Our prospective carers attend the two-day ‘Skills to Foster’ training course, to introduce them to Alliance and provide the primary skills required for the day-to-day role.
Foster carers also need to develop a sound understanding of the impact that trauma can have on the behaviour of children in their care and should gain a sense of how attachment is seen from the perspective of a child.
The ‘Introduction into Attachment and Trauma’ training course, delivered by Claire Harrison Breed, has been designed to achieve these aims.
It gives initial insights into coping strategies many looked-after youngsters put in place to survive trauma they may have experienced, before being in care.
In November, Claire’s course was attended by a group of existing carers and by some who were being assessed to join them.
It was a welcome opportunity for a mix of different people to share their varied fostering experience, from ‘just starting’ to ‘over a decade’.
And the session was also valuable in providing potential strategies for parenting children that have experienced trauma and attachment.
Of course, what may work with some children won’t work with others — but most carers agree that adaptability is an essential part of fostering.
The course was engaging, informative and enhanced the knowledge of the existing carers as well as the understanding of the newer members of the team.
And everyone who attended left eager to build on their experience, resolving to take advantage of the further training days available.
Open to all carers, these further sessions cover in more depth the individual areas introduced — one day dedicated to trauma, the other to attachment.
