Safeguarding children in foster care

Safeguarding means keeping the child safe and guarding the child from harm. Children who are looked after are at a greater risk of certain types of harm than their peer group; for example, they are at greater risk of trafficking, radicalisation, child sexual exploitation, social media/online risks, substance use and criminal activity. The reason for their vulnerability is likely to be linked to a number of factors such as poor emotional health, weak sense of identity, poor attachments or lack of effective boundary setting by birth families.

Sparks Fostering delivers safeguarding training to all of the foster carers, and additional training on specific matters is offered according to the needs of the child/ren. The Sparks Fostering social worker will also work closely with the foster carer and the other professionals (the team around the child) in order to put together a plan to keep the child safe from these and other risks.