Delivering good outcomes for children in care requires each member of the team involved in this care to be committed to achieving those outcomes. Foster carers are an essential part of these teams and will usually have the most contact with the children.
Each member of the team needs to have a clear and agreed understanding of their role and responsibility. For the team to work effectively each needs to be able to share their thoughts and to raise issues where they arise. Likewise, each member needs to remain focussed on the needs of the child and their best interests.
This Policy is intended to clarify how foster carers can raise issues around either the quality or timely completion of tasks as these arise.
The timescales seek to ensure that concerns should be in most cases be resolved within a week and exceptionally within 10 working days.
This Policy is intended to address day to day care planning issues and does not supersede existing arrangements in place in relation to issues of safeguarding.
Stage 1
Should any member of the team have issues to raise, it is expected that in the first instance they would discuss this with their own supervising social worker (SSW). The SSW should record this discussion, and the agreement made as to how it will be addressed. This will usually be by the SSW supporting the foster carer through discussions with another team member.
Resolution at this stage should be achieved within 3 working days.
Stage 2
Should this not resolve the issue, the SSW will discuss the issue with their line manager. The line manager will contact the relevant team member’s manager to address the issue.
Resolution at this stage should be achieved with 3 working days.
Stage 3
In all instances where concerns have not been resolved between team managers, the SSW should ask that the team manager escalate to the relevant Operational Lead. The Operational Lead will contact the team member’s equivalent manager to resolve the issue. The team manager and SSW will be copied into correspondence.
Resolution at this stage should be achieved within 2 working days.
Stage 4
If there is no resolution following Stage 3, the SSW should contact the Operational Lead, to advise that the issue has not been resolved. The team manager should be copied into this correspondence. If there remains no resolution, the Operational Lead should consider escalating the issue to the relevant Strategic Lead.