy.
Your foster carer will read this booklet with you and explain anything that you don’t understand.
Page 3
What is foster care?
When children can’t live with their own family, they can stay with a foster family. Your foster family will look after you and keep you safe.
Every foster family is different. Some foster carers are married, and some are not. Some carers have their own children, also some have family pets. Your foster family has been specially chosen for you. They will welcome you into their home and look after you.
What is ISP?
ISP is a fostering agency, which means that we help find foster families for children who need them. We found your foster family for you.
We help your foster family and make sure that they are looking after you well. You will meet us when we visit your foster home, and we are always happy to hear from you.
Page 4
People you will meet at ISP…
Your foster carer will write down here the names of people you will meet at ISP.
You will do lots of fun activities with your foster family. Your local ISP centre will also organise events such as day trips and parties, and they will invite you to join in. Our children tell us that they enjoy these things.
ISP also has a Fun Day each year where everybody from all centres can get together and enjoy an exciting day with Fun Fair rides, games and races.
Page 5
What will my new home be like?
We know that moving to a new home, with new people, can be hard. Your foster carers will help you settle in and make you feel welcome by finding out about you and what makes you happy.
All about me…Things I like to do, favourite colour, favourite food.
Tell your foster carer about the things you like.
Page 6-7
In your new home, you will have all the things you need:
- A bedroom of your own (or shared with your brother/sister)
- Space to play
- Fun activities, e.g. swimming, going to the park
- Pocket money to buy things that you like
- Help with your school work
Your foster family will listen to you and are happy for you to ask about anything you are not sure about.
Page 8
How long will I stay here for?
Children live with foster families for different reasons. Some children stay with foster families for a short time, and others until they are grown up.
Your social worker will make a plan for your time in foster care. They will visit you and make sure that you are safe and happy.
Your social worker will talk to you to find out:
- what you think
- how you feel
- what you would like to happen.
While you are living with your foster family, we will all work together to make sure that you are
- Healthy
- Learning
- Safe
- Having fun
- Able to keep in touch with your family while you cannot live with them.
Page 9
What about school?
School is very important because it’s where you can make friends, learn and enjoy activities that interest you.
We have education workers at all our ISP centres to help you at school.
Here is their message to you:
“If you have moved to a new area, we will help to find the right school for you. Sometimes this doesn’t happen right away so we will help your social worker to make sure that you don’t miss out on learning while we look for the right school for you.
When you are at school, we will have 2 or 3 meetings each year. This is where we find out about the things you are enjoying and are good at. It is also a chance to find out about any other things we can help you with.
We love hearing about your successes and do our best to celebrate them with you and the people important to you. We want you to do as well as you possibly can. If school isn’t going as well as you would like we will work with your team to make things better for you.”
Page 10
What is therapy?
Some children at ISP have a therapist to help them when life is hard or when they need someone to talk to. It can also be if they need help to understand changes that are happening.
Our therapists explain how they can help…
“Therapy is a place and a space where people can talk. It helps you find healthy ways to express feelings. We play, draw, use games and do activities too. Everyone gets confused and scared sometimes – sometimes we can’t understand what’s going on and sometimes we’re not sure how we feel. Therapy is a safe space to share our thoughts and feelings.
Your social worker might ask us to arrange for you to see a therapist at ISP – or you could ask for this help yourself.
Page 11
Speech and language therapy
Some children have help at school from Speech and Language Therapists.
How can this help me?
- it can help you say what you want to say
- It can help you understand what others say
- It can help you do well at school
- It can help you talk about feelings
- It can help you to make friends
Your social worker or carer might ask us to arrange for you to see a speech and language therapist at ISP. You can ask for this help yourself. We’ll ask you about your communication skills and what you want to improve. We’ll also ask other people who know you and work together to find the best way to give you the help you need.
Page 12
Getting involved with ISP
At ISP we are always pleased to see you, and hear what you think. Let us know how you are feeling and what you think about ISP. This can help us to make ISP even better!
How can I do this?
- We will sometimes write to you and ask you some questions.
- You can talk to us when we come and visit you and your foster family at home.
- Come to your local ISP centre’s activities and events where you can have fun with other young people and share your views.
What if I’m not happy?
If you’re not happy about something, sharing your problems can help to make things better. Talk to someone you trust, e.g. your foster family, social worker, teacher or someone from ISP.
Always tell someone you trust how you feel and what you think. If you are finding it hard to say what is worrying you, you could draw a picture or write it down. Adults at ISP, and your social worker, want to help keep you safe.
If you think you have been unfairly treated, or something has gone wrong, then you have the right to complain.
Page 13
How do I make a complaint?
If you want to make a complaint about your local authority, let your social worker know and they will give you the complaints procedure. Your foster carer, or an advocate, can help you to make the complaint.
If you want to make a complaint about ISP, you can contact our Complaints Officer in the following ways:
Write to:
The Complaints Officer, ISP, Tunstall Court, 4 Gore Court Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 1GL
Telephone:
01795 428097 and ask to speak to the complaints officer
Email:
Send an email to enquiries@ispchildcare.org.uk. Put the word COMPLAINT in the email title.
Page 14-15
Important details
Your ISP office phone number:
Your social worker’s phone number:
Your IRO’s phone number:
Help outside of ISP
If you are worried about something, you can contact any of the following organisations:
Call Childline free on 0800 11 11
Coram Voice www.coramvoice.org.uk
Coram Voice helps children who live with foster families. They can help you to tell adults how you feel and what you would like to happen.
You can call them on 0808 800 5792
The Children’s Commissioner
www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/help-at-hand
The Children’s Commissioner promotes your rights.
You can contact them on free 0800 528 0731
OFSTED
OFSTED inspects ISP to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure you are looked after well.
You can call OFSTED on 0300 123 1231
Page 16
Feelings
- Everyone has feelings
- Feelings are important
- Sometimes feelings feel big and sometimes they feel small
- Sometimes what we feel is no feelings at all
- Sometimes we don’t understand our feelings
- Everyone has their own way of expressing their feelings
- It can help to talk about your feelings with an adult you trust
Page 17
Glossary
Care plan – a plan about who you live with and where. Also what might happen in the future.
Contact – a time to see your family.
LAC review – a meeting to check your care plan is working.
Looked After Child (LAC) – children and young people in foster care.
PEP – a meeting to talk about how you are getting on in school and any help you might need.
Permanence – your home until you are an adult.
Respite – somewhere you can go so you and your foster carers can have some time apart.
Emotions – feelings like happy, sad and angry.
Self-worth – knowing what’s good about me, what I’m good at, what other people like about me and what I’m getting better at.
Anxiety – thinking something bad might happen or has already happened.
