The children’s social care review in England – a focus on allegations

Allegations missing from the final report of the independent review 

Allegations are the second most common reason why foster carers call The Fostering Network’s helplines asking for advice around fostering. 44 per cent of foster carers who responded to our survey felt that allegations were an area that was missing from the review’s final report.  

‘I worry most days about allegations and I have seen the devastating effects they have on fellow foster carers. The way they were treated was inhumane.’ – Foster carer  

‘That it [the review] said nothing about reforming the allegations process was a disgrace.’ – Foster carer  

Our allegations report 

In April, The Fostering Network published a detailed report exploring foster carers experiences of allegations, using evidence from our State of the Nation 2021 survey. We shared this with the Independent Review team and the Minister, along with our recommendations for change. 

The report found that being subject of an allegation, concern or complaint can have significant impact on everyone within the fostering household: 

• Too often children are experiencing instability because of the current practice norms which exist. 
• Some fostering households receive inadequate support when experiencing an allegation and timescales are not always adhered to, damaging foster carer’s relationships with their service. 
• Following an allegation process, some foster carers leave fostering immediately and others foster less children. 

Our report suggests that improving the support available to foster carers facing allegations could have a positive impact on both recruitment and retention. Guidance says that foster carers should be supported and informed as much as possible if they are facing an allegation – however, our report suggests there is a big gap between guidance and reality.  

This gap must be closed to ensure we retain safe and loving homes for children in foster care. The right information and support must be in place for foster carers so these homes are robust enough to withstand the allegation process, should they have to face it. 

Allegations support from The Fostering Network 

The Fostering Network helplines provide confidential, independent and impartial advice for foster carers in the UK. We also provide members with access to a legal helpline and a stress support helpline.  

Some fostering services provide access to advice and mediation workers who are employed by us – foster carers can contact them directly. Other fostering services can commission independent support for foster carers subject to an allegation through The Fostering Network.  

Any support worker or advice and mediation worker will support you through the allegation process. You can contact them by telephone and they may be able to visit you and attend meetings with you. They will also be able to support you through what is a distressing time for all. 

Also included in The Fostering Network membership is access to a legal protection insurance scheme. Our retired foster carer membership extends this insurance to members who are no longer fostering. Members also have exclusive access to our online community where you can log in to share your experience and get advice from other foster carers.  

You can visit our allegations page for further information. It includes details of our publication which helps foster carers understand what is likely to happen if an allegation is made against them or a member of their family. 

What happens next? 

We will continue to raise this issue with the Department for Education in England (as well as elsewhere in the UK).  

We have two recommendations for them: 

1. to conduct a ‘deep dive’ into allegation investigations in foster care, similar to one completed by the Department for Education in England into allegations against teachers. The research should include analysis of current policies and processes, how they are working in practice and barriers to implementation of national guidance. It should also include the police and other agencies involved in allegation investigations to help develop a deeper understanding.  
    
2. to fund independent support services for foster carers experiencing an allegation. 

We will also continue to work closely with fostering services to promote good practice. We are currently in the process of scoping and writing a good practice guide for concerns, complaints and allegations.  

The guide will have an accompanying toolkit for practitioners to ensure ease of use and consistency of approach. We will develop a training course to accompany the guide and toolkit. We held a fostering service members consultation event in Wales back in September 2022, to scope out the issues and themes for the guide. We will be running two further events to inform the final product. 

We are developing a version of the allegations report for an academic audience. 

In summary 

Foster carers recognise the importance of investigating allegations. However, the system must change so the uncertainty and lack of support that many foster carers experience during the process can be avoided. Support, counselling and peer mentoring should be widely available to everyone in the fostering household at all times.   

Many situations which escalate to an allegation could be avoided altogether if seeking help and support was seen as a positive action to take. We need to reframe allegations, remove the fear and highlight the importance of listening to children, especially children who have been through trauma.  

We will be sharing more thoughts on this in a future blog.

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