A helpful guide to becoming a foster carer with Capstone Foster Care

A helpful guide to becoming a foster carer with Capstone Foster Care www.capstonefostercare.co.uk

At Capstone we have over 140 staff spread over 16 offices who train and support around 600 carers. Our staff will get to know you personally and give you all the help and advice you need, and we have a fantastic reputation amongst Local Authorities for our high-quality service. As a Capstone foster carer, you will have regular interaction with a social worker, and 24 hour access to an experienced professional should you need it. You will also receive expert training, and have the chance to get to know other carers in your area for extra support and advice. We are always on the look out for new foster carers, so if you think it might be for you, contact one of our friendly fostering advisors to find out more. We look forward to hearing from you. 2.

Contents 4 About Capstone Foster Care 6 The benefits of fostering with us 7 What makes us stand out? 8 What is fostering all about? 9 Who can foster? 11 Foster care an important job 12 Starting your fostering journey 15 Our training programme 16 The assessment process 17 Approved? Now it gets exciting! 18 FAQs 20 Find your local office If you are thinking of fostering with Capstone, this brochure will share our vision and values and how we can support you on your fostering journey. For more information, visit our website: www.capstonefostercare.co.uk, or if you would like to chat with a member of the team, give us a call on: 0800 012 4004 or email: hello@capstonefostercare.co.uk www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures 3.

About Capstone Foster Care We are a child-focused, independent fostering agency that supports hundreds of foster carers all across England, aiming to help vulnerable children and young people build brighter futures. Our carers are happy to foster with us for many reasons, some of which include: Our Local Offices With 16 offices across England, we can ensure that a Capstone Foster Care team is never far away. We work hard to maintain the tight-knit feel and individual character of our offices all of which reflect local culture, so that our carers feel like part of the Capstone family. Our Passion to Perform Our shared passion to achieve great futures for children and young people, combined with firstclass support for our foster carers means that we have become a diverse, multi-skilled group with a passion for excellent quality of support. It is this passion that sets us apart, and has been recognised by Ofsted who rated us Outstanding or Good in all recent inspections. We work together as a family of professionals to provide the best care, support and service possible. We thought about fostering for some time before taking the plunge, but now we consider it to be one of the best decisions that we have made. The difference that you make in children s lives can be enormous and extremely rewarding. Support and Advice - Anytime, Anywhere We pride ourselves on our first-class support to our carers, we want them to feel valued and respected, and so we ensure that we provide: An allocated social worker and access to the support team 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Regular support groups where you can meet other foster carers and have a chat with social workers. Family days out and get-togethers. Our Training and Expertise We deliver the best opportunities for foster carers by providing excellent training and expert advice. Anyone preparing to become a foster carer will attend a Skills to Foster training course outlining what fostering is about with the view to develop his or her skills and knowledge. We organise training throughout the year, which covers relevant topics, and we also encourage and sponsor our carers to enrol in recognised courses to further their training. Generous Allowances When foster carers have children in placement, they will be rewarded with a generous allowance, with substantial tax free benefits. This is to allow foster carers to focus on their fostering task and offer the highest amount of support to the young people they look after. - Mel & Ian 4. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures

It is this passion that sets us apart, and has been recognised by Ofsted who rated us Outstanding or Good in all of our recent inspections. We work together as a family of professionals to provide the best care, support and service possible. 5.

The benefits of fostering with us We do our best to make our carers feel valued and supported, so that they are happy in the work they are doing and are able to change lives for the better. Our foster carers matter to us, so we: Value, respect and look after them. Ensure that they receive as much information as possible from the Local Authority supporting the child in placement. Work hard to ensure that they are kept in the communication loop, and are consulted and advised on matters regarding them and the young people they support. Outline clear, concise guidelines about all policies and procedures through various training methods and by providing a carer handbook. Run a training programme which covers all aspects of looking after a young person who has been through a difficult experience. Offer regular, first-class professional support. Ensure that a social worker is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We pride ourselves on our excellent support service, whether it s rapid responses to emails and phone calls, or accessing additional resources where necessary. Provide up to 14 days of paid respite per year. Pay a generous, competitive allowance. Host social gatherings and fun days out for all Capstone families and staff. Organise support groups on a regular basis with your local team. Introduce new carers to more experienced foster carers if they feel it would be beneficial. 6.

