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Introduction to the SOP
This statement of purpose is available to employees, carers, local authorities, children and
young people in placement, birth families and relatives.
This Statement of Purpose will be reviewed annually by the Registered Manager and the
senior management team.
Statement of Purpose
A2C Foster Care is a private limited company registered under The Companies Act 2006,
with company number 1529977.
Registered address is:
Attuned to Children Limited, Great North Business Centre, 82 Great North Road, Hatfield
AL9 5BL.
The vision of A2C is to provide a secure, stable and nurturing family home environment that is attuned to children and young people in care. The mission of A2C is to develop a foster care agency that provides ‘tailored’ services for
children’s needs, thereby meeting the demands of local authorities, wishing to place children and young people into care. Our staff and key management are comprised of people with the requisite skills and experience in foster care. They have worked extensively with children and young people from a variety of backgrounds, managed teams of professionals, held senior management positions and strategic posts that focused on improving their quality of life and outcomes. A2C ensures that foster carers have everything they need to make children and young people feel safe, cared for and respected. Our commitment to this derives from working
collaboratively with local authorities and multi-agency teams. A2C also has a pool of professionals that it draws upon to ‘tailor’ the provisions for each child or young person as per their individual care plan.
Legislative Framework
Our Statement of Purpose adheres to the following legislation and regulations which
underpin the work of A2C foster care.
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• The Children Act 1989.
• The Children Act 1989 (Guidance and Regulations Vol 4: Fostering Services 2011).
• The Children Leaving Care Act 2000.
• The Care Standards Act 2000.
• The Children Act 2004.
• The Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005.
• The Code of Practice on the Recruitment, Assessment, Approval, Training,
Management and Support of Foster Carers 2005.
• The Equality Act 2010.
• The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review Regulations 2010 and 2013.
• The Children and Families Act 2014.
• The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011.
• Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards 2011 (updated 2013).
• Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.
• Data Protection Act 2018.
• GDPR 2018.
• The Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.
• Department for Education (guidance, circulars, and letters).
Other relevant legislation.
Aims:
In accordance with the Children Act 1989, A2C foster care believes that a child is best brought up in their own home with both parent(s) playing a full part in their upbringing, however, we also recognise that this is not always possible. As such, our key objective is to develop services in order that children and young people, while in care, can develop and grow within the five key outcomes areas of “Every Child Matters”:
• Be healthy.
• Stay safe.
• Enjoy and achieve.
• Make a positive contribution.
• Achieve economic wellbeing.
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Whilst engaging communities, individuals, and organizations to raise awareness and promote fostering as a valuable endeavour, our overall aim is to recruit professional and resilient foster carers, who can provide children with a positive and nurturing experience of
family care.
We are committed to ensuring that all our foster carers comply with the National Minimum Standards and work towards meeting their Training, Support and Development Standards (TSDS). We also expect our staff and others working on behalf of the agency to be
conversant with the National Minimum Standards for foster care as well as the code of practice on the recruitment, assessment, approval, training, management, and support of foster carers.
A2C aims to work collaboratively with local authorities and foster carers and work in conjunction with the team surrounding the child to effectively implement placement and care plans, ensuring comprehensive support.
Objectives
• Child-centric approach: Offer a service focused entirely on the well-being and development of children and young people, providing them with an environment conducive to thriving within their communities while receiving personalised care. Promoting children and young people’s physical, social, emotional, educational and holistic development. Making sure that children and young people are matched with foster carers with due consideration given to their heritage, culture, gender, sexuality, age and ensuring that any special needs or disability can be met by the prospective carer. Promoting, educational attainment and achievement of children and young people. Ensuring children and young people are supported into independence to effectively prepare them for their adult life and to seek their views to promote participation, alongside their families and foster carers.
• Diverse recruitment of foster carers: Recruit foster carers from varied and diverse backgrounds, ensuring a broad spectrum of caregivers to facilitate the best possible match for children and young people in need of care.
• Thorough recruitment process: Implement a comprehensive and rigorous vetting and recruitment process for foster carers, ensuring a safer environment for the children in their care.
