Children's Guide

The Fostering Agency recognises the importance of ensuring that Children and Young People in our fostering placements are aware of their rights; know what to expect from foster care, and know what to do and who to contact if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care or any other matters. The Fostering Agency is fully committed to ensuring that Children and Young People have a copy of the appropriate guide at the point of placement and understand their guide.

Birmingham Children’s Trust fostering agency has produced three children guides, these are required to be available to all children in placement.

Foster carers can access the guides within the Local Resources and where possible should ensure each child has an accessible copy.

The children guide provides children and young people with information about being in the care of our foster carers in Birmingham Children’s Trust. It provides information on how they can find out their rights, contact their Independent Reviewing Officer, the Children's Rights Director, and Ofsted. It will also let a child know how they can make a complaint.  

Each guide is subject to the child’s age and understanding and should be provided when a child is placed with our foster carers. If a carer doesn’t believe the child has a copy they can access and share this with the child.

There are  age-appropriate versions to the guides in relation to the age of the Child or Young Person:  

When a Child or Young Person is initially placed with Foster Carers, the Fostering Agency and Foster Carers are responsible for ensuring they receive the relevant guide at the point of placement, as such Foster Carers are provided with a number of copies of both of these guides.

The Child or Young Person’s Social Worker and Foster Carer must ensure that the Child or Young Person:

• Understands this guide and what to expect from foster care;
• Is aware of their rights;
• Knows what to do and who they can contact if they are unhappy about any matter.

The Child or Young Person may choose to keep this guide in a safe place, or allow the Foster Carer to keep this. If the Foster Carer takes responsibility, the guide must be kept in sight and accessible to the Child or Young Person at all times.

The Children and Young People’s Guides belong to Children and Young People and should they move placement, this guide should move with them. Where Children remain in a fostering placement and reach an age where the "Older Child’s Guide to Foster Care" becomes appropriate, a new guide will be issued.

Within both guides, Birmingham Children's Trust Corporate Parenting Pledge is detailed.

Our pledge:

• We promise to involve you in decisions that affect you and to listen to your views;
• We promise that you will have your own Social Worker who visits you regularly and give you details about how to contact them or someone else if they are away when you need them;
• We promise to make sure that you have every opportunity possible to achieve your best at school;
• We promise to encourage you to take part in all available activities that the city has to offer to ensure that your talents, hobbies, and interests are met and will support you to do the things you enjoy;
• We promise to take care of your health and encourage you to be healthy;
• We promise to provide you with a good and clear assessment of your needs and an up-to-date Care Plan;
• We promise that we will do our best to find you the best possible place for you to live;
• We promise we will help you stay in touch with your family, friends, and other people who are important to you;
• We promise we will listen to what you have to say;
• We promise to work with you and give you all the help and support you need to successfully move from care to adult life.

These guides will be kept under regular review by the Fostering Agency. Following any updates, a new Children or Young People's guide will be issued to Children and Young People in fostering placements and Foster Carers.

If the foster carer believes a child has a specific need for a guide to be in a different format they should alert the supervising social worker.