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Hampshire County Council

Foster Carer Skills LevelsCriteria

Skills levels are based on carers’ skills and competence. Level 2 and level 3 carers are required to evidence that these skills are significantly improving outcomes for children/young people - above and beyond that expected of a level 1 carer. Skills will be evidenced in line with the National Minimum Standards:

• The child’s wishes and feelings
• Promoting educational attainment
• Promoting good health and wellbeing
• Safeguarding children
• Promoting a positive identity, potential and valuing diversity
• Promoting positive behaviour and relationships
• Leisure activities
• Promoting and supporting contact
• Promoting independence

Level 2 and level 3 carers are also required to evidence their ability to continue to care for children/young people through challenging periods so that foster carers and the Department are working together towards better placement stability to ensure fewer moves for Looked After Children.

Some children requiring foster placements may be part of a large sibling group; have experienced several placement breakdowns; have offending or other challenging behaviour; have complex disabilities; need to be skilfully moved onto a permanent family.

These children/young people present more challenges and need a high level of skills, resilience and tenacity from carers. The department will identify these children/young people and will match them to the skills and experience of Level 2 or 3 carers.

Level 3 carers will be required to have the capacity to care for children up to the age of 18 years. There will be an expectation that the majority of placements they offer will be from our priority groups, ie, for teenagers or children who have very complex disabilities or specific needs.

Skills Level Criteria

New applicants with relevant experience, evidence of training completed and transferable child care skills - to be appraised in line with level 2 and level 3 criteria as appropriate alongside the assessment process. The criteria has been written to be sufficiently generic to include a variety of skills, experiences and qualifications. It is also inclusive of carers who promote care for children and young people with complex disabilities.

Skills Level 1

These carers include newly approved carers and all carers who through choice do not wish to move through the structure. They will have completed pre-approval training, been assessed and approved via the Fostering Panel. During the first 12 months, the TSDS workbook and essential training will be completed.

Carers will receive:

• A range of support, including the age related fostering allowance; ongoing support from their Supervising Social Worker; support groups; ‘buddying’ with a level 3 foster carer.

Skills Level 2

Carers wishing to move to this level of payment will have completed the TSDS workbook, the essential training and demonstrated the ability to offer skills at an appropriate level. They will have been assessed as having demonstrated a quality of care and will be able to take on more challenging placements. New applicants entering the structure at level 2 will need to demonstrate the same quality of care, equivalent training and sufficient experience to complete the TSDS workbook during assessment. Carers will receive:

• A range of support, including the age related fostering allowance; skills level 2 payment per week, per child placed; ongoing support from their Supervising Social Worker; support groups.

Skills Level 3

Skills level 3 carers may have progressed through the structure, having achieved skills level 2 status or be new applicants who can demonstrate the appropriate transferable skills. Carers would be trained to QDF level 3 Caring for Children and Young People, or have a place booked on this training. Alternatively, they will have a transferable qualification from other professional settings. They will have substantial child care experience and have demonstrated their commitment to their own development.

Skills level 3 carers would be expected to be available to care for a child at any time, i.e. any employment they may have would not prevent them from caring for a child when required to do so, for example, if a child was not in full time education. Carers would be expected to contribute to the development of the service and other carers.

Carer will receive:

• A range of support, including the age related fostering allowance; skills level 3 payment per week, per child placed; ongoing support from their Supervising Social Worker; support groups.
• To also have the opportunity to participate in the wider organisation, ie, to offer support with training and recruitment.

Carers are expected to take placements that require the skills of a level 3 carer and to maintain their Skills award.

Progression through the Skills Levels

The skills required to achieve each of the different skills level are described below. Those described for skills level 1 are met by all approved foster carers, as it is against these criteria that foster carers are assessed (core competencies). The skills listed for levels 2 and 3 can be met by foster carers who can demonstrate these skills by providing examples of work they have already undertaken with children and their families.

Skills Level 1

Caring for Children

• An ability to provide a good standard of care to other people’s children which promotes healthy, emotional, physical and sexual development as well as their health and educational achievement.
• An ability to work closely with children’s families, and others who are important to the child.
• An ability to set appropriate boundaries, and manage children’s behaviour within these, without the use of physical or other inappropriate punishment.
• Knowledge of normal child development and an ability to listen to and communicate with children appropriate to their age and understanding.

• An ability to work in partnership with schools to secure better educational outcomes for children in their care.

