Carer Support
Finance
Carers receive a weekly allowance for each child that is in placement. This is up to £490 per week per child in placement and is amongst the highest rates paid in the country in order to reflect the responsibility of caring for a disabled child. Our allowance is paid on a scale which reflects the training and experience of our carers. This payment has a very low tax rate for foster carers, due to a special arrangement with the Inland Revenue. Disability Living Allowance is paid directly to the carer for each child in placement where applicable.
Social work
Carers have their own Supervising Social Worker who visits regularly to discuss the carers work and deal with any issues that arise.
We provide support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as we operate an “out of hours” service where staff can be contacted directly.
Autism service
We have specialist staff who are experienced in all aspects of caring for children with autism and supporting the families that look after them. When a child with autism is placed, we ensure that all information is obtained and specific training is given to meet the needs of each individual child to ensure that it succeeds.
Most importantly we take great care that the child’s care is consistent at home and school to help the child improve and learn new skills. We complete risk assessments and agree an improvement programme. We have had great success with this new method of working with autistic children in foster care, we have seen great improvements in behaviour and social skills which will help the child to have a better life when they become adults.
We are very excited about our initiative in working with the National Autistic Society (NAS). We introduced the fostering service to the NAS Accreditation Programme as they had only worked in residential or education settings previously. Credo Care helped the NAS to write the standards for foster care accreditation and we were the first service to be earn the award in July 2007.
About Me
We compile a comprehensive report about the child in an easy to read format before they are placed. This gives plenty of information about the child’s routines, likes and dislikes and essential care guidelines to ensure that the carer knows what they need. This document ensures that the child’s transition from their current placement to their new carer is made as seamless as possible. We find that this gives the child the best possible chance of settling.
Training
Our courses are run every month and cover all subjects that carers may need to meet the needs of a child in their care including sign language and care of children with medical needs. Some of the sessions are essential and a requirement of National Foster Care Standards. We listen to our carers views and arrange training sessions which they request, sometimes on an individual basis. We have high standards and therefore require our carers to complete the NVQ level 3 in Child Care, which is fully funded by Credo Care.
Carer support groups
All carers are invited to support groups which are run every month by our Supervising Social Workers. Carers meet together for lunch to discuss current issues with placed children or to just share experiences. This is also a good opportunity to share views and feed back to management on our service.
Organised activities
We arrange “fun days” for the carers and children to get together with staff. Activities and lunch are provided; it is a good chance to get to know each other in an informal setting. Our last fun day was a great success and we raised over £200 which was donated to “Find a Voice” which is a charity providing toys and communication aids for disabled children.
Website Log-in area for Staff and Carers
We are very proud to offer a new website log-in area for Credo Care Staff and Foster Carers. This facility offers everyone involved with the organisation the ability to share information, ask questions and make suggestions to improve our service. We also offer our our inspection and quality assurance documentation as well as downloadable Foster Carer forms such as mileage claims and drug charts.
This adds yet another dimension of carer support which is particularly useful to new foster carers looking for extra reassurance when being assessed or emabarking on their foster care career.
Sessional Work
Some children are allocated their own Sessional Worker to assist in a variety of ways. This might be to take the child out for the day, or to organise contact visits with their families. It can also be used to give carers some time off if they need it.
Holiday Cover
We provide carers with 3 weeks holiday cover every year. The main carer still receives their weekly allowance whilst the child goes to stay with one of our other carers. Some of our carers choose not to use the holiday scheme and keep their children with them all year. The extra allowance for these two weeks can be used by the carer to take the child or young person with them on holiday, such as for a special trip to ‘Disneyland’ or another special location.
Birth Children’s Support Group - “Credomania”
We hold groups for the birth children during school holidays. This is an opportunity for them to talk amongst their peers about living in a family which fosters. We go on outings to have fun and also have space to talk. Our recent outings have been to a zoo, dry ski-slope sledging and to a pottery.