---
title: – The Foster Carer Handbook –
description: "Welcome to the **Positive Aspirations Group** fostering community. By choosing to foster with us you have joined a team that places children’s safety, healing and lifelong potential at the centre of everything we do. This handbook is designed to give…"
url: "https://handbook.co.uk/docs/the-foster-carer-handbook-intro/"
updated: "2025-11-17"
category: Foster Carer Handbook
---

# – The Foster Carer Handbook –

Welcome to the **Positive Aspirations Group** fostering community.
By choosing to foster with us you have joined a team that places children’s safety, healing and lifelong potential at the centre of everything we do. This handbook is designed to give you **quick, accurate and trauma‑informed guidance** for day‑to‑day fostering and to sign‑post you to our full policies and procedures when you need more detail.

**Why a trauma‑informed handbook?**

Many of the children you care for will have experienced adversity, loss or disrupted attachments. A trauma‑informed approach recognises the impact of those experiences and weaves the following principles through all our practice:

| **Core principle** | **What this looks like in daily fostering** |
| --- | --- |
| **Safety** | Creating predictable routines, clear boundaries and a physically safe environment. |
| **Trust & transparency** | Being honest about decisions and explaining the “why” in child‑friendly language. |
| **Empowerment & choice** | Offering children appropriate choices (from meal options to life‑story work) to rebuild a sense of control. |
| **Collaboration** | Working alongside the child, birth family, social workers and other professionals as equal partners. |
| **Cultural sensitivity** | Respecting each child’s identity, culture, faith and orientation; challenging discrimination. |

These principles underpin the stand‑alone policies listed below and guide the language used throughout this handbook.

**How to use this handbook**

- **At a glance.** Each chapter starts with a shaded “Key Points” box so you can see the essentials in under a minute.
- **Deeper dives.** Where you need more depth, the margin icon 💼 directs you to the relevant stand‑alone policy on our secure policy portal.
- **Living document.** We refresh the handbook annually in line with our **Quality Assurance Policy**. Your feedback is vital—please email suggestions to *policies@positiveaspirations.org* or raise them at Support Groups.

**Linked stand‑alone policies**

This introductory section aligns with—and should be read alongside—the latest versions of the following Positive Aspirations Group policies (June 2025 unless dated otherwise):

1. **Induction of Foster Carers Policy & Guidance** – sets out the structured learning pathway you will complete in your first 12 months.
2. **Training & Development Policy** – details mandatory and specialist courses, including our Trauma‑Informed Practice modules.
3. **Equality & Diversity Policy** – affirms our commitment to anti‑discriminatory practice.
4. **Promoting Health and Wellbeing Policy & Procedure** – explains how we support the emotional, mental and physical health of children and carers.
5. **Quality Assurance Policy** – describes how we monitor, learn from and improve all practice and documentation.

*(If you need a copy of any policy, your Supervising Social Worker can provide it.)*

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We look forward to working with you to offer children and young people stable, nurturing and reparative homes.

**With thanks and warmest wishes,**

**Emma, Rahima and Sally**
*Registered Manager*s

and everyone at **Positive Aspirations Group**