Fostering Devon Newsletter 29/06/2018

Big Adventure Family Day Out 14th July 2018

We have arranged with the Exmoor National Park Team a Big Adventure Family Day Out for the 14th July for all foster carers, staff and family members. This event is a great opportunity for everyone to get together and to celebrate living in this marvellous county.

Please email us at childsc.fosteringregisteredmanager-mailbox@devon.gov.uk. if you are interested in coming along.

Summer Theatre Week

PaddleBoat want to give children who are fostered or in care an opportunity to work together for a week to create a brand new piece of theatre, created entirely from their own imaginations.

When: Monday 30th July – Friday 3rd August, 10:30-3:30

Where: Thornlea Building, Exeter University, New North Road, Exeter, EX4 4LA

Who: Children aged 5-11 who are in care or fostered, and their siblings

Cost: Absolutely nothing, thanks to Exeter City Council

For more information, please click here.

Social Worker Of The Year Awards 2018 

Entries for the 2018 Social Worker of the Year Awards will close on the 20th July 2018.

There are sixteen categories in total across the specialisms of both children’s and adult services for individual social workers and social work teams from across England. Awards include Social Worker of the Year, Team of the Year, Team Leader of the Year and Newly Qualified Social Worker of the Year. There are also categories to recognise social work students, practice educators, mental health practitioners and qualified social workers not employed by a local authority.

Click here to see a full list of categories.

New FASD Support Group

Foster Carer, Lesley Blosse is helping to co-ordinate a new FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) Support Group for carers/adoptive parents who have evidence that alcohol was consumed during the pregnancy and are living with the impact of FASD. Lesley along with two other Mums of FASD children are continuing to provide support to families locally. They are also in contact with other families across Devon. See the website www.livingwithfasdsw.co.uk and Facebook page www.facebook.com/livingwithfasdsw .

Please also find the flyer and  questionnaire to look at where the next support group could be held and what the focus of the support should look like.

FosterTalk - Find out all you need to know about Fostering

Do you know your responsibilities as a foster carer when a child is on section 20? Are you thinking about Special Guardianship?

FosterTalk provide a range of easy to access advice pages including updates on the latest legislation that impacts on foster carers and young people in our care.

https://www.fostertalk.org/fostering-information/legislation is a great place to start for a reminder of your responsibilities under various pieces of legislation and guidance. Please make yourself familiar with the page and discuss with your social worker and with your peers in support groups.

GDPR - The General Data Protection Regulations 

Over the previous months we have been working with Information Governance regarding the implementation of the GDPR – The General Data Protection Regulations. The following video is a great way to understand the implications of the new Regulations for individuals.

The Privacy Notice for fostering is already available at  https://new.devon.gov.uk/privacy/privacy-notices/privacy-notice-for-fostering/ as is GDPR policy https://inside.devon.gov.uk/task/gdpr/policy/ .

Refer A Friend Scheme - up to £500 when you refer a friend to foster

As you are a foster carer you will know how personally rewarding it is to help shape a child’s future. So if you are passionate about what you do, and can think of a friend or family member who would be a great foster carer, why don’t you tell them about our Refer a Friend Scheme?

You could receive up to £500 for every person you refer if they become an approved foster carer for Fostering Devon – click here to read more.