The Foster Home and Health and Safety

As part of your preparation to foster, you will have been provided with training that covered health and safety and be clear on what your responsibilities are as a carer.

This will be continually reviewed by your Supervising Social Worker. The Health and Safety Checklist will be completed at your initial assessment and then annually at reviews.

You may also receive a visit from an Inspector from Ofsted as part of the inspection process for the Fostering Service.

Foster homes should provide a warm and welcoming environment where children are safe from harm or abuse as well as bullying. The home should be clean and well maintained including decor. Your Supervising Social Worker will talk to you about any safety equipment the Fostering Service may be able to offer. Any equipment provided by the Fostering Service is on loan and must be returned at the end of the placement. You will be provided with socket covers when caring for children under 8 years of age, locks for cupboards where medicine and detergents are kept, fireguards and stair gates on stairs for children under 5 years of age,

The following is intended to set a minimum standard for children/young people living as part of foster families.

Each child/young person's needs are unique and many children/young people will need more than the minimum requirement in order for their needs to be met.

Any risks must be recorded by your Supervising Social Worker on a Risk Assessment Specifically for Placing Children in Foster Care - form SSCC 555.

Health and Safety information will be reviewed and amended along with any changes in legislation to make sure you provide the safest possible family home.

• The Fostering Service will provide a fire blanket and sufficient smoke alarms, one on each floor of the house. It will then be your responsibility to ensure batteries are changed on a regular basis;
• All doors and windows should easily be opened from the inside. When doors and windows are locked in the evening, the keys should be readily available in a place where all the family knows where to find them. A torch should be available within the home;
• The whole family should decide on a fire exit strategy which identifies which exits you might use;
• Multi-way adapters should be avoided;
• When and windows are locked e.g. at night, all members of the house including the foster child should know where to find the keys in the case of an emergency;
• Matches and flammable liquids should be safely stored out of the reach of any child.

• Make sure all appliances are safe and in good working order;
• Make sure no leads from kettles or irons are hanging over where a child could pull it;
• When cooking turn pan handles towards the back of the cooker;
• Cat litter trays should not be kept in the kitchen and must be kept out of reach of children;
• Toxic/hazardous substances, such as bleach, cleaning materials, medicines glue and aerosols should be stored safely and securely out of the reach of any child;
• Use a stair gate particularly when cooking to keep small children out of the kitchen;
• The kitchen area needs to be of a sufficiently hygienic standard with the basic necessities, e.g. cooker, hot and cold running water and fridge;
• The Fostering Service will provide cooker guards.

Where children have allergies, preventative measures should be detailed in their Care and Placement Plans and Health Care Plan - for example following good hygiene routines in terms of utensils and crockery, hand washing, avoiding cross contamination in the kitchen area, checking labels for allergens and any agreed allergen avoidance in the home.

This can be a plastic box containing plasters, bandages, cotton wool, lint or gauze and scissors and does not need to be a specifically purchased item. You should keep creams or lotions in the first aid box. First aid training is available and you should attend. Any medicines or tablets must be kept under lock and key. See First Aid and Medication.

• Swimming pools/ponds/wells should be covered, fenced off or drained. If a pond is covered that it is covered with something that an adult can stand on and a child cannot lift off;
• Chemicals are kept in a locked, safe place which children cannot access;

• Garages, sheds and buildings are locked;
• Slides and swings are secure with a soft surrounding area;
• A greenhouse/shed should be in good repair and any glass should be away from the play area or made of toughened glass;
• If children play unsupervised in the garden, then gates and fences should be secure;
• Barbecues should be closely supervised and children should never be left unattended near them. Barbecues can remain hot for a long period of time after use and they should be damped down once finished with. Children should not be allowed to light barbecues. Never leave barbecues unattended;
• Some fairly common garden plants are poisonous and some are fatal. Children may eat berries and think they are ok. Poisonous plants should not be in the garden. If they already are, you should remove them.

There is a separate section regarding this, see Transport.

You should not keep a dog which comes within the scope of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, either because it is a banned type of dog (any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier; Japanese Tosa; Dogo Argentino; Fila Brasiliero; XL Bully), or a dog (of any breed/type) which is dangerously out of control, including on private premises. It would not be appropriate to place a child in a household where such a classified dog is being kept. Considerations in relation to dogs will include where/how they are kept. A Review conducted by Public Health Wales concluded that the most important piece of advice for members of the public is ‘to never leave a baby or young child unsupervised with a dog, even for a moment, no matter how well you know that dog’.

As part of the annual review, consideration may also be given to the breeding of animals and/or working animals in relation to the impact of the welfare of the child/young person in your care.

If you do have pets, you should keep their areas including the garden clean and regularly changed.

A risk assessment will be undertaken by your fostering Supervising Social Worker in respect of any animal that a Looked After Child will have regular contact with such as horses.

Where children have allergies to pets (for example in relation to asthma or eczema) you should talk to your Supervising Social Worker about how best to minimise the effects.

You should make sure that any appliances are in good working order and regularly serviced by a Gas Safe engineer and provide a copy of the safety certificate to your fostering Supervising Social Worker.

• Each child over the age of two should have their own bedroom. Any exception to this will be made following a bedroom sharing risk assessment which takes account of the potential for bullying, any history of abuse or abusive behaviour, the wishes of the children concerned and other relevant factors. The outcome of the assessment and decision will be recorded;
• Children of different genders should not share bedrooms when each child is over 8 years of age;
• No placements will be made where children from different families and are different genders that would require the sharing of rooms regardless of age;
• Children should be able to get into and out of bed without having to climb over other beds or furniture;
• Children under the age of 6 and over the age of 14 should not sleep in a bunk bed unless a bedroom sharing risk assessment has concluded that any risk to children outside of this age range can be managed;
• Each child should have their own hanging space and drawer space for their clothing;
• Each child should have a place to store their own toys, equipment and personal possessions;
• Each child should have access to a quiet place which they can use for quiet play, activities or homework.

If there are concerns about any aspects of your home, then your Supervising Social Worker will discuss this with you and a period of time will be given to resolve the issue. If the issue remains a significant concern and are not resolved, then a report will go to the Fostering Panel to reconsider your approval.

Your Supervising Social Worker will support and guide you to creating and maintain a safe and caring environment. They will also help you with developing your Safer Caring Plan and arrange a break (respite) from fostering.