How Do You Help a Foster Child Learn to Trust You?
Trust is not automatic for a child who has been let down before. Here is what the Secure Base model says helps, and the support that surrounds every Fostering Hearts carer while they build it.
What Do Foster Carers Have to Write Down? Recording Explained
Nobody enquires about fostering because they fancy the paperwork. Here is what foster carers actually have to record, how often, how to write it well, and who reads it years later.
Will My House Pass the Fostering Home Safety Check?
The home safety check worries people far more than it needs to. Here is what actually gets looked at, room by room, and the small jobs most people end up doing before a child arrives.
What Rights Does a Child in Foster Care Have?
A child who comes into your home keeps their own rights, from family time and advocacy to savings and support after 18. Here is what the law actually says, and what your part in it looks like.
Fostering a Child of a Different Ethnicity or Faith
Nearly three in ten children in care in England are from a minority ethnic background, and most are placed with carers whose background differs from theirs. Here is what that actually asks of you, from hair care and worship to what to do the first time a child faces racism.
Fostering an Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Child: What to Expect
A social worker rings in the afternoon and a 15 year old who arrived in the country last week needs somewhere to sleep tonight. Here is what fostering an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child actually involves, from the first evening to the asylum interviews, and what support you get.
Life Story Work: Helping a Child Hold On to Their Own Story
Life story work helps a child understand why they came into care and who their family are. It is led by the child’s social worker, but foster carers hold the photographs, the certificates and the small things nobody else keeps. Here is how it works and what your part in it looks like.
Safer Caring: What House Rules Look Like in a Foster Home
Safer caring is the written plan for how your household runs, and it asks less of you than most people fear. Here is what actually goes in one, who writes it, and how it protects your family as well as the child.
Staying Put: What Happens When a Foster Child Turns 18
Most young people in foster care are still living with their carers three months after turning 18. Here is how a Staying Put arrangement works, what changes on the day, what you are paid, and how to decide.
Parent and Child Fostering: What It Actually Involves
In a parent and child placement, a parent and their child both move in with you, usually for around twelve weeks, while social workers assess whether the parent can care for their child alone. Here is what the role involves, what you record, and what it pays.