Providing a safe and caring environment

• An ability to ensure that the children are cared for in a home where they are safe from harm or abuse.
• An ability to help children keep themselves safe from harm or abuse, and to know how to seek help if their safety is threatened.

Working as part of a team

• An ability to work with other professional people and contribute to the department’s planning for the child/young person.
• An ability to communicate effectively.
• An ability to keep information confidential.
• An ability to promote equality, diversity and rights of individuals and groups within society.

Own development

• An ability to appreciate how personal experiences have affected themselves and their families, and the impact that fostering is likely to have on them all.
• An ability to have people and links within the community which provide support.
• An ability to use training opportunities and to improve skills.
• An ability to sustain positive relationships and maintain effective functioning through periods of stress.

Skills Level 2

All skills level 2 foster carers must meet the requirements as set out in the skills level 1 profile. The following must also be met;

• Carer(s) to have completed the TSDS workbook and been awarded a certificate of completion.
• Carers to have attended all the essential training or evidence of a similar commitment to learning. This evidence must reflect learning in all the areas under the essential training headings.
• Carers to be able to evidence supporting others and engaging with support networks.
• Carers to be able to evidence increased professional working, e.g. taking a strong advocacy role for some aspects of child’s care plan, presenting information in a formal setting, securing new services for children/young people, advocating for child and department, e.g. in an educational setting.
• Carers to provide a range of evidence to demonstrate that they have improved outcomes for children/young people where there are complex needs.
• Carers to describe any unplanned endings.
• Carers to describe any complaints, outcomes and learning.
• Carers to be involved in either one of the following;

-A willingness to assist in training events.

-To be an active participant in the recruitment process.

-A willingness to visit applicants during assessment.

• An ability to work with schools to effectively support the education of children in their care, directly leading to increased chances for improved outcomes, attainment or similar.
• To be flexible in providing day care for young people waiting for an identified placement, if possible.

In addition, carers to give examples and provide supporting evidence of the following skills:

• An ability to help children develop appropriate social behaviour, helping them to become more independent, and enabling them to cope with their emotions as appropriate to their age and ability and relate to their peer groups with education.
• An ability to assist children develop basic aspects of memory, thinking, imagination and manipulative skills through play etc. and assist with wider education.
• An ability to help children develop their language skills, and general self-expression.
• An ability to help children learn the boundaries of acceptable behaviour without resorting to physical punishment, and within the limits of current policy, handle children’s negative reactions and unacceptable behaviour, and encourage positive behaviour patterns in the home and in school.
• An ability to plan for and provide a varied and appropriate routine for children which balances the child’s needs, including those of play and learning, and gives goals which can be achieved in measuring the child’s level of understanding and development.
• An ability to observe and respond appropriately to the possibility of child abuse and neglect.
• An ability to observe and assess children, clearly recording development.
• An ability to challenge, appropriately, to ensure that foster care practice is anti-discriminatory and respects all children and their families, and advocate on behalf of children.
• An ability to help children and families cope with loss and bereavement- this may be because of life threatening illnesses, separation through adoption, or loss of their family.
• An ability to work closely with other professionals in carrying out individual therapeutic programmes, skills development, behaviour modification, or educational programmes with children.
• An ability to work closely with other professionals sharing information, exchanging skills, and working under the guidance or in collaboration with others involved with the child.
• An ability to identify own training needs.

Skills Level 3

All skills level 3 foster carers must meet the requirements as set out in the skills level 1 and 2 profiles. The following must also be met;

• Carers to have the physical space to take teenagers with complex needs up to the age of 18 years who have been identified as needing the skills of a level 3 carer or children and young people with complex disabilities or specific needs. It will be expected that carers will be registered for either 0-18 years or 5-18 years.
• Carers to have a professional qualification related to working with children/young people or transferable qualification from other professional settings e.g. QDF in Caring for Children, educational qualification, youth work, counselling, social work etc. Experienced carers without a child care qualification will need to be willing to undertake the QDF in Caring for Children.
• Carers to have proven child care experience with evidence of how they have improved outcomes for children/young people where there are complex needs or disabilities.
• Carers to describe any unplanned endings.
• Carers to describe any complaints, outcomes and learning.
• One carer to have the capacity to be available at all times (this would normally mean regular full time employment would not be possible or other family commitments to not restrict availability).
• One carer to attend/facilitate local support groups.