• Training and development opportunities: Offer extensive training and developmental programs to foster carers, equipping them with the necessary skills and tools required to effectively promote and ensure the well-being of children in their care. We train our foster carers to record and store children and young people’s data in line with GDPR requirements and in child friendly manner.
• Support to Foster Carers: Provide quality support to foster carers to empower their development as carers by providing regular supervisory visits; (announced and unannounced). We also provide 24h telephone support service for on-going guidance. We will regularly monitor and review placements and minimise potential placement breakdowns and poor outcomes for children.
• Partnership with local authorities: Collaborate closely with local authorities, fostering a partnership that includes making necessary resources available to foster carers. This collaboration aims to facilitate the effective implementation of care plans tailored to the specific needs of each child or young person.
• Professional team development: Continue to develop the skill and knowledge base of staff, managers and panel members to form a highly skilled team of professionals dedicated to upholding the highest standards of care through research informed practice. This will ensure that children and young people, placed with our foster carers, receive comprehensive support.
• Quality assurance strategies: Implement robust strategies and measures focused on quality assurance and ongoing development within the service, aiming to consistently enhance the quality of care and support provided.
• Feedback and continuous improvement: Actively listen to the feedback and voices of children, young people, and stakeholders, integrating their perspectives and insights into continual improvements in our service standards, in line with regulatory body recommendations.
These efforts collectively reflect a commitment to not only meet but exceed the standards set for fostering services. By placing a strong emphasis on recruitment, training, ongoing support, feedback integration, and collaboration, A2C foster care aims to create an environment where every child and young person feels valued, supported, and has the opportunity to thrive within their communities.
Management structure
The leadership and management team at A2C foster care possess extensive expertise in legislative framework and practical aspects concerning looked after children. Their acumen also includes robust business and financial management skills, ensuring the agency operates with efficiency and effectiveness.
Strategic oversight:
This team spearheads the strategic direction of the agency and supervises the efficient delivery of services. They ensure staff members adhere to prescribed practices, guaranteeing that all fostering activities align with Fostering Regulations, National Minimum Standards (NMS), and the organization’s internal policies and procedures.
Registered Manager:
The Registered Manager bears the responsibility of ensuring compliance with regulations and minimum standards. This role involves overseeing assessments, providing supervision and support to foster carers, and maintaining vigilance over the safeguarding and welfare of children and young people placed under our care.
You can read about the officers in the MEET THE TEAM page.
Additional Human Resources: In addition to the three key individuals (Dr Hayat, Ms
Qayium, Mr Sharma), A2C also has a pool of professional consultants who work alongside in providing expertise (as agreed with the team around the child) to cater for the specific needs of the child. A2C will be able to call upon:
• Therapists,
• Social workers,
• Mentors,
• Support workers.
We believe this holistic approach will enhance strategic planning of fostering services that is
more ‘attuned to children’.
In essence, the team at A2C foster care bring a wealth of expertise to the table, ensuring the
agency not only complies with regulatory standards but also operates at the highest level of
efficiency. Their collective efforts are geared towards providing the best possible care for
children looked after while maintaining a robust infrastructure that supports both the staff
and the children in their care.
Equality and diversity statement:
A2C foster care is dedicated to promoting equal opportunities across all aspects of its
services. All staff and foster carers undergo induction and receive appropriate training that
emphasises anti-discriminatory practices. As a service, we embrace diversity and pledge to fulfil our responsibilities without discrimination based on factors such as colour, race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, religious beliefs, or any other status. Every member of our staff and foster care team is committed to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality, and
fostering good relations by recognising and valuing diversity.
As an equal opportunity employer, our goals include:
• Promoting equal opportunities and fostering positive relationships among people of different races and groups, contributing to community cohesion.
• Recognising and appreciating the differences among individuals.
• Making meaningful contributions to the community as a whole, both collectively and
individually, especially in the context of children and young people in public care.
Our Equalities and Diversity Policy aims to achieve the following positive outcomes:
• Delivering services that are accessible and tailored to their intended purpose, with a focus on services for children and young people looked after.
• Providing information about the agency's services that is accessible and easy to understand.
• Ensuring that no child, young person, foster carer, or staff member receives unfair treatment and that, whenever possible, they receive the support needed to reach their full potential.
