What Is County Lines, and Could It Affect a Child You’re Fostering?
County lines exploitation targets some of the most vulnerable children, including many in foster care. Here’s what it looks like, the signs to watch for, and what to do if you’re worried.
What Is FASD, and How Does It Affect a Child in Foster Care?
FASD affects far more children in foster care than most people realise, and it is often missed. Here is what it looks like day to day, and how foster carers get support without needing a diagnosis first.
Can Foster Carers Give a Child Medicine?
Foster carers give children medicine every day, from a dose of Calpol to a repeat prescription. Here’s what the rules on permission, storage and consent actually require, and the support that’s already there to help.
What Is PACE Parenting, and Why Do Foster Carers Use It?
PACE stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy, a parenting approach many foster carers use to help a child who has experienced trauma feel safe. Here’s what it looks like day to day, and the training and support Fostering Hearts carers get to use it well.
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.