(Last reviewed 25/04/2025)
Legal Framework
National Minimum Standards (Fostering) 2011 – Standard 25.12
“The service has the facilities to work with children with physical, sensory and learning impairments, communication difficulties or for whom English is not their first language. Oral and written communications are made available in a format which is appropriate to the physical, sensory and learning impairments, communication difficulties and language of the individual. The procedures include arrangements for reading, translating, Makaton, pictures, tape recording and explaining documents to those people who are unable to understand the document.”
Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 – the ALNET Act
A child or young person aged 3 to 16 years has Additional Learning Needs if they:
• have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
• have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities for education or training of a kind generally provided for others of the same age.
Key Definitions
Ableism is unfair treatment, discrimination or social prejudice toward persons with additional needs and/or disabilities. It is rooted in the assumption that persons with disabilities are inferior to those without disabilities.
1. Our Commitment to Disability-Inclusive, Trauma-Informed Care
Positive Aspirations Group (PAG) recognises that trauma, disability and social exclusion are often interconnected. We therefore commit to:
- creating physically and psychologically safe environments;
- building trust through transparent processes;
- offering choice and control in every interaction;
- working in collaboration with children, their families and allied professionals;
- promoting the empowerment and voice of every child;
- recognising how culture, identity and disability intersect with trauma.
We acknowledge the social model of disability: barriers within society—not the child—create disability. Our aim is that children with additional needs or disabilities enjoy full, meaningful participation in family, community and society on an equal basis with peers.
2. Skills, Knowledge and Resources
PAG staff and foster carers are trained to:
- understand the impact of trauma and disability on development and daily life;
- adapt communication using a range of accessible methods (e.g. Easy Read, symbols, Makaton, tactile signing, pictorial social stories, audio and video);
- co-produce support strategies with the child and their network;
- actively challenge ableism and uphold children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Specialist and bespoke training modules are available on our learning platform. Where a child’s needs extend beyond existing modules, PAG will source or commission further learning in partnership with carers and professionals.
3. Accessible Communication Practices
- Children choose their preferred language, format and pace of communication.
- Written information is translated, interpreted or converted to voice, Braille, symbol or multimedia format as required.
- Supervising Social Workers (SSWs) draw on collective expertise—and, where needed, external specialists—to make information memorable and meaningful using props, assistive technology and creative media.
- Communication plans are reviewed at every statutory visit (minimum every 8 weeks) and updated immediately if the child indicates a different preference.
4. Participation and Review
- Every six months, a Progress Summary is co-created with the child. SSWs present the information in accessible, child-chosen formats and invite the child to annotate, record or otherwise comment so that their voice is central to their file.
- Foster carers, SSWs and managers hold child-centred consultations to ensure decisions are made with the child wherever possible rather than for them.
- Managers maintain focused oversight of recordings and adjust supervision of SSWs according to the level of support identified by the child’s plan, ensuring equity of opportunity and information.
5. Safeguarding Children with Additional Needs
Children whose communication style is atypical may be at heightened risk of having their wishes and feelings overlooked. PAG therefore:
- routinely uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools in safeguarding conversations;
- ensures every child has at least two trusted adults (inside and outside the foster home) who check-in regularly in a way that suits the child;
- follows the Positive Aspirations Safeguarding Policy and national guidance, adapting procedures so they remain accessible, strengths-based and free from coercion.
6. Collaboration with the Wider Network
PAG works alongside families, schools, health services, therapeutic specialists and community organisations to:
- remove environmental barriers;
- share resources such as NHS, NSPCC and government guidance on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND);
- celebrate the child’s achievements, culture and identity;
- continually improve practice through feedback and reflective supervision.
7. Monitoring, Review and Quality Assurance
- Policy implementation is reviewed annually, with additional reviews after significant legislative change or feedback from children and carers.
- Data on accessibility requests, training uptake and child-participation outcomes is collated and discussed at quarterly senior leadership meetings to drive continuous improvement.
8. Shared Understanding of “Quality” in Practice
Positive Aspirations Group (PAG) believes that “quality” means every child and family feels safe, heard and valued while receiving support that meets or exceeds statutory requirements.
- We establish a Standards Framework that treats the National Minimum Standards and fostering regulations as the baseline rather than the ceiling.
- The Framework is co-produced and explained to all staff, foster carers and children in formats that match their communication preferences.
To deliver these standards we maintain, review and improve the following policies and procedures:
- Staff recruitment
- Staff induction
- Foster Carer preparation training
- Foster Carer induction workshops
- Foster Carer training
- Staff training
- Staff team days and training
- Foster Carers Handbook
- Social-work and administration procedure documents
- Supervision of staff and foster carers
- Staff appraisal
- Children’s Guide
- Policy documentation
9. Systems for Collecting Evidence of Quality Care
We gather both quantitative (“hard”) and qualitative (“soft”) information so that children’s lived experiences—not just numerical targets—shape service delivery.
| Quantitative indicators collected through self-evaluation and management-information systems | Qualitative indicators gathered through observation and direct feedback |
| • Foster Carer supervision data • Staff supervision and appraisal metrics • Agency database reports (monthly) • Accident / incident statistics • Complaint logs • Allegation records and outcomes • Recruitment-check completion rates • Frequency of unannounced visits • Assessment-recording timelines • Children’s educational achievements • Unauthorised-absence counts • Panel-minute action tracking • Staff time-sheet data • Foster Carer daily-log returns | • Semi-structured interviews with children and key professionals • Narrative sections within Foster Carer and staff supervision • Open-text entries in incident and complaint forms • Observation notes from unannounced visits • Children’s voice recordings/artwork/social-stories |
10. Reflective Use of Data
We schedule regular structured reflection and invite “critical-friend” challenge to identify best practice, difficulties and improvement areas. A culture of psychological safety encourages self-evaluation and organisational learning:
- Panel sessions: testing assessments, reviews and practice issues
- Staff supervision featuring self-evaluation, reflective dialogue and constructive challenge
- Supervision of Fostering Reviewing Officers
- Staff and Foster Carer learning & development reviews
- Foster Carer supervision meetings
- Staff meetings (whole service)
- Social-Work (SW) Management meetings
- Managers meetings
- Senior Management Group (SMG) meetings
- Team meetings
- External or regulatory inspection feedback
11. Evaluation-Led Practice Development
We routinely review the way we do things, valuing staff and carer insight to drive trauma-informed innovation. Managers communicate organisational aims clearly and listen actively so that teams work cohesively.
- Staff supervision sessions
- Training days
- Workshops
- Agency development days
- Foster Carer supervision
- Policy-and-procedure reviews
- Effective managers committed to reflective leadership
- Effective leadership that models openness to change
12. Monitoring Cycle and Continuous Improvement
Service monitoring follows a predictable cycle that blends performance data with lived-experience feedback:
- Senior managers meet monthly to review service-wide data and child feedback.
- The management team meets monthly to discuss assessments, placements (including stability), unplanned endings, RAG ratings, and all significant or critical events for Children Looked After (CLA) and foster carers.
- Learning/Reflective Outcomes meetings identify themes and feed into training plans.
- Ongoing consultation with children, young people, foster carers, staff and stakeholders—utilising accessible methods chosen by participants.
- Exit interviews to capture learning from endings or staff departures.
- Regular audits of children’s and foster carers’ case files.
- Regulation 35 Reports submitted to Ofsted, with findings summarised for children and carers in accessible formats.
