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The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Come and help us, to help you, to develop this tool

 Development Workshop Description.

Many of you who have attended the Signs of Safety Awareness Workshop have said how useful and beneficial you found it. Many have left seeing ways in which they could use the tools within their fostering homes. However a number of you have also said that you would welcome more support in being able to use this. We really welcome this feedback and want to work with you to do just this.

One of the key principles of Signs of Safety is to listen to the people who are doing the work and start from there. So with that in mind we are wanting to hold three development workshops that do just that.

Workshop 1: Placement Stability Tuesday 10th November

This workshop is about working with you to formulate the very best questions that can be used when using the three column mapping tool for placement stability. ( the questions/tool in effect could also be used to help work through any problem/issue you may be experiencing in your home, with any member)

Workshop 2: Supervision: Monday 11th January

This workshop is about working with you to formulate the very best questions that can be used between your Supervising Social Worker and yourself during supervision, when using the three column mapping tool 

Workshop 3: Children Looked After Review Forms - Thursday 11th March

This workshop is about working with you to formulate the very best questions that you can use with your foster child/ young person when helping them complete their feedback forms.

This is the just first part in developing and really embedding signs of safety within the Fostering Service.

There will be more!

The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The Virtual School value the time they spend with carers, and to enable this to be an even more successful partnership between school and home, would like to have more sessions available for meeting you during the course of the year. Each session will have a focus, but as ever, if there are topics we haven’t identified that you would find more helpful, please let Catherine Charlton know, by emailing: catherine.charlton@southglos.gov.uk

The Virtual School value the time they spend with carers, and to enable this to be an even more successful partnership between school and home, would like to have more sessions available for meeting you during the course of the year. Each session will have a focus, but as ever, if there are topics we haven’t identified that you would find more helpful, please let Catherine Charlton know, by emailing: catherine.charlton@southglos.gov.uk

The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

What is it? This is a new dedicated Induction, Training and Support Group for Connected Carers, Including Special Guardians
Why are we running it? We recognise that your situation is very different to that of main stream foster carers. The new role that you find yourself in now, is often not a pathway you may have planned on taking. Unlike foster carers, you are thrown in at the deep end without having had a course to prepare you for what lies ahead, and how ‘The System’ works. This course aims to do that as well as recognise the particular difficulties that you as ‘Kinship Carers’, whatever your role, face.
How will it run? There will be six sessions, each lasting approximately 2-2.5 hours, which will take place over the course of a year. It is hoped that you will attend all six, but as new carers arrive, they can join the programme at any stage.

The sessions will be led in the main by Social workers from our team. There will be light refreshment of tea and coffee provided at each session, but it would be rather nice if we could take it in turns to bring and share some food. The first session will be catered for, but we will discuss how this works for future sessions at the end of our first meeting. The session will focus on Safeguarding and Safer Caring

The Purpose for the support groups



We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

Sometimes there will be speakers and topics as requested by the group, this will hopefully make it as relevant to your fostering as you like.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).