Purpose and Principles
The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that all children and young people are matched with Foster Carers who can meet their needs in a way that prioritises their safety, stability, and emotional wellbeing. The process must reflect trauma-informed principles of safety, trustworthiness, transparency, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural sensitivity.
Every decision and discussion in the matching process must take into account how previous experiences of trauma may influence a child’s sense of security, belonging, and capacity to trust new adults. The aim is not only to achieve a good practical match but also to create an emotionally secure foundation for the placement.
Matching a Child with a Placement that Meets their Needs
The Positive Aspirations Group will ensure that every child referred is matched with Foster Carers whose skills, experience, resilience, and emotional capacity best meet the child’s needs and preferences.
Placement Officers and Supervising Social Workers (SSWs) must always consider how a child’s lived experience, identity, and past trauma may impact their response to a new placement. Matching decisions should therefore reflect the following:
• An understanding of the child’s trauma history and any associated triggers.
• The Foster Carers’ ability to offer attuned, consistent, and emotionally responsive care.
• The capacity of the household to maintain stability under stress or challenge.
• The emotional and physical safety of all household members.
Role of Placement Officers (RAPT)
Placement Officers are expected to build strong, trusting relationships with Foster Carers, gaining an in-depth understanding of their skills, support needs, and family dynamics. This helps ensure matches are based not only on capacity and availability but also on emotional fit and stability potential.
Profiles for all approved Foster Carers must be kept up to date, reflecting:
• Recent training and development.
• Any changes in household composition or dynamics.
• Current wellbeing of carers and household members.
• Feedback from previous placements.
Foster Carers are promoted by telephone and secure communication, as well as through professional partnership networks, to ensure maximum sufficiency options for local authorities.
RAPT Managers and Senior Practitioners will continue to attend partnership events, including long-term and step-across referral days, to explore planned matches. All step-across placements must comply with the agency’s Step-Across Policy.
Considerations for Matching
Matching must take into account the following:
• The ethnicity, religion, culture, and language of the child and Foster Carers.
• The child’s preferences, identity, and lived experiences.
• Presenting behaviours or needs, and the carers’ ability and confidence to support these.
• The child’s trauma triggers, coping mechanisms, and any sensory or relational needs.
• The child’s personal and family history, including experiences of loss and separation.
• The proximity of the placement to education, contact arrangements, and community links.
• Any specific health, emotional, or developmental needs, including access to therapeutic or medical support.
• Compatibility with other children or pets in the household.
The needs of existing household members will also be carefully considered, and any identified gaps in experience or training will result in tailored support and training plans for the Foster Carers. This will be reviewed and monitored within supervision.
Information Sharing and Risk Considerations
Positive Aspirations Group will actively request complete referral information from the placing authority to support informed, transparent, and safe decision-making. Where information is incomplete, clarification will be sought immediately to prevent placements being made without a full understanding of risk and need.
For parent and child placements, a Police Check must be requested before placement.
All placements will be risk assessed using the Risk Matrix (where relevant) in relation to:
• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
• Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)
• Radicalisation and Extremism
• Gang Affiliation
• Parent and Child Placement
• Self-Harm
• Missing from Care
• Child Trafficking
The results of the assessment will form part of the child’s Safe Caring Policy and will be shared with the Foster Carer and SSW in a transparent and supportive manner.
Communication and Consent
Foster Carers will be contacted initially by telephone about potential matches. They have the right to decline a placement, and this should be respected without judgment. However, where possible, carers will be encouraged to share their reasoning so the agency can learn from their insights to improve future matching.
All available information will be shared securely (via Dropbox or a secure verbal briefing for emergency or out-of-hours placements). The RAPT officer will discuss with the Foster Carer and SSW:
• The child’s needs and background.
• The reasons for considering them as a match.
• The level of support that will be provided.
Where RAPT staff are uncertain about the suitability of a match, the case must first be discussed with the SSW or Team Manager. If concerns are raised about the appropriateness of the match, the Foster Carer will not be approached.
Transparent communication at this stage helps to prevent placement instability and ensures that the Foster Carer feels respected and informed throughout the process.
Placement Confirmation and Planning
Once a match is agreed, placements should, where possible, be planned and paced to allow for introductions and preparation. Children and carers should be supported to build initial familiarity in ways that feel safe and empowering for both parties.
RAPT will coordinate any additional resources or costs with the local authority’s commissioning team (not directly with the Local Authority Social Worker).
If the local authority later confirms that a placement is not needed, the RAPT team must promptly and sensitively inform the Foster Carer. Where possible, carers should also be updated if there has been no response from the local authority to avoid uncertainty or distress.
Concerns about information sharing or suitability must be raised by the SSW Team Manager with the RAPT Team Manager so these can be addressed collaboratively and constructively with the relevant local authority staff.
Recording and Storing of Matching Information
All documentation must be accurate, up to date, and recorded in a way that promotes continuity, safety, and reflective learning.
- RAPT Placement Officer completes the Initial Matching Form on Base.
- The form is quality assured and signed off by the RAPT Team Manager or Senior Practitioner to support the SSW in completing the Initial Placement Agreement (IPA). The form must clearly outline risk factors, protective factors, and mitigation strategies.
- RAPT ensures any missing key information (ID number, LASW contact details, or referral gaps) is requested from the Commissioning Team and uploaded to Base.
- Once placement begins, the SSW must obtain and record any missing information promptly, updating the Matching Form.
- All matching considerations must be reviewed as part of the Initial Placement Agreement Meeting and reflected in supervision and placement planning.
Cross-References
This procedure must be read in conjunction with:
- Matching Policy (including Placement Procedure)
- Delegated Authority Procedure
- Initial Placement Agreement Procedure
- Safer Caring Policy
- Step Across Policy
- Parent and Child Placement Policy
