Jane Collins’ Post

After languishing in no man's land it's now back in the news, but should we rip it up and move towards actual meaningful reform? These reviews are so frequently seen through the lens of those who head them up. Here is what one Foster Carer had to say yesterday in my Facebook Forum: "It doesn’t address any of the underpinning reasons why the system is broken - A new approach to extended families - new in what way? How is it different from existing kinship care arrangements? How does it address the reasons why more family members are not now fostering or adopting or taking SGOs? Improve support available for care-experienced people - in what way? Why is substandard care provided now? Recruit new social workers and improve career development - does not address the tick box culture and other reasons why social work is not an attractive options for able workers. A new national framework - more money spent on consultants - when did a framework ever improve anything - if it’s not law councils will ignore it, if there is no more money and no improvement in quality of staff councils will not be able to embed it. So the fact that there is a lack of empty words about foster carers and fostering - Should it concern us?" 👉 https://lnkd.in/eGmMXhtt #fostercare #frontline #WEcare

Are you still seeing fostering applicants drop out during the approval process? Statistics reveal that 71% of these hard won candidates withdraw, often feeling disillusioned along the way. One aspect you should be aware of is the current assessment process, which many find outdated. However, there’s now a better alternative: NFCQ Integrated Assessment Process - This modern, strengths-based approach ensures a professional and thorough assessment, preparing your applicant to become an Accredited Foster Carer. Your carers will start their fostering journey fully equipped with the knowledge and confidence needed to provide the high-quality care and outcomes our children deserve. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eMkHCg53 #fostercare #recruitment #retention #placementstability

https://lnkd.in/eS_uvCHK 👉A stark wake-up call from the FosterWiki independent survey The fear of allegations - over 80% of carers indicated that this fear affects their role, and an alarming 85% believe allegations are not handled fairly, justly, or in a balanced way. Despite long-standing concerns raised by many, these issues have often been dismissed due to a lack of 'evidence,' with the severity of allegations remaining hidden. 👉 Reducing the fear of allegations helps foster carers' mental health and provides better care for children. 👉 An independent body makes sure allegations are handled fairly, boosting foster carers' trust in the system. We appeal to the government to support foster carers appropriately because the current system is failing to address these critical issues. To recruit and retain foster carers this is crucial to address! #FosterCare #SupportFosterCarers #FairnessInFosterCare #MentalHealth #ChildWelfare #IndependentReview #JusticeForCarers #FosterWiki

https://lnkd.in/eYYfQxex Being a modern foster carer is so much more than nurturing a child in a family environment, although it is of course centred around this. Today’s foster carer is a skilled, qualified professional. You are excepted to attend meetings, prepare reports, keep meticulous records, and liaise with a large team around the child including social workers, education professionals, mental health professionals, doctors, the police, youth teams and more. You are required to register as a self-employed business, pay tax (although there are very generous tax allowances) national insurance, can be subject to disciplinary procedures and have to abide by a plethora of policies and statutory legislation. It is also, more often than not, a full-time job. As you can see it’s a lot more than a spare room and a big heart. Does this detract from loving and nurturing a child in a family setting? No of course it doesn’t, not in any way, it enhances it, our children deserve us to be equipped to look after them in more ways than one. 👉Where do you start? Sign up to FosterWiki for a wealth of honest information to help you on your journey #FosterWiki #FosterCareAwareness #Support #FosterCare #Nurture #Professional #TeamWork

The world of children’s social care is facing challenges that we simply can not ignore any longer. We know we need to come together. 👉 To transform how foster carers are recruited, supported, and valued, ensuring they feel empowered every step of the way. 👉 To build stronger more trusting relationships between foster carers and social workers, relationships grounded in mutual respect and collaboration. 👉 We must look at the DNA of fostering, and make fundemental changes that can ease the pressure on the system. Imagine the possibilities, imagine the potential for everyone. https://lnkd.in/esWmCE_2 has been founded to turn these ideas into action, and to help build a future where every child, carer, and social worker can thrive. Together, we can, and will make it happen. We would love to share our vision with you: sarahanderson@fosterwiki.com or markowers@yahoo.com #fostercare #FCE #wecare

