Resignation and Transferring Procedure

(Last reviewed 11/01/2025)

1. When a Foster Carer lets a Supervising Social Worker (SSW) or any other agency colleague know they wish to resign, the Foster Carer’s Team Manager must be informed straight away.
2. The agency will make every reasonable effort to understand the Foster Carer’s reasons for leaving and to work together to address any concerns that might help the Foster Carer feel able to stay.
3. If the Foster Carer still wishes to resign, they must give 28 days’ notice. The resignation will be presented to Panel. After Panel, Positive Aspirations Support Services will inform the Foster Carer’s home local authority that they have ceased to be Foster Carers.
4. If the Foster Carer is resigning to move to another agency or local authority, they must submit their intention to resign in writing, by email or post, whether or not a child is in placement. Foster Carers must give at least 28 days’ notice.
5. When a Foster Carer resigns from PA Group, after Panel, Positive Aspirations Support Services will notify the Foster Carer’s home local authority that they are no longer approved with PA Group.

Procedure when no child is in placement

The Foster Carer should inform the agency in writing that they are considering transferring to another fostering agency, giving 28 days’ notice. A Foster Carer cannot be approved by more than one fostering service at the same time, so they must not be approved by the new fostering agency until their previous approval ends. The fostering regulations state that an approval will be terminated 28 days after the agency receives written notice of resignation from a Foster Carer (The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011, Reg 28 (13)).

Once the written notice is submitted, the resignation automatically takes effect after 28 days and cannot be withdrawn.

Procedure when a child is in placement

Foster Carers who have a child or children in placement must give written notice of their intention to consider moving to another agency as soon as possible.

When the agency receives the written notice, it must inform the child’s placing local authority (LA).

A protocol meeting must be arranged by the independent fostering agency (IFA) the Foster Carer wishes to join within 28 days. The meeting should invite:

1a. The children’s social workers
1b. The Supervising Social Worker (SSW)
1c. The recruiting IFA
1d. The Foster Carer(s)

The meeting should consider the following:

1. Any decisions made during the child’s most recent Looked-After Child (LAC) Review, especially whether it is in the child’s best interests to stay in their current placement and how their care plan will be maintained.
2. How the Foster Carer’s move to another service may affect each child in placement, including any possible loss or change in relationships, activities, and support services the child has developed.
3. The arrangements for the recruiting service to approve the Foster Carer and for the current service to end the Foster Carer’s approval. These arrangements should be coordinated to ensure continuous approval and a mutually agreed transfer date.
4. Coordinated timing for transferring responsibility for paying fees and allowances to the Foster Carer.
5. Once the recruiting IFA’s fostering panel has made its recommendation and the service indicates readiness to approve the Foster Carer, the Foster Carer should submit their resignation to the current agency.
6. The recruiting IFA’s decision maker may state that they will approve the Foster Carer on a specific future date that aligns with the end of the 28-day notice period, making clear that until that date the Foster Carer is not approved by the new provider. Alternatively, the decision maker may delay their decision until the existing approval ends.
7. Reference requests from the Local Authority Social Worker (LASW) must be logged and tracked by Support Services and sent to the Team Manager for completion using the standard agency template for foster carer references. If the reference is sent directly to the Team Manager or SSW, it must be redirected to the Designated Agency Contact Officer (DACO). The recruiting IFA is also invited to read the foster carer’s files, and the “reading of files” procedure must be followed.

It should be noted that, to safeguard children, Positive Aspirations Group does not transfer foster families into or out of the organisation while a Standards of Care investigation is under way. Any investigation must be completed, and its outcome made clear.

If a family or individual has undergone a Standards of Care investigation with another fostering provider, Positive Aspirations will expect to review the investigation file and recordings before deciding whether to accept the family for assessment.

If a family approved by Positive Aspirations undergoes a Standards of Care investigation, Positive Aspirations will inform any recruiting fostering provider so they can delay their assessment, and we will share the outcome once the investigation is complete.

Any historical investigations and allegations will be clearly stated in any reference provided, and the recruiting provider will be advised to review the family file.