Every foster carer has their own supervising social worker who supports, advises and guides them to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people in their care. Supervising social workers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and visit our foster carers regularly.
All our social workers have a high level of experience in fostering and providing services for children. At Fostering Relations, we have 4 supervising social workers so we are a small team that supports each other to a high level, with each worker managing small caseloads of foster carers and children.
It is important for foster carers to have a supportive supervising social worker not only so they can discuss any concerns and issues they may have, but also to feel backed up and guided through their foster placement. Our supervising social workers also get to know our foster carers very well which allows them to make quality placements for children and young people, ultimately limiting placement breakdowns.
Our social workers spend time with our children and young people through quarterly group activities and one-to-one engagement. This can be done through home visits or by taking them out and about in their local community.
The rewards of the job for our supervising social workers are seeing foster carers grow in confidence and helping determine successful outcomes for our children and young people in our care.