Foster Care Training With Swiis

Swiis’ Pre-approval Training

‘Toolkit for Fostering’ is our preparation training package for prospective foster carers and provides you with four days of mandatory training, prior to and during the assessment process. This programme covers every aspect of the role of a foster carer, and is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed in your role as a foster carer.

• Day 1 of Training. Day 1 training serves as an introduction to fostering and Swiis Foster Care. This is delivered following a successful telephone interview and after the Initial Home Visit process has been completed. The training is provided to you prior to the assessment commencing and is pivotal in ensuring that you fully understand the fostering role and what this will mean to you and your family before the assessment begins.
• Days 2 and 3 of Training. Delivered approximately half way through the assessment process, these sessions focus on a range of subjects and encourage you to further explore the fostering task and deepen your understanding of some of the challenges faced by children looked after. It will also cover your role in ensuring successful outcomes for children and young people in your care and the support available to you from Swiis.
• Day 4 of Training. The final training day focuses on understanding the behaviour of children and young people and how to de-escalate situations and anxieties within the household.

Post-approval Training

Following your approval to become a foster carer, you will complete core training which includes 7 core elements:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection

• Culture, Diversity and Equality Awareness

• Understanding Attachment

• Understanding Challenging Behaviour

• Safer Care and Managing Allegations

• First Aid

• Child Development

All above core training is linked to the TSD Standards for Foster Carers.

The frequency of the training is dependent on the skills of the carer and type of training. Some training is undertaken annually whereas some is required only every 3 years.

Additional specialist training is provided to support foster carers who work with or have a desire to support challenging placements, placements with complex health needs, disability placements or specialist parent and child placements.