Future of foster care consultation
Retention of foster carers - learning, development and practical support
Foster carers play a central role in the lives of children and young people looked after away from home. The quality of relationships with their caregivers is crucial in order for children and young people to thrive. Although quality relationships cannot be delivered simply by training, new skills and knowledge can help committed caregivers to cope with the increasingly complex needs and trauma of the children and young people they are looking after.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) published The Standard For Foster Care in 2017, which sets out learning expectations for foster carers at different learning stages: pre-approval, post-approval and continuous professional development (CPD). However, we have been told by stakeholders that the SSSC’s Standards have not been implemented fully on the ground. In addition, learning and development for foster carers can vary across local authority areas, depending on local needs and priorities, with additional support provided by third sector organisations and independent and voluntary providers. We have heard from foster carers that they would welcome more consistent provision of reflective supervision, peer support, mentoring, informal training and therapeutic intensive support.
At a national level, the Scottish Government is working towards the development of trauma training and resources to support alternative caregivers to provide trauma-informed care for the children and young people in their care and, where appropriate, with the wider families of those children. This may be particularly relevant for infants and children who have experienced trauma within their primary caregiver relationship(s) and have specific and unique needs for attuned care, to support their recovery and the development of healthy attachment relationships.
We anticipate trauma training pilots for foster carers in 2025. The Scottish Government also continues to invest in the Pathways programme in 2024-25 to allow adoptive families, kinship and permanent fostering families to benefit from therapeutic support and a peer support parenting group.