Northumberland County Councils Family Support and Placement Service has welcomed Jude Parsons to take them into the next phase of training standards for foster care.
Jude brings over 27 years of social care experience to the growing foster care team as their new Foster Carer Development Worker. She has initiated the expansion of the already comprehensive training programme to incorporate the Childrens Workforce Development Council (CWDC) standards, which are the new government benchmarks for the training of foster carers. Jude has devised a tool, affectionately called the matrix by the foster care team, to help match training courses and foster carers skills and competencies with the new standards.
Jude said: I was attracted to this role with Northumberland as it is a great opportunity for me to concentrate on vocational and practical training for foster care, which I have been highly committed to for many years now. I am loving the challenge of working with people as talented as Northumberland County Council foster carers and their support staff.
The other main challenge for the county is very much geographical there is a great need to broaden the schedule to include more local delivery and a more focussed approach for the training of our foster carers.
Team Manager Anne Fimister highlights: New government emphasis on training for foster carers has allowed us to put more resources into more National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and local training, as well as the new CWDC standards. Both these and our new Development Worker and the matrix have been favourably received by our extremely committed workforce.
There are seven CWDC standards that foster carers must now meet:
1. Values and Principles
2. Role of the Foster Carer
3. Health and Safety
4. Communication
5. Child Development
6. Safeguarding
7. Self Development
Jude outlines: Northumberlands vision is to have a top class foster care service which complies with these seven government targets, building on the strong commitment to the needs of our children and young people. The foundation of this vision is useful, fun and engaging training.
To learn more about short and long term foster care and the exciting training opportunities that are open to you, please contact Northumberland County Councils Family Support & Placement Service on (01670) 534 450 or email familyplacement@northumberland.gov.uk
Do you have the skills to foster?:
· Strong Chins - Take whatever life throws at you on the chin
· Big Ears - Being a good listener
· Stabilisers - Feet firmly planted to provide a steady home life
More foster carers are urgently needed in Northumberland and the team are looking for people who are good listeners, resilient, flexible and optimistic.
We are recruiting carers for children of all ages, but are particularly interested in those that would consider care of teenagers, those that have the room for sibling groups and people who would be willing to look towards long term permanent foster care for children aged 6 and upwards.
If you think you have the qualities needed to be a great foster carer, we would love to hear from you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Please click on any question below to go straight to the answer:
· Do you have a spare room in your home
· Is foster care for you?
· Types of fostering
· Support & training
· The process
· The rewards
Do you have a spare room in your home?
Children need foster care for lots of different reasons. For example, their parents may be ill, in prison, or having relationship problems. Some of them will have been neglected or abused. Three out of four fostered children return to live with their own families, so they need a secure family environment while we work with their parents to ensure that they can return home. Other children, unable to return home, need permanent care away from their families.
Foster care is about more than just 'parenting'. It's a team of people working with parents and social workers to care for children.
Fostering is not something that can be done in isolation. It affects your family and close friends. If you have children of your own, think carefully about how they will cope with sharing you, their home and their things. If you have a partner, fostering must be something you both want to do.
Is Foster Care for you?
Whatever your age, ethnicity or personal circumstance, foster care can be for you. It doesn't matter if you are a home owner, tenant or on housing benefit, as long as you can demonstrate that you can provide stability and safety to a child, then we will consider your application.
We are looking for carers who can provide a child with a strong environment for them to grow and develop. You will need to make them feel comfortable in your home and their surroundings.
It's important to remember that we are not simply looking for people who have had straightforward lives. We will consider your family history sympathetically. We want to know how you have dealt with difficult experiences and what you have learned. Having survived and learned from difficulties or losses is likely to be helpful in fostering children and helping those who have had their own problems.
You need time, patience, tolerance and energy. You must be able to share your home and life with others, and there's no doubt that a sense of humour goes a long way!
Types of Fostering
Short-term foster care
This can last from an overnight stay to two years. There may be illness or other problems in the child's family, or a child may have been harmed in some way. Your goal is to get the child back to his or her own family as soon as possible and in some cases help to move the child to an adoption home.
Long-term and permanent foster care
Sometimes children will not be able to return to live with their own families. A parent's health may have become worse, or perhaps a child's family has been unable to change in a way that will protect the child from harm. In these situations (usually with children over 10), adoption, which involves a legal break with the birth family, may not be so appropriate as the child is likely to have developed a strong sense of loyalty and belonging to that family. Long-term or permanent fostering will allow a child to grow up in a safe and supported family environment while retaining the connection with their birth family.
Teenagers
The teenage years are when most young people are finding their feet - often testing out their boundaries and seeing how far they can push things, so caring for teenagers can be very challenging. For a young person who has had stressful and unsettling experiences, the teenage years can be especially difficult - both for them and the people who are caring for them. However, there are also the rewards of helping a young person to develop confidence, prepare for independence and make plans for the future.
Short-break care (Sometimes referred to as 'short-breaks', 'shared care' or 'respite')
Short-break care aims to relieve pressure on families who have difficulty caring for their children and families who have disabled children. By planning ahead and giving their children regular short breaks with the same foster carer, the families are more able to care for their own children long term. Short breaks are usually 2 or 3 days. Some occur weekly, others monthly and some just in the school holidays. This form of foster care can suit people who are not in a position to offer full-time care, but do want to make regular commitment to a child (or children).
Fee Paid Foster Care
Fee paid carers receive a weekly fee on top of the allowances for the child. These carers sign a contract. This requires that one adult is free 24 hours and does not do any other job. You must attend all training as well as the monthly support group. The age range of the children is 6 -18. Some carers within the fee paid scheme specialise in caring for children and young people who are displaying signs of challenging behaviours, such as self harm, anti-social activities or eating disorders.
Support & Training
All foster carers undertake regular training to ensure they have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children in their care. You will be invited to participate in various training events and sessions to equip you with the right skills required to help a child. All training is provided for our carers free of charge.
You will have your own family placement social worker, as well as the social worker for the child placed. We have a 24 hour telephone support line. Specialised education and therapeutic support is also available. We have carer support groups so that you can meet with and share experiences with other foster carers.
The Process
· You make a telephone enquiry or contact us by e-mail etc
· If we feel that you are able to meet the needs of children in Northumberland we will send you an information pack with a form at the back which you return to us.
· One of our workers will contact you and arrange a home visit so that you can ask about foster care and the family placement social worker can help you decide if it would suit your family and current circumstances.
· If you and the family placement social worker decide you should go ahead, you fill in an application form and a criminal records bureau form and send this back to us.
· You will then be invited to the next "Skills to Foster" course which will give you a good idea of the job and help you make choices.
· After the course you will be assessed by one of our family placement social workers who will visit you about 6 to 8 times to talk about foster care and your family. The worker will write a detailed report and visit 2 referees that you have nominated.
· The family placement social worker will present the report to the fostering panel. (You will have read it and discussed anything you do not agree with).
· If the fostering panel recommends that you are approved, you will be sent a foster carer agreement to sign and you can then look forward to your first placement.
The Rewards
Remember, foster care isn't all about giving - you can get so much out of the experience - one that can enrich the lives of everyone close to you. You will be making a difference to a child's life - often seeing their confidence and self esteem grow.
Contact Us
Call us today for an informal chat about becoming a foster carer on:
01670 534 450
Whilst our site provides you with information about fostering, you may want to contact us with any questions or suggestions.
You can write to us at: Family Support & Placement Service, Tweed House, Hepscott Park, Stannington, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 6NF, Telephone: 01670 534450
Or email via the methods at the top right of the page to familyplacement@northumberland.gov.uk
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