Throughout all of this, Capstone could not have been more supportive. They offer regular supervisions which enable us to gain the support that we may need. They have provided us with up to date, relevant training and a reliable out of hours service that provides us with the answers we need, when we need them. - Linda & Martin What makes us stand out? Children and young people in care are often in need of extra support, and at Capstone we know that by going a little further with the support we provide, we can make a big difference. Some of the ways in which we do this are outlined below: Therapy - We have an excellent reputation for delivering therapeutic support. Some of our specialist training involves therapeutic techniques and we can provide access to various therapists with additional expertise to support the young people we look after. Education - We work alongside foster carers and schools to encourage positive outcomes for children and young people in foster care. We advocate on their behalf so that they are able to achieve and excel both socially and academically. Diversity - We celebrate the fact that we have a team of staff and foster carers at Capstone from different backgrounds and cultures. We embrace and recognise the diversity of the young people we support and we do our best to match young people with foster carers who can promote and nurture a child s identity. We also work hard to support unaccompanied minors, and thanks to the diversity of our team we are recognised for the support we can offer to those seeking asylum. Outstanding Ofsted - Ofsted are the governing body that monitor services for children and young people across the board and they have rated us outstanding, or good with outstanding features. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures 7.

What is fostering all about? To us, fostering means caring for vulnerable children or young people who, for whatever reason, are unable to stay with their birth families. Children and young people that are unable to remain with their birth families are often vulnerable, scared and having a hard time understanding what is going on and why. They may need to be with a foster carer for a few days, or they may need somewhere safe and nurturing to stay for many years. There are many types of fostering for you to consider, including: Solo - When a higher level of focus, support or attention is needed for a child or young person, and so the carer looks after only them. Teenagers - Giving clear guidance and support for young people during a critical time of their lives. Parent and child - This usually involves taking a mother and her baby into your household, ensuring the well-being and safety of both and giving parenting guidance as necessary. Remand - Specialist care provided for children or young people who are remanded by court. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children - Giving unaccompanied young people a safe environment after they have arrived in the UK. Specialised support - Caring for those with complex needs, challenging behaviours or disabilities. Siblings - Fostering brothers and sisters to keep them together through their foster care placements. Children and youngsters will be placed with foster carers dependent on their circumstances, which may affect how long they are fostered for. We support our foster carers to provide the following types of fostering: Emergency - This isn t usually planned, and can often be at short notice. If you agree, a child or young person will usually be placed with you within 24 hours with an unknown duration at first. Short-term - This can be anything from a couple of days to a couple of years. These are temporary placements for children and young people until any plans for their future are confirmed. Long-term and permanent - Planned placements where a child or young person needs to be fostered up to leaving care and where adoption is not an available option. The child or young person becomes part of the family creating bonds that will last a lifetime. 8. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures

Who can foster? We actively seek out and recruit people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures to become Capstone foster carers. Fostering is about including and accepting people as they are and responding to their individual needs in order to help them flourish. We don t mind if you are single, married, divorced, widowed, or living with your significant other, have children (or don t), live in a large house, rent a flat, are in a same-sex relationship or have specific religious or cultural beliefs you can become a foster carer. You can support children and young people regardless of your background. The only requirements we ask of all foster carers are listed below. If you d like more information, please give us a call. You must have a spare bedroom. You must have an adequate level of spoken and written English. You must be 21 or over. There is no upper age limit - you just need to be fit and healthy. You must have a clean criminal record (minor offences may not affect your application - but if you have been convicted of offences such as violence or crimes against children, your application will not be considered). If you have lived overseas, you must have Leave to Remain in the country, and statutory checks in the country where you previously resided will be necessary. 9.

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Foster care - an important job. Job Description: A foster carer s role is to care for children and young people, encouraging them to achieve positive outcomes in all areas of their lives. A foster carer provides a safe and friendly home environment, enabling vulnerable young people who have faced difficultly to feel safe and supported. Working alongside a social work team, a foster carer continuously develops their skills and is committed to building brighter futures. Essential Attributes: Trustworthy and honest disposition, alongside the ability to make a child or young person feel safe and welcome Open and willing to learn how to support a young person with guidance and training from a social work team Excellent communication skills. Have a spare bedroom. Energy, stamina, commitment and a great support network. Time - if already partaking in other employment you must be able to ensure that your current working hours fit around this role. Hours: Flexible. Main Responsibilities: Must be committed to working in the best interests of the child or young person in their care and provide a safe, secure environment. Provide opportunities, activities, experiences and adventures. Promote education and maintain close liaison with the school. Support and encourage contact with birth parents, friends and family members (if appropriate). Work in accordance with the care plan provided. Maintain strict confidentiality with regards to the child or young person in their care, ensuring their safety and protection at all times. Provide privacy for social workers and children or young people to have contact with one another. Ensure that the foster home, vehicles and any equipment are safe and compliant with the law. Attend regular training sessions and support groups. Register the child you support with a doctor, dentist and any other appropriate services, and report any major illnesses, accidents or child protection issues. Duration: Flexible and subject to change. Remuneration: Excellent. Satisfaction: Guaranteed. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures 11.