For further details please refer to our Equalities and Diversity Policy which we can provide on request.
Service provision for local authorities:
The agency will facilitate placements, catering to children and young people aged 0-18
years.
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Types of placements:
• Emergency placements: Carers provide time-limited family homes for a child/young person in emergencies; these situations usually happen out of office hours.
• Short term placements: Short-term carers provide temporary care for a child/young person, who is unable to live with their family. The placement can last from a few days or weeks, months or longer. The placement is temporary while the local authority assesses the long-term plan in the interest of the child looked after. Regular contact with significant people such as birth family is an important
part of short-term fostering.
• Short breaks for children with disability: These carers provide respite care to children with disabilities, living with their birth families or in foster care. This provides primary carers, a period of respite.
• Long term placements: Long-term carers offer permanent homes where adoption is not suitable for a child/young person. A long-term foster child is likely to continue living with foster carers whilst in full time education and moving on to university. Children will be formerly matched to their long-term foster carers at panel and the expectation is that their long-term carers will provide staying put post 18 years of age. Usually, children matched long term will not have the same frequency of social work visits to maximise the feeling of being at home.
• Respite care: Respite carers offer support to other foster carers. Usually these will
be nominated carers of foster carers extended family, so the child is familiar and
has an established relationship with the individual in advance of the placement.
• Sibling groups: Where siblings are placed together.
• Bridging: Usually, children need time to transition and settle between two placements and hence, bridging foster carers provide a family home for children who are moving from one placement to another. Bridging placements provide a neutral foster home, usually for no more than six months to help children process the loss of one family and assist with the relationship to another.
• Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: Foster carers who provide placements for a child/young person, seeking sanctuary and asylum from their own country of origin.
• Parent and child placements: For parents and their babies/children who are in need of support and guidance to develop their parenting skills. The agency will work in partnership with the parent, foster carer, and the local authority to facilitate a further assessment, when required.
• Staying put arrangement: The Children and Families Act 2014; section 98; made amendments to the Children Act 1989, to advice, assist and support the young person and their former foster carer to stay living together after the young person reaches their 18th birthday. The young person is no longer a child looked after; they are care leavers. They are entitled to support until the age of 25 years and
will be allocated a Personal Advisor. A Staying Put arrangement is an agreement between the foster carers and young adult to allow them to continue living together. This agreement ensures the young adult can experience a transition similar to their peers and are more likely to successfully manage their
independence throughout adulthood. The Allocated SSW will discuss this with foster carers as part of the young person’s care planning, when they reach the age of 16 years.
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Comprehensive matching: A comprehensive matching process will be employed for placing children and young people. Ensuring that carers receive adequate support from the beginning, close collaboration with local authorities and professionals will be established to address and advocate for the specific needs of the child or young person in placement.
Introduction of foster carer and child: We complete through pen profiles of foster carers and maintain them to a high standard. These profiles are forwarded to local authorities for presentation to children or young people entering care. Efforts will be made to encourage introduction meetings involving the carer, local authority social worker, and the SSW.
Supervision and support for foster carers: Foster carers receive diligent supervision from their assigned SSW, ensuring continuous guidance. Additionally, they have access to round-the-clock advice and support, including an out of hours service managed by the social work team.
Promotion of safety and welfare: The agency places utmost importance on ensuring the safety and welfare of each child under its care. This commitment is upheld through effective safer caring practices and risk management plans.
Tailored support:
• Identifying and arranging specialised professional support for those in need, organising suitable activities, deploying trained support workers, and identifying necessary additional training for foster carers to enhance their caregiving abilities. Customised care will be provided to children and young people within foster families, aligning closely with their expressed wishes and emotions, ensuring a
personalised approach to their care.
• Foster carers will cultivate an environment that fosters and supports the
development of positive behaviour and relationships among children and young
people under their care.
• The agency collaborates with pertinent organisations to prioritise the safety and well-being of children and young people, placing emphasis on facilitating access to relevant healthcare professionals and offering opportunities for participation in enriching activities.
• Educational attainment is actively promoted among children by ensuring access to suitable educational provisions and providing steadfast support to help them achieve the goals outlined in their Personal Education Plan.
