Recording by Foster Carers Guidance for Supervisors, Children S Workers and Carers

Guidance

Recording by foster carers – Guidance for supervisors, children’s workers and carers

Guidance for supervising social workers

As soon as possible after approval foster carers should be given:

• A4 binders,
• a diary,
• lockable filing box,
• copies of ‘Recording guidance for carers: Quick reference’ (reproduced below)
• the ‘Recording Workbook’

and supplies of:

• the ‘day to day’ recording sheets ‘Your life in our house’ ,
• the ‘Placement Health Log’ to record health and medical information
• plastic wallets for photos and memorabilia

As foster carers will need to record information from the outset of the first placement, foster carers should be advised to commence the Recording Workbook as soon as possible.

The supervisor will discuss the Workbook with the foster carer in supervision sessions and sign off when completed. The importance of confidentiality, secure storage and the keeping of separate records for each child should be emphasised.

Foster Carers should be advised to keep a binder for each child containing:

• ‘Your Life in our house’ recording sheets
• Child’s statutory review report
• ‘Placement Health Log’
• Plastic wallets for storage of photos, drawings or paintings by the child, certificates, memorabilia etc.

As a minimum foster carers must complete ‘Your Life in our house’ recording sheets, ‘Placement Health Log’ and report for the child’s statutory review.

The supervisor is responsible for ensuring the foster carer receives a diary each year, which should be used for appointments and not to record confidential information about placed children.

Some foster carers may have additional needs and require additional support to maintain written records, and consideration should be given to the use of equipment e.g. tape recording or 1:1 support.

At each supervision session, the supervisor will review the foster carer’s recording and sign and date the records. Foster carer records will be valuable in preparation for a child’s Review or other meeting and should form part of the permanent record for the child.

Foster carer’s recording should be regularly be made available to the child’s social worker and at the end of placement should follow the child to the next foster placement or be returned to the social worker, whichever is appropriate.

NB.Each foster child in placement should have an individual file.