Fostering support and training

Training and your support – from Sunbeam Fostering North West

Your support is key priority and focus from your fostering agency – Sunbeam Fostering North West.

We are focused on helping all foster carers to develop their skills, experience and knowledge. This is to empower you as individuals and provide a safe and good home environment for children and young persons. Safeguarding is a key priority area for us together.

Our support and training courses are tailored to your needs, understanding and to also ensure fostering regulations are met and exceeded.

Your support from the agency includes

  • Regular supervision visits to your home from your dedicated social worker
  • Support groups and other meet up during the year on fostering support areas
  • Activities for children and young persons
  • Support during out of hours on a 24 hour basis
  • Foster Talk membership
  • Comprehensive foster carer payments
  • Breaks for respite during the year
  • Contact and support from the Senior Management Team including Registered Manager, Shams Zaidi and Responsible Individual, Samiya Zaidi
  • Effective matching for new placements to help secure the right child or young person to be supported by you
  • Regular events for foster carers including awards and year end celebrations
  • Secure online logins for your recordings
  • Extra one off payments where beneficial and funding is secured – toward holidays or other one off costs

Training courses and development

We provide excellent training courses to each foster carer through the delivery of learning and content through online courses, video learning and face to face training.

For new foster carers, as part of your approval and assessment process, we provide “Skills To Foster” training which is a 2 day course to prepare you for fostering. This is delivered by skilled and experienced trainers.

In your first 12 months after becoming approved as a foster carer, your training support would cover completing your TSD certificate. This relates to Training, Support and Development (TSD) and includes the following topics and courses:

  • Record keeping
  • Child protection
  • Challenging behaviour – how to manage this
  • Contact arrangements
  • Adulthood for young persons – how to help prepare young persons
  • Self esteem and identity
  • Abuse and neglect – supporting children and young persons here if they have experienced this
  • Safer caring and safeguarding
  • First aid
  • Education support
  • Health and safety

Following completion of your TSD and to develop your knowledge further, we provide further courses covering extensive topics and content including:

  • Placement interventions and managing breakdowns
  • Support for sibling groups
  • CSE – Child Sexual Exploitation
  • Self harming
  • Gang culture and management
  • Drug use and safety

These are just a few courses and examples, please do ask for a copy of your Training Guide which covers all your courses. Your social worker will work with you and support you to have a personal training plan together.