• A2C foster care provides comprehensive support to children and young people who require additional assistance due to disabilities or facing emotional and behavioural challenges.
• Children and young people will receive a children's guide with informative content available in various languages and formats to cater to diverse preferences.
• Encouraging the expression of wishes and emotions is paramount for all children and young people placed under our carers’ supervision. Their input will serve as a crucial factor in refining and enhancing our services.
Development of independent living skills: Nurturing and supporting all children in our care to cultivate their independent living skills. Regular assessments and discussions aligned with their care plan will ensure continual progress in this area, aiming for their growth and autonomy.
Transition support: Ensuring that when children or young people transition in and out of their foster family, they are supported in a planned manner. Providing guidance to help them comprehend the reasons behind the transition and offering close support during their move to a new placement, independent living, or when they return home. Partnership with placing authorities: Collaborating closely with placing authorities remains a cornerstone of the agency's approach. This collaboration serves to safeguard and enhance the welfare of all children and young people placed under the agency's care.
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Monitoring and support for stability: Actively monitoring and supporting the stability and progress of each child or young person within our care is a top priority. Significant events concerning the health and safeguarding of these individuals prompt immediate notification to the relevant authorities, ensuring timely and appropriate actions are taken.
Participation and consultation: A2C foster care is committed to inclusivity of all to promote and develop its service, through gaining the views, wishes and feeling of children and young people and foster carers and all other stakeholders. This is vital to meet their individual need in an ever changing environment.
We value feedback and gather this via;
• Child looked after reviews.
• Annual foster care reviews – feedback form (children and foster carers).
• 1-1 Interaction between SSW and Children during home visits and participation events.
Foster carers are also consulted with during visits, support groups and annual
questionnaires.
Carer Recruitment, Assessment, Approval and Reviews:
A2C foster care is committed to recruiting a diverse range of foster carers, who can meet
and match the needs of our children and young people. The agency recruits’ individuals and
families from different ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds and from
all areas of the regions in which we operate as, together, they can bring a variety of skill,
knowledge and experiences to the fostering task.
Assessment Process:
• Stage 1 - Initial Enquiry: Enquiries can be made online or by telephone. A pre initial visit screening call will be undertaken by the Recruitment Officer within 2 days of enquiry and this information will enable a decision to be made about whether to proceed with the enquiry.
All applicants must:
• Have a spare room.
• Be over 21 years of age.
• Be able to provide transport for children e.g. school, contact.
• Be able to keep detailed records relating to children placed.
• Be able to attend all relevant meetings.
• Actively promote equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Have some IT skills.
• Stage 1 - Initial Visits: Following the Initial Enquiry Screening Call, the Initial Visit (IV) will be arranged to take place at the prospective applicant’s home by a suitably qualified and skilled member of the team. This provides an opportunity for the agency to share more detailed information with prospective carers around the realities of fostering, to answer any of their questions, and to view and assess the accommodation. The discussion will include exploration of skills, knowledge and
motivation to foster, and any practical requirements. Following the visit, a report is completed by the visiting worker. All IV reports are reviewed by a manager, and outcomes shared with the prospective applicant, at which point an application to be assessed as a foster parent could be invited.
• Stage 1- Statutory Checks: The assessment includes completion of a number of relevant statutory checks and references including DBS, local authority checks, medical, ex-partner references, personal references, employer references, health & safety checks and letting agent consent etc.
If everything is satisfactory, then a qualified, registered social worker will be allocated to start Stage 2 of the recruitment process, beginning with scheduling a number of visits to complete the assessment in a timely and focussed manner.
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• Stage 1, sometimes overlapping Stage 2- Mandatory Trainings: The Applicants are invited to undertake Skills to Foster Training, delivered by in-house trainers, and the feedback forms part of the assessment process. The applicants also complete a Safe Care Plan, Fire Evacuation Plan and Carer Profile.
• Stage 2 – Form F Assessment: All fostering assessments are based on the BAAF Form F undertaken in accordance with relevant legislation, guidance and policy. The 2-stage assessment process is expected to take approximately 3 months.
