Fostering Panels
Fostering panels play a vital role in ensuring that foster carers who are approved to look after children in foster care have the necessary skills and knowledge to do this to a high standard. This includes quality assuring assessment and review reports of the applicants to foster, considering their fitness, skills, experience and their capacity to develop. This approval is then reviewed by the panel at different stages of the foster carer’s career.
Each fostering service provider in England, Scotland and Wales is required to convene a fostering panel. In Northern Ireland this is not a requirement but is usual practice.
About fostering panels
Fostering panels have core functions to deliver which are:
- to make recommendations about the approval of foster carers, including their terms of approval, for example the ages and number of children they can be approved for
- to recommend whether a carer remains suitable to foster or not at the first annual review of a newly approved carer and any subsequent reviews the fostering service refers to it
- to give advice or make any recommendations on any other matters referred to it by the fostering service.
Each fostering service provider is responsible for developing robust policies and procedures regarding the recruitment, induction, training and appraisal of panel members, often called Fostering Panel Terms of Reference.
Read more about foster carer reviews.
As the UK's leading fostering charity we offer practice support to member fostering across the UK.