As part of the training and development opportunities available to Kent County Council foster carers you will know be able to undertake online training from your own home. The Foster Parent College (FPC) courses focus on specific behaviour problems, emotional disorders, and parenting strategies. The courses were developed by Northwest Media in conjunction with Dr Rick Delaney and other parenting experts. They cover a lot of topics that foster carers have to deal with all of the time. Courses include:

ADHD/ADD / Relationships
Anger Outbursts / Running Away
Eating Disorders / Safe Parenting
Fire-Setting / Sexualised Behaviour
Kinship Care / Sleep Problems
Lying / Stealing
Positive Parenting 1,2 and 3 / Wetting and Soiling
Reactive Attachment Disorder / Working with Birth Parents

How Does it Work?

Foster carers will be able to access the Self-Directed Courses listed above which includes 30-40 minutes of multimedia presentation, interactive review questions, printable summaries and handouts, and unlimited access to a discussion board. You will be able to watch a course any time, at your convenience. When you finish the course you can print out your Certificate of Completion for two hours training.

You will need to have access to a computer and internet access. A number of the courses are also available on DVD format from the Resource Library.

In Phase 1, foster carers will have access to the Self-Directed Courses. We will be reviewing the usage of the courses carefully within the first six months including access to the Instructor-led courses.

How Do I Get Started?

If you would like to access a course from the FPC please discuss this with your Fostering Worker. They have been given details of the courses and application process. Access to the online training should form part of your Personal Development and discussed and agreed in supervision. Once your Fostering Worker has agreed a course with you they will forward you a short application form for completion. You will need to return this to them. This will then be forwarded to Sue Douglas at Training and Development. On receipt of this form you will then be registered on the course and receive an email, normally within five working days that gives you a password, tells you how to log onto the website and get started on the course you have selected. You will also be sent a Learning Log that you will need to complete after the course.

You can get further information on the FPC from www.SocialLearning.com