The assessment is comprehensive, and evidence based, producing a report that covers individual profiles, past and present relationships/partnerships, support networks, interviews with children and adult members of the household, lifestyle, parenting capacity and experience, valuing diversity. The report will make recommendations on the terms of approval e.g. number of children, age range,
placement types.
• Stage 2 – Fostering Panel: Following completion of the assessment, the applicants are invited to attend the Fostering Panel with their assessor, whereby the panel makes recommendation on approval. The fostering panel membership is made up of independent members, and their experience is derived from a variety of backgrounds including health, education, social care, fostering and includes members who have experienced the care system. The function of the panel is to provide an independent quality assurance role, to consider the approval of applicants and the continuation of approval of existing carers.
• Stage 2 – Presentation to Agency Decision Maker (ADM): Following panel presentation, the applicants will be notified immediately of the panel’s recommendation in respect of their application. However, the final decision as to the applicant’s approval will be made by the ADM within 5 working days. If, at any time during the assessment, the assessor feels the application falls short of the standards required, this will be discussed with A2C. Any areas of shortfall must be fully explored and where training or support will not bring the applicant up to acceptable standards, the assessment will be ended in line with the relevant fostering legislation and guidance. The assessor will inform applicants of this decision and the reasons within 48 hours and present a brief report for consideration by the fostering panel. If applicants are unhappy with the ADM decision, they have a right of appeal, in the first instance directly to the agency. They may also request a review by the Independent Review Mechanism but must request the review within 28 days.
Transferring carers: We recognise that foster carers have choices and that in someinstances decisions are made to move between approving agencies. In these circumstances, the Fostering Network Protocols are followed, and the agency work closely with responsible local authorities to ensure that the care experiences of any children in placement are not detrimentally affected by the transfer. It is not uncommon for fostered children to remain with their foster carers following an agency transfer.
Post approval: The applicants become known as newly approved carers and will receive written confirmation of their approval. In addition, they will receive a Foster Carer Agreement detailing their responsibilities, and the agency’s responsibilities, which must be signed. The agency will allocate a dedicated SSW to each fostering household, who will have responsibility for new carer induction and training plan, and for supporting the carers with completion of the Training, Support and Development Standards (TSDS) which must be completed within the first 10 months post approval.
Annual reviews: Each fostering household will have an annual foster carer review (AFCR), unless there are significant changes to their circumstances in which case, an earlier review will be conducted.
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These circumstances could include:
• Where serious allegations have been made regarding a carer(s) childcare practice and no Section 47 investigation is pursued.
• Where there has been a relationship breakdown in the approved carers’ relationship resulting in one carer moving out of the household. In this instance, both carers will be subject to review, except where one or both carers have given notice of an intention to resign.
• Where a carer has started living with a new partner.
• Where there have been significant changes to the carers’ lifestyle.
• Where a carer has been diagnosed with a serious illness.
• Where there has been the death of a carer.
• Where a carer is not working in partnership with the agency, including a lack of engagement and attendance with training and continued professional development.
The SSW is required to prepare a detailed report for the AFCR, in consultation with the foster carers. The report will seek and consider feedback from the child/young person, their Social Worker, school, other professionals involved in the child’s care, including birth family (if appropriate). In addition, it should include the views of the carer’s own children residing in the fostering household. The report should cover how the carers’ have met and progressed the outcomes for children and provide a clear picture of how the carer works with professionals towards these. The AFCR provides an opportunity for both the agency and foster carer to reflect on the past year, and plan for the year ahead; this includes a full review of the individual carer’s training and development needs, detailing any actions for the year ahead. The report makes a clear recommendation regarding continued approval, or any changes to the
terms of approval, including the rationale and evidence to support those changes. Following approval, the carers’ first review report and every third annual review will be presented back to the Fostering Panel for their recommendations. All review recommendations are presented to the Agency Decision Maker for decisions, and carers notified, in writing, of those decisions.
A2C Foster Care and the division of Responsibilities
We, as an agency are keen to implement and exceed the National Minimum Standards for foster care. All relevant policies and procedures (both for the foster carers and the agency) are written and subsequently monitored and reviewed with reference to the framework of expectations laid down by government in regulations, guidance and standards.