• To support other carers with transporting children, in emergency situations.
• To provide emergency placements, where possible (given other factors such as available space).
• To support children who have failed to succeed in a mainstream school, to work towards stability in a mainstream school or other educational pathway.
• To be flexible in providing day care for young people waiting for an identified placement.
• To take responsibility for seeking out training appropriate for own needs.
• Work closely with PCT and Social Workers to actively participate in their own placement selection and giving robust reasons for refusal of placements.

Carers to demonstrate their participation in the wider organisation by undertaking some of the following tasks: (To be evidenced at their annual Household Review)

• Participate in the delivery of the Skills to Foster Training.
• Participate in the delivery of post approval training.
• Provide support to the recruitment of new carers.

• Be part of the ‘buddying’ scheme by visiting and supporting applicants through the assessment process and when newly approved.

In addition, carers to give examples and provide supporting evidence of the following skills:

• An ability to accept and manage children/young people assessed as presenting behaviour which causes serious management problems. Alternatively, an ability to care for children and young people with very complex disabilities.

• Carers to evidence an awareness and knowledge of current legislation and current issues in child care and good practice.

• An ability to take the lead for individual programmes i.e. CAMHS, AQA, of skills development for children, and work with them and their parents and other professionals to achieve the goals of the programmes.

• An ability, and willingness to take part in, intensive therapeutic work with children with appropriate supervision and consultation.

Process for Foster Carer’s Skills Appraisals

• Both new applicants and existing foster carers can be considered for skills levels 2 and 3 if they can evidence they have the required skills, experience, qualification and meet the necessary criteria outlined earlier in this report.
• Foster carers transferring to Hampshire County Council or incoming carers with sufficient skills and experience are to be assessed in line with level 2 and level 3 criteria as part of the assessment process. The applicants should complete the shortened skills assessment, giving evidence of their skills and outcomes achieved. The evidence they have gathered will be checked and verified by their Assessing Social Worker and the skills level agreed and signed off by the Assessment Team Manager.
• Existing foster carers wishing to be considered for skills level 2 and 3 should discuss and ascertain with their Supervising Social Worker that they have the skills and evidence to meet the criteria. If the Supervising Social Worker is in agreement with progression, the carer will be asked to complete a skills assessment, giving evidence of their skills.
• The appraisal and portfolio are to be completed by the foster carer with support from the Assessing Worker/Supervising Social Worker – who will verify and cross reference the supporting evidence and agree that the criteria has been met.
• The portfolio to include supporting evidence that demonstrates carers have the skills that have significantly improved outcomes for children. To include a summary of the last Household review.
• Evidence can be collected from a variety of sources including carers, Supervising Social Workers, child/ren’s social workers, children, children’s families, other professionals, other carers, or, if appropriate, employment references/witness testimonies relating to transferable skills.
• The skills assessment and accompanying evidence to be agreed and signed off by the Family Placement Team Manager and presented to the Skills Appraisal Panel.
• The Skills Appraisal Panel to make a recommendation re skills level and complete ‘Skills Level Appraisal Outcome’ form.
• The recommendation to be forwarded to the County Service Manager – Integrated Placements - within 5 working days of receiving the recommendation, who makes the final decision.
• Where decision is to agree progression to higher skills level the County Service Manager confirms recommendation. Admin staff to inform relevant Supervising Social Worker and Team Manager and send to carers. County Service Manager to copy in the Fostercare Payments Team. Carers should receive letter within 10 working days of recommendation being made.
• New skills fee will only be paid for placements made after the date of the new agreement. Existing placements made prior to this, will continue to attract the skill fee relevant to the carers’ skill level at time of placement. This may result in carers receiving different skills fees at any one time for different placements.
• Where decision is not to agree skill level, the ‘Skills Level Appraisal Outcome’ form will outline reasons for this and additional work required for request to be resubmitted. Supervising Social Worker/Team Manager is responsible for discussing this outcome with their carers and agreeing a way forward to meet requirements.

Managing and maintaining skills awards;

• Foster carers will be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are continuing to meet the criteria for skills level 2 or 3 by their Supervising Social Worker at carers supervision and fully on an annual basis at Household Review.
• A meeting to review the skills levels can be automatically triggered in the following circumstances;

-Carers refusing more than two placements of which they have the skills and approval without justifiable reason.

-Carers changing the terms of their approval, i.e. lowering age-range.

-Number of placements ending in an unplanned way and/or the carer giving immediate notice on a placement.

-Skills level will also be reviewed in relation to a complaint and be considered as part of the complaint process and Household Review.

• Whilst a skills level in this present status is currently on offer, it may in the future be withdrawn.