It s about making sure that these children are able to reach their full potential - they re not treated any differently to my own children which is a big thing for them - they know that they are just accepted and that they have a home here for life. - Fi & Paul Starting your fostering journey 1. After speaking to a member of the Capstone team, the next step is to arrange a home visit. 2. Once you have decided to become a foster carer with Capstone, your assessment and training will begin, including checks and an assessment which will be completed by an independent social worker. This will include a medical check and a health and safety check of your home. The process of approval takes around 3-4 months, during which time you will be required to attend a Skills to Foster training course which will give you more information about fostering, to ensure fostering is right for you. 3. Once complete, your Form F report will be presented to the Capstone Fostering panel by your social worker, and when approved, the process of matching you with a suitable child begins. 12. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures

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We also offer more specialised training for those who have the skills and desire to work with children and young people who have more complex needs or disabilities, or who want to support parent and child placements. Since becoming a foster carer I have made a difference to the life of a child who just needed someone to be there for him. In the beginning it was challenging and I needed lots of support. Thanks to the help of my Social Worker at Capstone I have been able to develop my skills and go to training workshops which have really helped me to understand the needs of children in foster care. It s great to know I ve made a difference and supported a child to become a happy little boy. - Ryan 14.

Our training programme Foster carers are the most valuable resource we have, so we put a lot of thought, effort and consultation time into ensuring they have everything they need to do their job to the best of their ability. Training begins with our Skills to Foster course, which takes place over 2-3 sessions and covers the following areas: What foster carers do. Understanding the needs of children and young people in foster care. Safe caring. Helping children and young people to deal with change. Working with children and young people who display sexualised behaviour. Survival techniques for foster carers. The placement process. Finance. Preparing for the panel. First Aid. Once you are approved, you will be encouraged to attend training sessions throughout the year in order to improve and develop your skills in other areas such as: Attachment disorders. Managing challenging behaviour. Safeguarding children / young people and child protection. Dealing with self-harm. Disability awareness. Internet safety. We also offer more specialised training for those with the skills and desire to work with children and young people who have more complex needs or disabilities, or wish to support parent and child placements. External training courses are also available for carers who want to work towards a recognised qualification. Current courses that are available include: BTEC Level 3 in Advanced Foster Care QCF Children and Young People Level 3 Apprenticeship - Social Care Pathway A complete list of available courses can be found on our website, or by contacting your local office. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures 15.

The assessment process During the assessment process we ll find out more about you, your family and your home. This is to ensure that fostering is right for your household, and your lifestyle is suitable to accommodate the needs of a vulnerable child. All fostering families go through the same assessment at the beginning of their fostering journey. 1. 2. 3. 4. Once you make an enquiry our team will get in touch with you to discuss fostering in further detail and answer any questions you may have. If you meet the necessary criteria we will then arrange a home visit to meet you in person at your home, where we will find out more about you, why you want to foster, and take a look around your home to ensure it can accommodate a child. A home visit equally gives you the opportunity to meet your local fostering team and ask us any questions you may have at this initial stage. If the home visit is a success and you would like to go ahead, you will then be invited to apply to become a foster carer with Capstone Foster Care. We will then assign a social worker who will support you during an assessment where we will look at the following: 5. 6. Over the course of 3-4 months, your social worker will carry out further home visits to work with you on your assessment and fostering portfolio which holds all the evidence gathered to support your application. During the assessment process, Capstone will undertake a number of statutory checks including: Local Authority checks. Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau / PVG Scheme / Disclosure Scotland checks. Employer / voluntary work references. Current fostering organisation references (if applicable). Medical reports. School / Health visitor reports on birth children (if applicable). Background information. A general risk assessment of your home. Support network. Overseas checks (if applicable). Children and other adults living at home. Relationships. Family life. Limitations of the size of your family. Parenting capacity. Diversity. Financial stability. Ex-partners. (we understand that this can be a sensitive matter and we will not make contact without carefully consulting with you). Children from previous relationships (depending on age). Personal references from at least 2 people, who will also be visited by your social worker. 16. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures

