27th October, 2022
If you apply to be a foster carer, one of your first steps along the recruitment process will be an initial home visit from a member of the Foster Care UK team. Here, Senior Fostering Recruitment Advisor Fiona explains what her job involves…
My role is a little different being a Senior Fostering Recruitment Advisor, I act as a point of contact for the other Fostering Recruitment Advisors and it also means that I have the pleasure of delivering training to our new prospective foster carers. We offer Skills to Foster training to everyone who completes a successful initial home visit. The training is an introduction and is another great opportunity for those considering fostering to gather information
Fostering is a huge decision, and my goal is to empower each applicant with the knowledge to make sure that fostering is the right thing for them and the entire family. During the training I go through the role of the foster carer, our expectations as an independent fostering agency, I talk through some of the reasons why children go into care and the rules and regulations of being a foster parent.
When you are a foster carer you don’t clock off at 5pm, I make sure that people are ready for that. But what I want people to understand is that the training is all about giving them knowledge, by completing the training you are not obligated to continue to the next stage.
Yes, the recruitment process can seem long but in my eyes that is a positive thing for perspective foster carers – it means that they have so many opportunities to ask questions, and to be constantly assessing if this is right for themat every stage.
Back into the office after a great training session, due to COVID we had to adapt and our training went virtual, I think this is a great way to deliver it as it makes it more accessible and the more the merrier in my opinion.
I attended an initial home visit yesterday and they were a lovely couple, however, they expressed some concerns about the children already living in the home, so I am arranging a meet up with one of our Carer Recruitment Ambassadors. Our ambassadors are well tenured foster carers with Foster Care UK, so they can provide real life experiences to our applicants. I make a call to one of our ambassadors who had a similar experience, they had children when they decided to foster and they very much made the children part of the fostering journey. It is so crucial that the entire family is on board – even the wider family.
Our Carer Recruitment Ambassador is happy to help and share their experience and I arrange for them to meet up and have coffee together. I always advise perspective foster carers to do their research, in my opinion the best research is talking to people, so I am happy with this result. I look forward to catching up with them after their meet up.
I am finishing my day with an initial home visit. As a Senior Fostering Recruitment Advisor, this is still a huge part of my role – getting out there and meeting people face to face.
People may find a home visit daunting, but I like to keep this stage really casual – this conversation is a two-way street. Yes, I want to know all about you, but I am also there to answer any and every question you may have. I have been doing this for over seven years now, so I would like to think I can answer whatever you have to throw at me. Although, every now and then some one will ask me something new, so I am always being kept on my toes and I love that. The more questions the better!
I am on hand throughout the fostering journey, and only a phone call away. From that first home visit, right up until preparing you for panel. I am a friendly face, happy to reassure and hold your hand throughout the entire process.
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