One page document for foster carers.
Congratulations. Lots of carers keep fostering through pregnancy and after the baby comes. This page tells you what to expect from us.
- 5 days: Tell your supervising social worker as soon as you know you are pregnant, and within five working days.
- 3 days: Within three days of hearing, your social worker will visit and go through a short checklist with you.
- 5 catch-ups: We check in again at about 12, 20 and 32 weeks, just after the birth, and at 6 to 8 weeks.
Why tell us early?
Many people wait until the 12-week scan to tell anyone. That is fine for family and friends, but we ask you to tell us sooner. We will keep it between you, your social worker and the manager until you say otherwise. We ask early because the things we can help with most, like heavy lifting, hygiene around toddlers and handling difficult behaviour, matter most in the first few weeks.
What the visit is about
It is a chat at your home, written up together. You sign it. We talk about how you are feeling, what might be harder for a while, what each child living with you might need, how the house will work with a baby in it, who can help around the birth, and what you would like from us. It is not a test and it is not a mark against you.
What we can and cannot promise
We will talk through cover for appointments and the birth, and how the children get to school and family time. We will help where we can. We cannot promise respite or transport every time, but we will always work it out with you and write down what we have agreed. Your social worker will explain clearly how your fees and allowances work.
Telling the children
You tell the children living with you, with your social worker there to help if you want. You choose the time together, usually after 12 weeks. Their own social worker will know too. We make sure children hear, more than once, that a new baby does not mean they have to move.
After the baby comes
Your social worker visits within a week of the birth, and again at 6 to 8 weeks. Because there is a new person in your home, we will also look again at your approval, the same as we would if a new partner moved in. Your baby can sleep in your room until about age two. If bedroom space will be tight after that, we plan it with you well ahead of time.
We will not move a child because you are pregnant
If a child’s needs and your situation really no longer fit safely, that is a decision we make together with you, the child and the child’s social worker, with the reasons written down, and only after trying everything else first.
If a pregnancy ends Tell us when you feel able to. We will come and see you and do whatever helps. You do not need to fill anything in
Who to contact
Your supervising social worker first. If you cannot reach them, call the duty social worker or the out-of-hours line for your agency.
For more information read: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Policy.
