Welcome to the Three Borough Shared Services (Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and City of Westminster) Foster Carer Handbook
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), and Westminster City Council (WCC) have great pleasure in introducing the foster carers’ Handbook.
It is a key priority for all three councils to provide the best possible care for all our Children Looked After; and, you, our foster carers are crucial to this goal; given your direct care of our children. We recognize our role and responsibility to work alongside and with you to provide support and advice to enable you to achieve this goal.
This handbook is part of our shared commitment to deliver the highest standard of foster care to the children we look after. It is a tool for you, and we hope you find the information it contains useful in carrying out your tasks and responsibilities as foster carers. The handbook will be reviewed and amended on an annual basis and you are welcome to let us know if there is information you would like to see included or amended in future editions.
We also wish to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those who contributed their expertise and time to producing this handbook. We are especially grateful to all foster carers for making a real difference in the lives of children and for playing a vital role in shaping the outcomes and accomplishments of some of our most vulnerable children.
Yours sincerely
Amana Gordon
Director for Children Services
Each area has its own Local Resources area which will be used to hold their own local information in addition to the shared procedures within the Handbook. These can be accessed by clicking the Resources button on the top toolbar.
As a Service we are passionate about creating an environment in which our young people can flourish. We are one big family: foster carers, social workers and others all working together to support our young people to achieve the very best outcomes. By becoming a foster carer, you have now joined the Shared Service family!
We strive to care, nurture and support all of our young people: giving them the childhood they deserve and setting them up for their futures. Our foster carers play a huge role in achieving this ambition; your loving homes and inspiring care to children who can no longer live with their birth families means that our most vulnerable children can always live in a safe and secure home.
We are passionate about ensuring every child receives the best possible start in life. There are many factors which will influence this, but far-and-away the most impactful is having a home and a loving family around the child. Thanks to yours and others’ commitment as foster carers, we are confident that we can offer children the help that they need to live a happy and healthy childhood.
Thank you for standing with us in dedication to and support of our children and young people.
The handbook reflects policies, procedure and guidance for the fostering service which cover many common situations faced by foster carers on a day to day basis. It has been written in an accessible way to help you understand the sort of things that your fostering service requires of you. It has been designed for new and existing foster carers and deals with the day to day practicalities you may face.
It has links to the Minimum Standards for Fostering Services and references to the relevant Training, Support and Development Standards. You should also use the handbook to support your learning and development, particularly in relation to meeting the induction standards.
Foster carers play an important role in the lives of Looked After Children and their families so it is important that you have the necessary tools to support you with this task. The handbook is one of these tools alongside the many professionals you will work with including your Supervising Social Worker and other foster carers.
This is the start of a great journey for you and the children and young people you may work with.
Getting Started:
If this is the first time you've visited this online handbook, please read through the 'Using this Handbook' guidance to familiarise yourself with the layout and functions.
Last Updated: November 22, 2024
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