Foster Carer Recordings
Daily Records
Sparks foster carers are meticulous in reporting and recording the child’s life within the fostering home. The foster carer records give an overview of the child’s routines, activities and presentation. If there are any incidents that are noteworthy (for example if the child has a fall), the child’s social worker and the Sparks Fostering social worker would be notified as soon as possible, then the incident would be written up separately, and also summarised within the foster carer recordings.
Foster carers write daily records for all children who are new to their home, and during any times that the child is unsettled or has complex needs. Once a child is settled within the fostering home and there has been a period of time without significant incidents, the frequency of recording can be gradually reduced, with the agreement of the child’s social worker and the supervising social worker (to a minimum of monthly recordings).
The purpose of the records is for the foster carer to evidence how they are supporting the child, so that other professionals can maintain close oversight of the placement. The records may also be useful for the child to read during their childhood, or when they get older. Many adults who have a history of living in fostering homes sadly have a poor recollection and poor record of what happened when they were in foster care. One of the reasons why the memory of that time can become poor is linked to trauma. Sparks Fostering is committed to ensuring that all of the children that we look after have records, much like journals, that are stored electronically and can be accessed by the child at any time. Good recordings can be key to helping the child go on to forming a stronger sense of identity when they are adults. Sparks Fostering would also hope that the recordings would open the door for the care leaver to contact Sparks Fostering and/or the foster carers in the future if they want to, with a view to remaining in touch as part of our extended fostering family.
Foster carer recordings are also referred to if there are allegations made against the foster carer. Without foster carer recordings, it may become very difficult for the foster carer to evidence (or recall) the activities of the days referred to in the allegation. Furthermore, without the records it would make it harder to evidence that the foster carer offered a good level of care.
It should also be noted that foster carer recordings will be reviewed during Ofsted inspections and that poor and/or infrequent recordings would be viewed to be offering a substandard service and this would be reflected in the inspection report. Consequently, this could have the potential to impact on the success of Sparks Fostering.
