This week, some of our potential foster carers attended a 3 day Skills to Foster pre-approval course, which is a valuable part of the assessment process. It’s an intense few days, but we are so pleased they have all come out the other side with enthusiasm. Here’s how some of them reflected on both the course itself, and their experience of the assessments process so far;
What type of fostering are you hoping to do, and what stage of the assessment process are you at?
At Brighton and Hove City Council Fostering Team we always want to hear directly from our carers about their experiences. This week we chatted to some of our carers about the training they've attended. We believe continuous training and development helps our carers feel confident in their fostering roles and ensures they are equipped with a variety of tools and techniques to better support the children they look after. Here's what they had to say:
Liz
What do you think of the fostering training at Brighton and Hove City Council?
We want our carers to feel as confident and prepared in their fostering roles as possible so they can offer the best support for our looked after children. We offer a huge variety of training; some which is compulsory and some which is optional. Our foster carers tell us they find the training courses informative and insightful; and that what they have learnt has helped them not only with fostering but in all aspects of their lives. Research has shown that continuous training and development of foster carers ensures the best support for our looked after children which is essential.
How we support you and your family in your fostering role.
At Brighton and Hove City Council we believe training and support is vital to ensuring are foster carers and their families are equipped to provide the very best care for our looked after children.
In addition to the training we provide (we’ll go into this in more detail in our next blog), here are the ways we support you and facilitate invaluable peer support with other carers.
Supervising social worker & 24 hour out of hours support
We know that the number one barrier to fostering is how potential foster carers believe it might affect their relationship with their birth children, but it can in fact be a rewarding and positive experience for the whole family. The children of our foster carers do an incredible job in helping their foster brothers and sisters settle in and feel welcome. They share their homes, their parents and their time, and the success of a placement is often due to their generosity and kindness in making sure their foster brothers and sisters feel at welcome.