7. 8. We thought the assessment process was going to be more daunting than it actually was, but if you re upfront about everything it will be fine. We learnt a lot about ourselves during the process, and how our life experiences will enable us to care for a vulnerable child. You will be required to attend Capstone training sessions which outline what fostering is about and what will be required of you as a foster carer. This is part of the assessment and your trainers will be required to provide feedback as part of the evidence required to support your application. Once your Form F has been completed, you will have the opportunity to read it through and discuss any changes or additions. Once you are happy, your social worker will present it to the Capstone fostering panel which you will need to attend. Approved? Now it gets exciting! The fostering panel will then make their recommendations to us, and once you are approved as a foster carer, Capstone will assign you a social worker (which may be different from the person who assessed you), make the Local Authorities aware of your availability and begin the process of matching you with a suitable child. It is important to us that we get the right match between our foster carers and the children or young people in need of placements, and so we follow a careful, clearly defined process. Local Authorities from across the UK will contact us to discuss specific children and young people in need of a foster care placement, and the availability of suitable carers. 9. - Adrienne and Dave Once we have all the necessary information and background details from them (otherwise known as a referral ), we pass this onto our social workers who will see if there is a suitable match amongst available foster carers. Once we have found an available foster carer whose skills match the needs of the child or children, we will contact them to discuss the placement in more detail. As a foster carer, you are not obligated to accept any children unless you think the match is right for your family. Once the Local Authority agrees that you are a suitable match for the child or young person, you, Capstone and the Local Authority will liaise and plan the placement where possible. Finally, arrangements are made for the child or young person to visit and move into your home - your social worker from Capstone will be there to support you when they arrive. The social worker will also make a visit within the first few days of the placement to offer further support. If you wish to be considered to support the child or children, we will contact the Local Authority and provide them with your details and Form F. At each stage of the placement process, you will be kept fully informed and up-to-date on progress. 17.

Over the last decade I have been offering support and guidance to anyone who is thinking of fostering. When I speak to people for the first time they normally have lots of questions and my job is to establish whether fostering would be right for them, their home and their family. - Gill, Fostering Advisor Capstone Foster Care FAQs Can I foster if I m single? - Yes! Some children or young people in foster care may benefit from the more focused attention that a single person is able to provide. How long does it take? - The whole process generally takes between 4-6 months for you to be approved as a foster carer. A child can then be placed with you at any time afterwards. Can I foster if I have a baby? - Having a baby would not prevent you from fostering. If a child joined your home in need of support it needs to be right for everyone in your family. If you have a baby and want to foster, we would discuss this with you once you make an enquiry. Can I foster if I m overweight? - We only focus on what a person can give to the role as a foster carer. However, if your weight is resulting in medical problems, your GP or medical assessor may say that you do not meet the health requirements to foster. It is also important that foster carers encourage healthy eating habits. Can I foster if I smoke? - If you smoke, there may be some restrictions; you are still able to foster but the welfare of the child or young person in your care needs to be considered. At Capstone, we would not place a child under 5 in a smoking household. Do I have to be able to drive? - It is not essential to drive or have a car as long as public transport near you is good. Looked after children need to attend schools, attend contact with their birth families, and foster carers are required to attend training sessions and meetings. We would be happy to discuss this further when you make an enquiry. 18. www.capstonefostercare.co.uk Building brighter futures

Can I foster if I have depression or am on anti-depressants? - We will always do a medical check during assessment to ensure that a carer is able to meet the needs of a child or young person placed in their care. If you suffer from depression or have been prescribed anti-depressants, we will discuss this with you to find out more about your circumstances. You will need to be emotionally and psychologically resilient to cope with the demands of fostering. Can I foster if I have a criminal record? - We are required to request a DBS (formerly Criminal Record Bureau) check on anyone who is being assessed to become a foster carer. A criminal record may not necessarily prevent you from fostering, but we need to know that anyone placed in your care is safe. Offences are assessed confidentially on an individual basis. Will I receive child benefits? - Foster carers receive an allowance during their placements, but are not eligible to receive child benefits. Can I foster if I am in debt? - Your individual circumstances and the implications of any financial stress would be discussed during your assessment. What if I already have children? - Yes you can foster. When a child is placed into a fostering household in which there are birth children, it s because in our judgement, they will fit well into that household and family. What if I m in a same sex relationship? - Yes, no problem. You will be assessed in the same way as any other potential foster carer and household. Can I foster if I have pets? - Yes! Children and young people can benefit by forming strong bonds with pets, helping them settle in more easily. Some pets however, may present some risks to children these will be discussed during the assessment process. 19.

National expertise, local support Find your local office Newcastle North Preston Barnsley At Capstone our local teams get to know our foster carers really well. This is how we maintain the family feel and individual characteristics of each Capstone local office. You can come and visit any of our 16 offices to find out more about fostering. Our door is always open to foster carers and anyone who is thinking about becoming a foster carer. Oldham Stoke Midlands Leicester Birmingham South East Luton South West Devon Bristol Somerset Hampshire Dartford London Ashford Sussex Capstone local offices Call us free on 0800 012 4004 or email to: hello@capstonefostercare.co.uk www.capstonefostercare.co.uk