Foster carers are part of what is often termed the ‘team around the child’ who are responsible for the wellbeing and development of a fostered child. This team includes the foster carer, their supervising social worker, the child’s birth family and the child’s social worker, as well as several other people, such as education and health professionals, depending on the child’s specific needs.

As well as providing day-to-day care for children and young people, foster carers have a range of responsibilities as a professional carer. These include:

• working with the wider team supporting a child, including social workers and their fostering service. 
• keeping records. 
• attending meetings. 
• personal development and training.
  
  

In the team around the child, foster carers are often the people who get to know the child best. For this reason, it’s important that foster carers act as advocates for the children in their care, to make sure that all decisions are in their best interests. It’s also important for foster carers to recognise when they themselves need help to deal with a particular situation, which may include behaviours new to them, or when things do not go to plan.