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Training


As a prospective carer, as part of your assessment and preparation period, you are invited to attend the Skills to Foster course. You will also be invited to a monthly online learning workshop to increase your knowledge of a variety of fostering related subjects.

As a key member of our care team, you will benefit from our full support and thorough training.

As an approved carer ongoing learning and development is an important part of your role as a foster carer with Fostering Devon, and you will receive regular training to help you in your work and enhance your skills, alongside the support and guidance of your own supervising social worker.

“I foster with Fostering Devon because their annual training programme is excellent, you can plan your whole year’s training in advance and they help you to keep your skills at the highest level possible.”

A high-quality training programme is offered throughout the year. Core training courses are for all newly approved carers and will help you with the essentials you need to foster. In addition, you may wish to take advantage of specialist courses that will help you build up your expertise in particular areas of interest.

Training is provided to:

  • help foster carers to develop and improve their skills
  • improve knowledge, develop and refine skills
  • establish an explicit, positive framework of values, which promotes equality of opportunity
  • encourage foster carers to be aware of the effects of discrimination in all parts of the community, recognising that they care for children, many of whom face discrimination as a part of everyday life
  • ensure that all foster carers are competent and confident in safe caring and in protecting children from harm
  • help foster carers to promote the health and education of children and young people

Foster carers are encouraged and supported to take responsibility for their own professional development. This is practically supported through the creation and updates of individual training profiles as part of annual reviews.

Children and young people can feed back their views about their carer to the foster carer’s annual review.

Training events

Training events can include:

  • face-to-face learning
  • online training – including podcasts
  • an identified learning activity agreed with your supervising social worker such as research or reading equivalent to five hours
  • the foster carer conference
  • relevant training from your workplace if employed or volunteer
  • presenting training for other carers
  • presenting a workshop at a support group
  • shadowing the work of others
  • carer days
  • UASC Book Club
  • TSD Workbook (three credits with a target of completion within 12 months)

The fostering training programme

Our approved foster carers can access full details of the fostering training programme. You will be able to take a look at the current training calendar as well as online training opportunities.

The training programme is reviewed constantly and is also subject to a formal annual review


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