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Standards of Care required of our foster carers:
•To provide day to day care and support to children looked after: Our foster carers will support children and young people in their education, look after their health and promote their social wellbeing. They will also make sure that the children and young people in their care have a positive understanding of their origins, religion and culture.
• Provide a safe and caring environment: Our foster carers ensure that children/young people in their care are kept safe from harm and abuse and that they are taught how to get help, should anything untoward occur. They will actively promote secure attachment of children/young people. Our foster carers will be able to act as an advocate for each child or young person in their care.
• Manage behaviour: Not being able to live in their home or with the people they are not used to, is a traumatic experience, irrespective of the age of the child. As such, fostered children and young people can display difficult or challenging behaviour as a way of coping with this upheaval. Our foster carers will need to be able to recognise the possible causes of such behaviour and, with the support of our team, develop strategies to help the young person manage their feelings and experiences.
• Attend meetings and manage information: Being a foster carer involves more than just looking after a child. Our foster carers will be asked to attend and actively participate in meetings about the children in their care, keep written records, contribute to reports and manage information that is confidential and sensitive.
• Record Keeping: Keeping daily/weekly records of significant events is an essential requirement of foster carers as it not only provides an overview of the child’s life, but also a protection of foster carers through access to detailed recordings in the event of complaints/allegations.
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• Work as part of a team: Our foster carers are part of the A2C team and need to work with staff and other professionals within our guidelines, policies and procedures.
• Promote contact with families: For children and young people in foster care, contact with their own families is very important. Our foster carers recognise this and the need to help maintain contacts if it is felt to be appropriate. Contact can be direct (face-to-face) or indirect (telephone, email or letters). This is important, regardless of any personal feelings they might have about the child's family and hence will receive training to help manage this.
• Manage relationships: Our foster carers must be able to communicate effectively, not only with children and young people but with social workers, the children's birth families and others concerned with the wellbeing of the children. They need to help manage the transition of children and young people who are moving on, to another placement or independence. We are committed to supporting them in this journey.
• Be able to commit time and energy: Our foster carers need to have flexibility, patience, time and energy to invest in a child or young person.
• Be willing to develop skills and undertake regular training: Our foster carers will be expected to take up appropriate training opportunities and recognise the benefit of continued training.
Standards of support promised by A2C to its foster carers:
• Supervisory home visits: Supervision provides a space for foster carers to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children /young people in placement. Our foster carers can expect a minimum of monthly supervisory visits, unless agreed otherwise, along with a minimum of two unannounced visits a year. SSWs will regularly keep in contact with their foster carers and visit more frequently, if required. Training and development of foster carers is also monitored. The supervisory role is primarily for the foster carer; however, SSW will also spend time with the children looked after, building a meaningful relationship with them to ensure that they are comfortable in expressing their views and any
concerns.
•Training and development: Training is a central and intrinsic part of fostering and the agency provides a well thought out and appropriate training plan for both foster carers and staff. A2C foster care has a clear expectation that foster carers will participate in the training as fully as possible and all training is offered within an equal opportunities and anti- discriminatory framework.
• All carers have to meet the competencies set out by the TSDS within ten
months of approval and will be supported by their SSW and a
comprehensive training programme to achieve this. We also offer
additional informal support to assist carers to complete the standards on
time.
• Training is regularly evaluated, and individual training needs are identified during carers’ supervision and foster carers annual reviews. We provide individual specific training in order to meet the needs of a
particular child when needed.
• Training is offered both in a face-to-face format and via e-learning to reach those carers who find it difficult to attend training in person. All training is available to the Fostering Panel members.
• Education advice, support and school provision: Our foster carers, SSW and support staff all contribute to successful educational outcomes for young people in our care. We expect and require our foster carers to remain pro-active and committed to identify the best educational provision, to promote and encourage regular attendance and to support and provide guidance for homework, school projects, normal school trips and to attend parents’ evenings. We expect our foster carers to actively support our children to become fully involved in school life, after school clubs, drama, music and sporting events.
• Transport: Day to day transport for looked after children is managed by foster carers for instance, school runs and contact with birth parents. Although this is the responsibility of the foster carer, if for any reason this is not possible, we will do our best to provide the support.
