Training
Foster care is more than caring for someone else’s child in your home and we believe that it is important that foster carers have every opportunity to develop their skills and expertise.
We have a dedicated training officer who delivers the majority of our training.
Before starting to foster everyone is expected to attend our Skills to foster training course in order to learn the initial skills on which to build. We want foster carers to be prepared before their first child arrives. This course runs over six or seven sessions. There may be the opportunity to undertake other training before you are approved if not it will be offered within the first year.
Foster carers are encouraged to consider what training they need and choose from the selection of courses available.
Our training courses are varied. There are courses that are simply about every child’s needs and then there are more specific courses about the needs of children in care. We also have courses about the specific needs of children with physical disabilities, children with learning disabilities and children with challenging behaviours. We have a course that is specific to men who foster, which looks at the myths and stereotypes around them and supports them being a foster carer.
Training is offered at child-friendly times (i.e. during school days, evenings and weekends) in order to make it convenient for foster carers. Training is normally organised at locations within the city near good networks of transport.