https://lnkd.in/eYYfQxex Being a modern foster carer is so much more than nurturing a child in a family environment, although it is of course centred around this. Today’s foster carer is a skilled, qualified professional. You are excepted to attend meetings, prepare reports, keep meticulous records, and liaise with a large team around the child including social workers, education professionals, mental health professionals, doctors, the police, youth teams and more. You are required to register as a self-employed business, pay tax (although there are very generous tax allowances) national insurance, can be subject to disciplinary procedures and have to abide by a plethora of policies and statutory legislation. It is also, more often than not, a full-time job. 👉As you can see it’s a lot more than a spare room and a big heart. Does this detract from loving and nurturing a child in a family setting? No of course it doesn’t, not in any way, it enhances it, our children deserve us to be equipped to look after them in more ways than one #fosterWiki 👉To be a foster carer is about giving a child a chance for a brighter future, filled with hope and possibility. 👉Its important to also acknowledge the profound rewards it brings to be part of this as a foster carer 👉 People need to know that fostering isn't like regular parenting. 👉People want to understand the process, the challenges, and the rewards involved in fostering. 👉 People are eager to learn about the transformative role foster carers play in a child's journey towards success and happiness. #FosterWiki #FosterCare #FosterCarer #Skilled #Professional #Transparency #InformedDecisionMaking

Foster carer recruitment is stuck telling the same story. We’ve seen countless campaigns featuring heartwarming images of smiling families, with slogans like “change a life” and “be the difference” that rely too heavily on the assumption that all people need is a nudge in the right direction to start their fostering journey. This, paired with a constant sense of crisis - ‘we need your help NOW’ - simply haven’t shifted the needle in any significant way over the past few years. In our latest blog, Hollie Newborough-Fox explains why it's time to rethink foster carer recruitment (link in comments) #elevenagency #creativeagency #strategyagency #wholepicturethinking #fostercarerrecruitment #fostercarers #fostering #fostercare #publicsector #socialcare #blog #marketingblog #creativeblog

The how to Guide for Foster Carer Recruitment from someone who has been a Foster Carer, a commercial recruiter for over 35 years, and Recruited Foster Carers for over 10 years. The book and the workshop are coming along nicely, so many Foster Carer Recruiters have asked me for advice and support at various times as their enquiry pot flags and drops off, I decided to pull together a comprehensive "how to guide" and workshop for Foster Carer Recruiters. This will consist of a workbook, currently over 300 pages of practical hands on advace and a step by step "how to" for everything needed to not only deliver but wow your bosses at every level of the organisation, and a workshop where recruiters can attend and pull together for themselves a FULL 12 month program of Paid Social; Social media; PR; Events; SMS; Email; Images; Video's; in fact every asset you may need for a fully comprehensive recruitement and retention plan for Fostering departments. Now the bit I am missing is how much would people pay to be able to be trained to deliver all of that to a Fostering Provider and their team bearing in mind this is my retirement project. Remember the course is not instructional its is "Live in situ I tell you do" you develop your own bespoke complete 12 month plan while on the course, you will take a way your own complete detailed structured plan, so you will always have the tools do replicate it again next year. It this idea a short cut too far?, or is there a need for this, you tell me. #fostercare #fosteringprovider #fostercarerrecruitement #foster #fostering

https://lnkd.in/epKBTHvK In my experience, care plans and pathway plans often look good on paper but don’t always result in real support. A lack of communication between services often leaves young people and foster carers without the help they need, particularly during the crucial 16–18 age range. As with all aspects of fostering, being prepared and informed is key to success. Pathway plans can be incredibly useful, but they can also lead to challenges. ‘Pathway Plan – From the Foster Carer’s Perspective’ #fosterWiki Sign up to read: https://lnkd.in/epKBTHvK #FosterCare #PathwayPlans #SupportingChildren #FosterCarers #CareLeavers

The Form F will become a thing of the past. The Form F assessment must soon become a thing of the past if we are to have any real hope of recruiting more foster carers, reducing the current dropout rate of 71% during the application process, and increasing conversion rates from inquiries to approved carers—currently less than 5% of 138,000 annual inquiries. The single-assessor model, by design, relies on a single perspective, one opinion, and one person’s (often unconscious) cognitive biases, which raises serious concerns about its safety and reliability. This model is also inefficient, leading to extensive delays and widely inconsistent assessment quality. The Form F is fundamentally misaligned with today’s professional standards for fostering, and reform is essential to safeguard children and enhance their outcomes and life chances. 👉 https://lnkd.in/e8d7i-GE 👉 https://lnkd.in/eNYFDiRS #fostercare #frontline #WeCare