• Appreciation:
• We hold an annual foster carers awards ceremony, where they are appreciated and recognized for their hard work.
• Everyday heroes – we recognise special acts of care and kindness by foster carers or their birth children.
• We celebrate the achievements of children and young people on a yearly basis.
• The achievements of children and young people are also celebrated on a more regular basis through the ‘star of the month’ awards.
• Foster carer reviews: All foster carers have a review to reflect on the previous year. New goals/plans are then set for the year ahead. This review looks at feedback from carers and birth children, involved professionals and children/young people. Training needs are also discussed, and any other recommendations are made.
• Fostering policies and procedures: Upon initiation, all new foster carers will receive a comprehensive handbook encompassing the agency's policies and procedures. Furthermore, they will undergo an induction process tailored to their role, following approval.
• Support Package: In the UK, fostering allowances provide financial support to foster carers, assisting with costs associated with caring for children in foster care. These allowances vary based on factors such as the child's age, needs, and the region. They cover essentials like food, clothing, and transportation, with additional support for special needs. Foster carers may also receive allowances
for caring for children with disabilities. Fostering allowances are tax-exempt and may vary between regions and agencies. A2C offers a very generous package of financial allowances to its foster carers, reflecting our commitment to them. Prospective carers should contact A2C for specific details on fostering allowances. In addition, we also offer on-going professional support for each foster carer. The foster carer can call upon this for expert advice, guidance and professional development.
Standards expected of placing authorities:
• Placing authorities are expected to ensure that the child/young person has an available social worker to monitor their welfare and give support and guidance to the carer about their care that should be aspirational and ambitious.
• Provide good quality information that will make A2C aware of all issues and concerns relating to the child prior to the placement, to assist with the best possible match.
• Inform us of any changes that may affect the child.
• Fully comply with current childcare law and national minimum standards.
Complaints
A complaint may be generally defined as “an expression of dissatisfaction about the actions,
decisions or apparent failings of the organisation that requires a response”.
The following principles reflect the National Minimum Standards 2011 and guide our Complaints
Procedure:
• Complaints and representations are welcomed as an important part of improving our service and ensuring quality.
• There is a commitment to making changes to our services where a complaint or representation shows a need for change.
• We are committed to ensuring that our complaints system is accessible and available to everyone.
• Establishing what the complaint is, together with the desired outcome at an early stage, can lead to a better resolution for all involved.
• A commitment to responding to complaints speedily and, wherever possible, to achieving an outcome which is agreeable to the complainant.
• Aiming to achieve the easiest, least stressful way to involve the complainant in the complaints process.
• A commitment to assisting and supporting children and young people to make a complaint or representation to the organisation and ensuring that they have a clear understanding that they will not be subject to any reprisals for doing so.
• Where appropriate, in the first instance, any complaint by or against a foster carer will be dealt with on a problem-solving basis. For clarity, there is a written procedure for complaints given to all foster carers as part of the Fostering Handbook.
• Foster carers must notify their SSW if they experience any verbal threats, aggression, or violence. These are taken very seriously and dealt with quickly and the outcomes documented.
• A2C has Children’s Guides that advise children and young people what to do if they have a complaint.
For more information regarding A2C complaints process, please visit refer to our Complaints Policy.
Who to contact: Dr Syed Omar Hayat
Phone: 02080505512
Email: syed.hayat@attunedtochilren.co.uk
Write to:
Ofsted
4th Floor
Clive House
70 Petty France
Westminster,SW1 9EZ
Freephone: 0300 123 1231
Web: www.ofsted.gov.uk
Write to:
Children's Commissioner for England
Sanctuary Buildings
20 Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT
Telephone: 020 7783 8330
Web: www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk
Other Useful Contacts:
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman:
Tel: 0300 061 0614
Web: www.lgo.org.uk
VCC - The Voice for the Child in Care/Independent Advocate:
Telephone: 0808 800 5792
Web: www.coramvoice.org.uk
Childline:
Freephone: 0800 1111
Web: www.childline.org.uk
NSPCC – National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children:
Freephone: 0808 8005000
Freetext:88858
Web: www.nspcc.org.uk
Become:
Telephone: 020 7251 3117
Web: www.becomecharity.org.uk
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